Out of the many things that the waterfront city of Annapolis is known for – US Naval Academy, vibrant sailing community, and tons of American history – electronic music is not one of them.
Located equidistant to Washington DC and Baltimore, two cities with massive dance music communities, Annapolis makes perfect sense as the next destination for electronic music to thrive. So why hasn’t it arrived yet? This is the very question being asked, and answered, by four main players who call Annapolis home.
The Venue
The first piece of this story is a bar, restaurant, and lounge called The Metropolitan which has been a place where you can eat, drink, and listen to live music for more than a decade. The Metropolitan is perhaps the most important component of this story as they are the first venue in Annapolis to recognize the potential of electronic music.
“Music has always been a large part of our identity at the Metropolitan. Although there are a lot of bands that have roots within The Met and the Annapolis music scene, it’s impossible not to notice the growing electronic music community. We take pride in being able to provide a fun, safe, and inclusive environment for all genres and can’t wait to welcome this new wave of live music to our home.”
Frankie Seuss, The Metropolitan Bar Manager
With The Met providing a space to host electronic music gatherings, whether it’s on their roof [pictured above] or second-floor banquet room [pictured below], local promoters have come running to take advantage of the highly-capable grounds.
Second Floor of The Metropolitan
The Players
The first to arrive are Annapolis-based groups Skull Vision, Sheila Sound, and Unison Collective.
Skull Vision, founded by Maryland local Alex Davis, AKA ROYALFLU$H, began with the intention of providing a platform to nurture and support emerging artists. Today, the collective has aspirations of expanding that platform to the live stage as they look to Annapolis as the next frontier.
“My own experience navigating the industry made it clear that there was a lack of spaces where creativity could thrive outside the traditional structures. I wanted to create a space where artists could collaborate freely, share resources, and grow together.”
Alex Davis AKA ROYALFLU$H
As for Sheila Sound, started by Duncan Lange, Bryan Hooper, and Alex Fattouche, the equipment rental crew has begun to grow into a fully-fledged promotion company with this upcoming event representing their ambitions as event curators.
“We began with a couple of CDJS and an idea to rent equipment so more of our friends could enjoy industry-standard gear. Since then, we’ve evolved into an equipment supplier for multiple festivals and a large portion of the Baltimore and DC event circuit. It’s always going to be a work in progress and there’s always more we can learn. Luckily we have an amazing team of three best friends finding ways to keep this moving forward, all while trying not to strangle said best friend.”
Duncan Lange, Sheila Sound Co-Founder
Partnering up with Sheila Sound for their debut event is long-time collaborator Unison Collective led by Nick Harden. With a massive background in audio engineering and sound deployment, Harden and Unison Collective will be bringing years of experience to the table.
“Nick’s contributed to a number events we’ve worked on. Whether it’s crushing sets as Honeynug, building wild speaker cabinets and wooden sound diffusion panels, engineering the Charity Sound System F1 x HSD hybrid rig, installing Martin Audio in DC restaurants, you name it, he’s done it or researched it. Unison was created to try and help fill the void that was the absence of eclectic, safe, high-fidelity and crowd focused events and we can’t wait do exactly that with our first show.”
Duncan Lange, Sheila Sound Co-Founder
The Parties
August 2024 is without a doubt the commencement month for electronic music in Annapolis with two debut events.
The first is with the Skull Vision crew this Friday, August 2nd on the rooftop of The Metropolitan. The outdoor event will feature music spanning from experimental dubstep and DNB to trap and hip-hop. As for production, the event will be jungle-themed and equipped with LEDs, lasers, and audio-reactive lighting.
The following Friday, on August 9th, Sheila Sound will take over the second floor of The Metropolitan for a night filled with nothing but high tempos and luscious house music.
The sweetest part of this takeover, besides it being Sheila Sound’s first-ever event, is that it will feature a Funktion-One sound system. This rig is without a doubt the collective’s biggest asset that the Annapolis electronic community will be able to enjoy for many shows to come.
The Maryland and DC electronic music community is growing faster than ever and the establishment of a new scene in Annapolis is proof.
