Lunar Bay Features moe. and More at Susquehanna State Park

Musician and former Patch editor Marc Shapiro wrote this article. 

Kelley Duncan, Genevieve Britton and Margie Coakley saw something missing from Harford County, so they set off to correct it.

The Ladies of Locust, named for the street they all live on in Havre de Grace, decided to throw Lunar Bay Music & Arts Festival, which features local music, art and food alongside big name national music acts. 

The festival, which takes place on June 29 and 30 at Susquehanna State Park, features jamband giants moe., one-man band Keller Williams, guitar gurus Steve Kimock and Anders Osborne, jam-rockers Tea Leaf Green and The Everyone Orchestraas well as dozens of Baltimore-area acts.

For Duncan, a big fan of the jamband scene and local music, it was about bringing a festival to Maryland’s backyard.

“We don’t really have access to those things locally, so we wanted...what people had to travel three, four, five, six hours for and bring it home,” she said.

It was important for the Ladies of Locust to feature bands of all levels, Britton said. In addition to up-and-coming Baltimore bands, the festival and its four stages is giving some of the area’s youngest performers—one is 13 years old—opportunities to perform in front of a large festival crowd.

“Lunar Bay is doing the perfect thing by placing the strongest local acts in the area with the national headliners they are bringing in,” Jeremy Hebbel, co-founder of Gable Music Ventures, said via email. “The locals will embrace the festival, and it serves the dual purpose of strengthening the local music scene.” His company represents Lunar Bay artists Angela Sheik and Old Man Brown.

Other Baltimore-area performers include Cris Jacobs and The Band of Johns, All Mighty Senators, Freedom Enterprise, The Rez,Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Second Self, Cara Kelly & The Tell Taleand Greasy Hands, among others.

“It’s very local, homegrown as we say,” Coakley said.

Britton, owner of The Painted Ladies and partner with The Painted Lady, is handling the art side of the festival. She said she hopes to make that experience different than the average festival by having artists hold workshops featuring the art of the craft.

“A lot of times in this area you see things that are overdone and trite,” Britton said. “So, we’ve really been searching for unique.”

Coakley, owner of Coakley’s Pub, is handling is food and drinks, which she said will include a variety of healthy options as well as carnival and festival foods. Regional treats, like softshell crab and crabcakes, will also be available.

Alcohol sponsors include National Bohemian, Blue Moon and Three Olives. Lunar Bay will also have its own Lunarade Girls, who will be selling specially made lemon shots for adults, as well as a version for kids.

“We want to go family to party,” Duncan said.

To that end, the festival will have a moon bounce, face painting, yoga, a mechanical bull and hula-hooping, fire-breathing performances from Cirque Oya. There will also be artists painting on stage with bands while they play.

The festival also benefits several nonprofits, including the Steppingstone Museum, Believe in Music, Murals of Grace, The Arc and Pets on Wheels.

Ladies of Locust hope this is the first of many festivals that will uplift the local community, its artists and musicians.

“This is what was missing,” Duncan said.

Lunar Bay will be June 29 and 30 at Susquehanna State Park. For more information on the festival and the complete lineup, visit Lunar Bay’s website. Follow Lunar Bay on Facebook and RSVPhere.   

Editor's note: This article originally appeared on Havre de Grace Patch June 10 but we are re-featuring it in advance of the festival.