New Blog: Carroll County Offers Musical Diversity

You have the right to bare your guitar. Or your bass, or cello, violin, drums... we can go on and name every instrument known.

Carroll County seems to have all of them--orchestral instruments and contemporary. Often overlooked, the musical scene in Carroll County always seems to be on the rise, new bands exploding onto the scene, then moving to Baltimore, traveling to Columbia, MD.

There's a riot of colorful places in Frederick where you can go to listen to some fresh music. It doesn't matter whether it's a cover band playing blues and oldies, or new edge rock music written by a local band you never knew existed until they played their way into your heart.

There's a secret to this madness. Some of it comes right back to Carroll County. To the north of us is the great state of Pennsylvania, home to a few rock and alternative bands. PA seems to carry mostly blue grass and country artists in the forefront of their musical scene. If you get five miles outside of any one of Pennsylvania's large cities, the symphony stops playing, the rock band finds a steel guitar, and you start hearing a beautiful earthy country vibe. 

To our south sits Virginia and West Virginia. While these two states also have a rich diversity in music, they still seem to have specific genres that are just more popular than anything else, country and soft rock. This doesn't seem to happen here. Maryland is an island where every genre is represented or played.

Maryland has produced so many artists in many different genres, some have had songs hit the Top 40 charts in the country, such as "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" by Peppermint Rainbow. We can't forget Good Charlotte, and Mama Cass as examples for artists that go national. Our schools in Carroll County, from the award winning travel choirs in the high schools to McDaniel College's powerful choirs and bands, provide a rich center for the creation of music in all different genres.

Take some time to check out the open mic nights. There's always someone playing at the local church. Carroll Community College or McDaniel will have something going on, whether it's a band or a choir. Westminster will have a band playing at one of the restaurants. You don't need to leave the county to hear the next big thing. They'll come to you and play.