Nor’easter forces Oceans Calling to cancel entire 3-day music festival

Oceans Calling, a three-day music festival that was scheduled for this weekend in Ocean City, has been canceled due to a powerful nor’easter that has caused coastal flooding and other weather concerns.

The festival’s stage was set up on Ocean City’s beaches, and construction became impossible due to weather conditions, organizers said in a statement Friday.

“Tides, floods, and high winds have prevented us from safely continuing the build of Oceans Calling Festival,” the statement reads, with organizers calling the decision “difficult.”

Fans on social media shared videos of set-up crews attempting to build the stage as they battled wind gusts and high tides rolled around them. Others have shared photos of Ocean City streets covered in standing water, as many people arrived in the city before the festival was canceled.

The festival usually brings a big economic boost to Ocean City’s local businesses and restaurants at the tail end of its busy summer season. Dave Matthews Band, Twenty One Pilots, Gwen Stefani and the Goo Goo Dolls were among the performers scheduled to headline the festival. Fans who bought tickets directly through Front Gate Tickets will receive a refund within 30 days through their original payment methods, according to a statement.

Some fans, such as 28-year-old Carley Hall, spent thousands to see artists who likely won’t perform.

Hall and her four friends are Twenty One Pilots superfans who flew in from Scotland for a trip centered around seeing the alternative rock duo. Hall said the band has helped her cope with personal struggles.

“There’s been a lot going on in my personal life recently, and that music really helps me push through day-to-day,” Hall said by phone Friday.

The group first went to Columbus, Ohio, where the duet is from, to visit sites of famous music videos.

Then, they hopped on a flight to BWI, and took a three-and-a-half hour bus to Ocean City — they didn’t find the beach vacation they were hoping for. Still, they tried to remain positive, posting tongue-in-cheek “boots on the ground” updates from the site of the venue.

When the festival announced its full cancellation, Hall and her friends were “gutted.” They chose the Ocean City stop of the group’s tour to enjoy a beach vacation in addition to the concert, but due to the weather swimming is also not an option.

“I think tomorrow we’re maybe just going to get dressed up and play the music,” Hall said with a laugh. “We’re talking about the idea of meeting up with some other people that we know online like in some bar or restaurant.”

Some bands have made alternative plans. Cassandra Coleman is performing at the massive coastal bar Seacrets on Saturday while KT Tunstall will have a free show at Buxy’s Salty Dog Saloon, according to the artists’ Instagram accounts.

Oceans Calling isn’t the only cancellation due to the nor’easter this weekend either. All Things Go in New York has been canceled due to weather, while Maryland’s edition of the festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia remains on for now.

The storm, developing off the East Coast, could also make travel in the region difficult this weekend as it moves from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast. It will bring powerful wind gusts, coastal flooding and heavy rain, according to the National Weather Service.

For those traveling the Northeast Corridor via Amtrak, the service recommends monitoring the status of your train.

The nor’easter is expected to have less of an impact in Central Maryland, but could still bring rain and coastal flooding.

Baltimore region forecast

• 🌊 Coastal Flood Warning in effect for Anne Arundel County until 9 p.m. on Friday.
• Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. Lows in the mid-50s. Winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
• Saturday: Partly sunny with a slight chance of rain in the morning. Highs in the upper 60s. Lows in the mid-50s. Winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
• Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. Highs in the mid-60s. Lows in the upper 50s. Winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

Source: National Weather Service

Capital region forecast

• 🌊 Coastal Flood Advisory in effect until 7 a.m. on Saturday.
• Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. Lows in the mid-50s. Winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
• Saturday: Mostly sunny with a chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60s. Lows in the upper 50s. Winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
• Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. Highs in the upper 60s. Lows in the upper 50s.

Source: National Weather Service