Has the spark returned to Frederick’s music scene?

A couple weeks ago, I played a show. Or, well, I was part of playing a show. It was notable for me because A) I am old, and what the hell am I doing playing shows? And B) it was the first time in about a year that I was in a band that played music in front of a crowd. This time around, it was as part of something called DUBlernuthin, an instrumental(ish), reggae(ish), groovy(ish) band that somehow formulated a couple years ago.

We released our first single in conjunction with the show and another song last weekend. It was an opening set — the best kind of set — and by all accounts, it was pretty fun (except for me, because upon further listening, my individual performance was pretty terrible, but I digress). We clapped. We sweated. We high-fived. Most importantly, we went home at a reasonable hour. Having played throughout Frederick consistently with another band for a good handful of years before this, I was curious to see how the music scene was doing, firsthand. I still have a toe or two in the water because of Could Be Better, which is really just me and my friend Chris Perry recording a podcast with local musicians, and also booking shows across town. Most of those shows are at Olde Mother Brewing, and yes, that’s where DUBlernuthin’s show was a couple weekends ago.

Coming out of the performance, a few things stood out to me. One, it sure is fun playing music to a crowd with your friends. Two, the new(ish) stage at Olde Mother is a real, honest-to-goodness stage, and it’s something of which Frederick ought to be proud. Three, I need to practice a lot more. Four, never underestimate the value of an early start time. And five, the Frederick music scene, from as far as I can tell, is in a pretty healthy place.

That final one took me a little by surprise, but maybe that’s because I’m not nearly as close to it as I once was. Yeah, Could Be Better books shows, but that heavy lifting typically comes from Chris, and yeah, we interview musicians for our podcast all the time, but anyone with an internet connection and a working voice has a podcast these days. Who cares? For me, it’s just been a vehicle to embarrass myself in various ways.

I wasn’t sure that anyone would even care that live music was going on in downtown Frederick. There was a time, not all that long ago, when Guido’s packed crowds within its hallowed walls most every weekend as it hosted bands, Café Nola consistently threw music on its stage three or four nights a week, house shows were thriving, Area 31 threw its name into the hat every so often, and what was once called The Blue Side did its best to give local, original artists a platform as much and as often as it could. Plus, there was Sky Stage in the summer, New Spire Stages for a short period of time, and even Gravel & Grind did some funky things every now and then. It’s not that all those platforms are entirely gone now, but things have changed enough to make me wonder if a void was forming. And yes, I know I’m probably leaving some places out.

These days, it hasn’t felt like it once did, when finding original music from hungry artists on a weekly basis felt natural and easy. I’m not saying those things have completely left Frederick — and keep in mind, I’m not nearly as involved in it as I once was — but I am saying that I had been worried about finding that spark. You know, the spark that makes a music scene exciting, the spark that unites people, the spark that leads to an indefinable buzz you never knew you experienced until it ultimately goes away.

After playing at Olde Mother a few weeks ago, it feels like that once-fading spark is on the verge of breaking through into its next phase. What that is, I don’t quite know. How it looks or sounds, I have no idea. But for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, it appeared that seeing live music was universally accepted again. More so, playing at Olde Mother that night reminded me that Frederick is a city that can sustain a growing, interesting and vital music scene if it really wants to. There’s a lot of talent here, and while there’s no Guido’s or Area 31 anymore, there are still vehicles that artists can use to help spread their art.

It’s all to say, despite playing the drums particularly poorly that night in front of a crowd of people, I left the gig feeling inspired and encouraged — and it was all thanks to how much it seemed like music mattered again in downtown Frederick. Where does it go from here? That’s up to others to decide. In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy the reinvigoration of a community that once felt so infectiously vibrant.

Or, well, that is, as long as these shows continue to end before 10 p.m.

Hey. Getting old is a drag.

Colin McGuire has been in and out of bands for more than 20 years and also helps produce concerts in and around Frederick.

Jazz Journey concert in Brunswick will benefit the Animal Welfare League

Drummer Jeff Cosgrove’s ever-changing musical lineups continue in the fifth concert of his Jazz Journey series, as part of a Maryland State Arts Council creativity grant. The band will be Jeff Cosgrove on drums, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel and Dave Ballou on trumpet. The series is a community invitation to be part of the music and explore jazz, while helping local charity organizations. It will feature new compositions from Cosgrove and the group will expand on their places within the sonic landscape.

The concert will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. March 31 at Beans in the Belfry, 122 W. Potomac St., Brunswick, and is open to all ages. There is a $10 suggested donation for adults, and kids are admitted free.

Proceeds from the show will go to the Animal Welfare League of Frederick County, a local nonprofit working as an all volunteer, no-kill animal rescue and welfare organization. Representatives from the Animal Welfare League of Frederick County will be onsite to help answer any questions about the organization.

Last Improvisers Forum concert

Presented by Frederick Experimental Music Association,

IF: Improvisers Forum will host its last show of the season at the Y Arts Center in Frederick this weekend. Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Tom Rainey will conclude the series on April 1.

Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock was named a “true visionary” by pianist and Kennedy Center artistic director Jason Moran and a “fully committed saxophonist and visionary” by The New Yorker. She has received the BBC Jazz Award for Innovation and commissions from the Fromm Mu- sic Foundation at Harvard University and others.

Percussionist Tom Rainey has played with jazz greats from John Abercrombie to Denny Zeitlin. He is the recipient of composition and performance grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The concert series is funded by an NEA Create and Activate Now grant, administered through the Frederick Arts Council. The concert begins at 8 p.m. Donations are $10. Students and children will be admitted free of charge. The Y Arts Center is at 115 E. Church St. in Frederick.