To keep up with the growing electronic community in this city on the bay, follow the links below.
Out of the many things that the waterfront city of Annapolis is known for – US Naval Academy, vibrant sailing community, and tons of American history – electronic music is not one of them.
Located equidistant to Washington DC and Baltimore, two cities with massive dance music communities, Annapolis makes perfect sense as the next destination for electronic music to thrive. So why hasn’t it arrived yet? This is the very question being asked, and answered, by four main players who call Annapolis home.
The Venue
The first piece of this story is a bar, restaurant, and lounge called The Metropolitan which has been a place where you can eat, drink, and listen to live music for more than a decade. The Metropolitan is perhaps the most important component of this story as they are the first venue in Annapolis to recognize the potential of electronic music.
“Music has always been a large part of our identity at the Metropolitan. Although there are a lot of bands that have roots within The Met and the Annapolis music scene, it’s impossible not to notice the growing electronic music community. We take pride in being able to provide a fun, safe, and inclusive environment for all genres and can’t wait to welcome this new wave of live music to our home.”
With The Met providing a space to host electronic music gatherings, whether it’s on their roof [pictured above] or second-floor banquet room [pictured below], local promoters have come running to take advantage of the highly-capable grounds.
The Players
The first to arrive are Annapolis-based groups Skull Vision, Sheila Sound, and Unison Collective.
Skull Vision, founded by Maryland local Alex Davis, AKA ROYALFLU$H, began with the intention of providing a platform to nurture and support emerging artists. Today, the collective has aspirations of expanding that platform to the live stage as they look to Annapolis as the next frontier.
“My own experience navigating the industry made it clear that there was a lack of spaces where creativity could thrive outside the traditional structures. I wanted to create a space where artists could collaborate freely, share resources, and grow together.”
As for Sheila Sound, started by Duncan Lange, Bryan Hooper, and Alex Fattouche, the equipment rental crew has begun to grow into a fully-fledged promotion company with this upcoming event representing their ambitions as event curators.
“We began with a couple of CDJS and an idea to rent equipment so more of our friends could enjoy industry-standard gear. Since then, we’ve evolved into an equipment supplier for multiple festivals and a large portion of the Baltimore and DC event circuit. It’s always going to be a work in progress and there’s always more we can learn. Luckily we have an amazing team of three best friends finding ways to keep this moving forward, all while trying not to strangle said best friend.”
Partnering up with Sheila Sound for their debut event is long-time collaborator Unison Collective led by Nick Harden. With a massive background in audio engineering and sound deployment, Harden and Unison Collective will be bringing years of experience to the table.
“Nick’s contributed to a number events we’ve worked on. Whether it’s crushing sets as Honeynug, building wild speaker cabinets and wooden sound diffusion panels, engineering the Charity Sound System F1 x HSD hybrid rig, installing Martin Audio in DC restaurants, you name it, he’s done it or researched it. Unison was created to try and help fill the void that was the absence of eclectic, safe, high-fidelity and crowd focused events and we can’t wait do exactly that with our first show.”
The Parties
August 2024 is without a doubt the commencement month for electronic music in Annapolis with two debut events.
The first is with the Skull Vision crew this Friday, August 2nd on the rooftop of The Metropolitan. The outdoor event will feature music spanning from experimental dubstep and DNB to trap and hip-hop. As for production, the event will be jungle-themed and equipped with LEDs, lasers, and audio-reactive lighting.
The following Friday, on August 9th, Sheila Sound will take over the second floor of The Metropolitan for a night filled with nothing but high tempos and luscious house music.
The sweetest part of this takeover, besides it being Sheila Sound’s first-ever event, is that it will feature a Funktion-One sound system. This rig is without a doubt the collective’s biggest asset that the Annapolis electronic community will be able to enjoy for many shows to come.
The Maryland and DC electronic music community is growing faster than ever and the establishment of a new scene in Annapolis is proof.
To keep up with the growing electronic community in this city on the bay, follow the links below.
Follow The Metropolitan:
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Follow Skull Vision:
Facebook | Instagram
Follow Sheila Sound:
Facebook | Instagram
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