Solomons Welcomes Thousands As Warren Zeiders Rocks Calvert Marine Museum

SOLOMONS, Md. — Country music fans gathered Friday evening along the Patuxent River as rising country star Warren Zeiders brought his 2026 World Tour to the Motto Mortgage Preferred and RE/MAX One Waterside Pavilion at the Calvert Marine Museum.

With a break in the recent hot weather and humidity, concertgoers filled the museum’s waterfront grounds for one of the summer’s marquee performances. Rising country artist WESKO opened the show, warming up the crowd before Zeiders took the stage.

Warren Zeiders has quickly become one of country music’s most recognizable young performers. The Pennsylvania native reached No. 1 with the double-platinum single “Pretty Little Poison” and has amassed more than 3.6 billion global streams. His latest album, Relapse, Lies & Betrayal, has helped fuel a busy 2026 world tour that continued over the weekend in Delaware before heading to Iowa and Wisconsin.

As the sun set, thousands of fans sang along to Zeiders’s mix of chart-topping hits and newer material at the waterfront pavilion. The performance continued the Calvert Marine Museum’s tradition of bringing nationally touring artists to Southern Maryland in an outdoor setting overlooking the Patuxent River.

Friday’s concert was part of the Calvert Marine Museum’s 2026 Waterside Music Series, which has become one of Southern Maryland’s premier outdoor concert venues, serving as the museum’s largest annual fundraiser. According to museum staff, proceeds from the series help preserve local maritime history, support exhibits and educational programming while providing learning opportunities for more than 20,000 children each year.

Since introducing live concerts in 1985, the museum’s summer concerts have hosted an extensive lineup of nationally recognized performers, including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, The Beach Boys, Heart, ZZ Top, Dierks Bentley, Old Dominion, Brothers Osborne and many others, establishing the museum as one of the region’s best-known waterfront entertainment venues.

The 2026 Waterside Music Series continues Aug. 22 with Grammy Award-winning duo Brothers Osborne. Deale, Md. natives TJ and John Osborne signed with a major Nashville record label in 2012 before becoming one of country music’s most decorated duos. The series concludes Sept. 11 with ZZ Top and George Thorogood & The Destroyers.

Waterside Series Brings National Acts Close To Home

Calvert Marine Museum Director Jeff Murray said the Waterside Music Series has become a longstanding cultural tradition in Southern Maryland, giving residents the opportunity to see nationally touring artists without traveling to larger venues in Washington or Northern Virginia. He said the waterfront setting and relaxed atmosphere have helped make the series a popular summer destination while also showcasing the museum to local audiences who may not otherwise visit.

“It gives people an opportunity to see live acts that are national headliners that they don’t have to go to D.C., Wolf Trap or Jiffy Lube to see. They can stay right here in Southern Maryland,” Murray said. “I think it’s a real touchpoint culturally for the Southern Maryland community.”

Although concerts are not part of the museum’s core mission, Murray said they serve as an important source of exposure and community support. He said many attendees first experience the museum through the concert series before returning to explore its exhibits, educational programs and Chesapeake Bay-focused collections.

“It gives us more exposure. It gets people to the museum who might not otherwise come to the museum,” Murray said. “It gives us a way to reach a much larger audience.”

Murray said the museum works to balance booking nationally recognized performers with keeping ticket prices affordable for local audiences. While competition for touring acts has become more challenging, he said the goal remains to provide high-quality entertainment at a reasonable price while strengthening the museum’s connection to the community.

“What we want to do is keep our ticket prices down, especially under $100, so it’s an affordable experience for local audiences,” Murray said. “I think the Waterside Music Series is a big value for the community.”

Murray said the series not only brings nationally touring artists to Southern Maryland but also helps introduce new audiences to the museum and supports its educational mission.

Why Fans Keep Coming Back

Tim Nash said he and his wife have attended numerous concerts at the Calvert Marine Museum and chose to see Warren Zeiders because they enjoy both the artist and the venue. He described Zeiders’s music as modern country rooted in storytelling and said the concert was also a Father’s Day gift for his nephew.

