Dewey Beach gala, Seacrets beer festival are weekend event highlights

ROGER HILLIS
DELMARVA NOW CORRESPONDENT
The Swell Tiki Bar, located on Rehoboth Avenue Extended in downtown Rehoboth Beach, will present singer-songwriters Christian Porter and Regina Sayles at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23. Admission is free.

The weather is already warming up, and so is Delmarva’s music scene. Local stages will present music appealing to a wide variety of tastes at events this Friday and Saturday. 

The annual Dewey Beach Winter Gala is set for Saturday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. ($99). While previous editions have taken place at The Starboard and the former Baycenter/Crabber’s Cove complex, this one is coming to the Rusty Rudder.

Admission includes food and drinks, and proceeds will go straight back to the town to help finance projects relating to its lifeguards, police department and more. This year’s performers include Joe Bachman & the Party, The Blue Cats, Ben Leroy & the Snap, and Hollywood Nights: A Bob Seger Experience. 

In Ocean City, the third annual Shore Craft Beer Fest: Love on Tap event will take place at the Seacrets nightclub complex from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. Homegrown microbrews will be featured along with food galore for $35, and those who purchase VIP packages can enter the building at noon for $50.

Hollywood Nights will perform its Bob Seger tribute show at the annual Dewey Beach Winter Gala at the Rusty Rudder on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Plenty of music will fill the building as usual after the festival is over, with sets by Opposite Directions (5 p.m.), For the Win (10 p.m.) and Under the Covers (11:30 p.m.). 

In downtown Rehoboth Beach, the Swell Tiki Bar will present a free acoustic performance by Pennsylvania singer-songwriters Regina Sayles and Christian Porter at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23. Both were popular as solo artists on the indie-rock touring circuit before teaming up for their recent duo album, which mixes elements of folk, Americana and alt-country. 

Also in downtown Rehoboth, the Dogfish Head brewpub has a pair of free concerts by national touring acts set for this weekend. Philadelphia  reggae-rock quartet Dry Reef will perform at 10 p.m. Friday as part of its 2018 Alright Revival Tour. The 30-date trek kicked off last week, and won’t wrap up until the end of April.

Another Pennsylvania-based act, Dr. Slothclaw, is in the midst of its own 14-date winter tour; it will play Dogfish at 10 p.m. Saturday. The group’s influences include Frank Zappa, the Grateful Dead and Parliament-Funkadelic. 

Email Roger Hillis at rogerhillis@gmail.com.  

This Week’s Must-See List

Dewey Beach Winter Gala at the Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. $99

Shore Craft Beer Fest: Love on Tap at Seacrets in Ocean City at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. $35

Dry Reef at Dogfish Head in Rehoboth Beach at 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23. Free

Regina Sayles and Christian Porter at The Swell Tiki Bar in downtown Rehoboth Beach at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23. Free

Lauren Glick at Trader Lee’s in West Ocean City at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24. Free