Oceans Calling 2025: Music, Memories, and Momentum for Ocean City

From September 26 to 28, 2025, Ocean City’s Inlet and boardwalk became ground zero for a fall musical pilgrimage. Oceans Calling Festival returned in full force, delivering three days of eclectic sounds, full-throttle performances, and a late-season economic surge that left locals, business owners, and festivalgoers buzzing well into October.

The 2025 edition of Oceans Calling leaned into both nostalgia and discovery. Headliners like Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Lenny Kravitz, O.A.R., and Noah Kahan anchored the festival’s biggest moments. But the festival’s true strength lay in its range. Attendees were treated to powerhouse sets from Weezer, Vampire Weekend, DEVO, Good Charlotte, Nelly, Cake, Collective Soul, Blind Melon, 4 Non Blondes, Spin Doctors, En Vogue, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Franz Ferdinand, The Fray, Michelle Branch, Wheatus, Bumpin' Uglies, and Ziggy Marley.

Photos: Mike Detwiler Photography

Across three stages, festival goers chased overlapping sets that blurred the lines between punk, pop, indie folk, reggae, and ’90s alt classics. When rain and wind swept in early on, smaller acoustic performances became unexpectedly intimate highlights. By Sunday, the festival reached its crescendo, with the beach crowd roaring as O.A.R., Weezer, and Green Day closed under a pink-and-gold sky.

Ziggy Marley’s Saturday afternoon performance was one of the weekend’s most uplifting moments. With the Atlantic breeze rolling across the crowd, Marley delivered a soulful, sunlit set of classics, including One Love, Beach in Hawaii, and True to Myself. His reggae rhythms and message of unity brought a warmth that perfectly matched Ocean City’s coastal energy. The performance also marked a kind of homecoming—Marley spent part of his childhood in Wilmington, Delaware, just a few hours north, before returning to Jamaica to continue his father’s musical legacy. That East Coast connection made his presence on the beach feel especially fitting.

One of the weekend’s most talked-about moments came when emcee Jason Biggs surprised Wheatus frontman Brendan Brown by gifting him the original “bucket hat” from the Teenage Dirtbag video—a playful nod that went viral among fans.

Meanwhile, breakout acts like The 502s brought infectious energy to the daytime stages. “It’s our second ever show on a beach, so we are happy to be here,” said lead singer Ed Isola, soaking up the Ocean City vibe (WJLA).

And when Natasha Bedingfield delivered her rain-soaked anthem Unwritten, thousands sang along through the drizzle, creating a communal moment that captured the very spirit of Oceans Calling.

Photos: Taylor Regulski, Andrea Escobar Garcia, Ismael Quintanilla III

Between guitar solos and seaside sing-alongs, Oceans Calling also fed fans in another way: through its high-energy Chef Demos (full article here) at the Carousel Stage. Hosted by actor Jason Biggs, the culinary showcases featured celebrity chefs Antonia Lofaso, Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, and Robert Irvine, each pairing their dishes with Maryland flavor and festival flair. Supported for the third year in a row by local restaurateur Jeremy Brink of Ocean 13 Seafood & Steakhouse, the demos blended food, laughter, and live music into one of the weekend’s most crowd-pleasing attractions.

Oceans Calling 2025 continued its push toward a greener, cleaner festival experience with Go Green OC leading the charge as the official compost partner. The local nonprofit has worked with the festival for the past few years and with the Town of Ocean City even longer, helping advance the community’s goal of becoming one of the East Coast’s first zero-waste beach towns. Compost and recycling stations lined the inlet, while reusable drinkware options were promoted through partners like Pirani Life (full article here). The popular Rock & Recycle initiative invited fans to collect aluminum cans in exchange for a festival t-shirt — a fun, eco-friendly way to keep the beach clean. Organizers also worked closely with Go Green OC and city officials to reduce single-use plastics and minimize waste left on the sand, reinforcing the community’s commitment to protecting the shoreline that makes the festival possible.

Roughly 55,000 attendees per day filled the downtown area during the 3-day festival. Despite the enormous turnout, organizers managed smooth transitions between stages and improved crowd flow through upgraded access routes and new shuttle schedules.

City Manager Terry McGean credited tighter transit coordination for easing bottlenecks during post-show exits. Public safety reports confirmed that only one serious medical evacuation occurred the entire weekend, thanks in part to on-site medical teams and private security hired by the promoter.

Beyond the music, Oceans Calling has become an economic engine for Ocean City. Tourism Director Tom Perlozzo estimated the festival’s standalone impact at around $150 million, with benefits touching hotels, restaurants, and local attractions.

Combined with the following weekend’s Country Calling Festival, the total regional impact is projected between $300 million and $325 million, according to early assessments that factor in room taxes, retail spending, and food service revenue.

McGean praised the results, noting:

“The last two weekends have been phenomenal. It brings a ton of people to town in our shoulder season… just really a fantastic event for us.” (WBOC)

Peter Elias, owner of Spain Wine Bar and Oyster & Scales, emphasized the festival’s growing prestige:

“We are showing the world that Ocean City could be… an elevated experience.”(WJLA)

Oceans Calling 2025 succeeded because it combined spectacle with intimacy. The shifts from punk riffs to reggae rhythms and acoustic harmonies kept the flow lively and the audience engaged across generations. Locals mingled with travelers from as far as Chicago, Nashville, and Boston—all attracted by the mix of national acts and small-town charm.

Operationally, 2025 marked the festival’s most efficient year yet, with infrastructure improvements and an expanded sustainability plan hinting at long-term viability. Yet, organizers acknowledge continued attention will be needed around environmental impact, capacity, and preserving Ocean City’s community feel.

Financially, Oceans Calling has cemented itself as a cornerstone of the local economy, stretching the summer season deeper into fall and redefining what an off-season weekend can mean for coastal Maryland.

As the last notes faded and the boardwalk settled back into its usual off-season rhythm, Oceans Calling 2025 closed not with noise, but with the quiet satisfaction of a town that pulled it off beautifully.

Visit www.OceansCallingFestival.com to sign up for email/text alerts, and be the first to know about details for 2026.