“I enjoy the venue and his music, and my nephew got a Father’s Day present to come here, and we wanted to enjoy it with him tonight,” Nash said. “I think Warren Zeiders is upbeat, progressive country that tells a story.”

The St. Leonard couple said the Waterside Music Series offers an experience they prefer over larger concert venues in Baltimore or the Washington area. They said the waterfront setting, shorter travel time and opportunity to reconnect with friends and neighbors make the museum a destination they return to year after year.

“We love coming to this venue. We would rather see artists here than go up to bigger venues,” Nash said. “Just the amount of time and the cost and the experience we get here is better — and we get to see friends and family the whole time.”

“No matter where you stand here, you have a great view,” Nash said. “You see your kids’ friends, other parents that you haven’t seen in five years, you get to catch up on your families — it’s home.”

The Nashes, longtime museum members, said they continue renewing their memberships because they value both the Waterside Music Series and the museum’s educational mission. Tim Nash said the museum helps preserve Southern Maryland’s maritime and natural history while giving families opportunities to learn about the Chesapeake Bay, local watermen and the region’s environmental heritage.

Generations Connected By The Museum

Sarah Oglesbee and her daughter, Madison Bartlett, said they attended Friday’s concert as fans of Warren Zeiders while also taking advantage of a hometown venue they enjoy supporting. Oglesbee, a Calvert Marine Museum member and lifelong Southern Maryland resident, said seeing nationally touring artists in Solomons offers a more personal experience than traveling to larger venues.

“It’s more personal, local. You’re putting your money towards something that matters,” Oglesbee said. “Really, it’s the convenience of it, the ticket price — it’s in your hometown.”

The pair said the Waterside Music Series combines the convenience of a local concert with the opportunity to support the museum and its mission. Oglesbee said affordable ticket prices continue to bring her back for concerts at the museum.

Bartlett, who has attended previous Waterside concerts, said she was especially looking forward to hearing Zeiders perform “Pretty Little Poison.” She said she enjoys visiting the museum itself, particularly the fossil exhibits, aquarium displays and the iconic prehistoric shark exhibit.

“I like seeing the great white shark, the fossils and everything, and I like seeing the fish,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett added that her family’s connection to the museum extends beyond concerts. Her great-great-grandfather, Pepper Langley, is represented in the museum’s maritime exhibits.

Pepper Langley: Preserving A Maritime Legacy

According to museum Educational Programs Representative Kevin Allor, Langley was a master woodcarver whose decorative trailboards, figureheads and detailed ship models helped preserve the history of traditional Chesapeake Bay vessels and Solomons’s once-thriving shipbuilding industry.

“He was a woodcarver. He did a lot of work carving trailboards for boats, gilding and applying gold leaf,” Allor said. “He wasn’t one of the original people that founded the museum, but he quickly joined on, and he created a number of models for us.”

Although not one of the museum’s original founders, Langley became an early contributor, and his son, Jimmy Langley, later served for many years as the museum’s exhibits curator. 

“It was an effort to preserve the history of the town, which is rapidly changing,” Allor said. “We don’t have the shipyards anymore.”

Pepper Langley’s legacy extends throughout Solomons. In addition to his work preserved at the Calvert Marine Museum, his name is commemorated by Langley Lane and the Pepper Langley Fishing Pier and Boat Launch Facility, recognizing his contributions to the community’s maritime heritage.

Calvert Marine Museum Waterside Music Series

The Waterside Music Series is held at the Motto Mortgage Preferred and RE/MAX One Waterside Pavilion on the Calvert Marine Museum campus in Solomons. The annual summer concert series features nationally touring artists performing along the Patuxent River while supporting the museum’s educational programs and preservation efforts.

Visiting The Calvert Marine Museum

The Calvert Marine Museum, located at 14200 Solomons Island Road in Solomons, Md., is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum explores Southern Maryland’s maritime heritage, Chesapeake Bay ecology and the region’s fossil-rich past through exhibits, aquariums, the historic Drum Point Lighthouse and year-round educational programs.

General admission is $11 for adults, with discounts available for seniors, military personnel, veterans, AAA and AARP members. Children 5 and younger are admitted free.

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