Sweet Leda performs on the Street Stage. Music lovers surrounded the Annapolis Maritime Museum for the annual Eastport a Rockin' music festival in 2019. (By Paul W. Gillespie / Capital Gazette)

The popular local music festival Eastport a Rockin’ is back in full swing this Saturday in Annapolis after the event was canceled the last two years because of COVID-19.

With the backdrop of the Annapolis Maritime Museum on Back Creek, the festival will play host to 35 bands from the Chesapeake region on four stages from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Up-and-coming local bands with a wide range of styles, including rock, folk, blues, jazz, bluegrass and funk, will display their talents alongside longtime favorites like Eastport Oyster Boys and The Kelly Bell Band. Over the years, Eastport a Rockin’ has featured such bands as Good Charlotte and Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, and the next big act just might be in this year’s lineup.

“I’m excited to have our musicians all in one place, to celebrate the local music scene and Annapolis as a whole,” said Jess Pachler, director of Back Creek Benefits, the organization hosting the event.

First created in 1997 to expose local music to a larger audience, Eastport a Rockin’ has drawn attendees from throughout the city and across the region for more than 20 years .

“We have a stage for even our youngest performers,” Pachler said. “And that’s the coolest thing about the festival, the wide variety of musicians. … Annapolis has a phenomenal music scene and this festival honors that and promotes all the facets of it.”

This daylong festival doesn’t just offer music. Local restaurants, including annual mainstays Pit Boys and Wild Country, will also be there serving some of the best local seafood, BBQ, shaved ice and more. There also will be plenty of refreshment options including an array of domestic and craft beers and a full range of drinks and nonalcoholic beverages, smoothies and coffee drinks.

Tickets are $25 for early purchases and $30 on-site. VIP tickets are $100 in advance and $150 day of.

Proceeds from the event benefit local charities including The Annapolis Maritime Museum, the Annapolis Musicians Fund for Musicians, the Eastport Volunteer Fire Company and Eastport Elementary School.

Attendees should be mindful that parking in Eastport is extremely limited. Visitors are encouraged to use other transportation options that the city offers, including the free Circulator and Bird scooters or bikes. The circulator drops off at the foot of the Eastport bridge leaving just a 10-minute walk to the festival site.

Dogs (on leashes) and strollers are welcome, but coolers and outside food and beverages are not.

For more information about the Eastport a Rockin’ 22 visit https://eastportarockin.com.

Here is a full lineup of the bands playing this year: