Linganore Winecellars in Mount Airy is throwing open its gates for the Autumn Reggae Wine & Music Festival on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, pairing two days of live reggae with Maryland-made wine as the vineyard marks fifty years in business. Each day runs from 10 am to 6 pm and is billed as an all-ages, family-friendly event, with DJ Sprang Intl serving as emcee both days.
The festival arrives during a milestone year for the Mount Airy winery. According to The Frederick News-Post, Linganore Winecellars has operated for fifty years and describes its approach as craft great wine, price it fairly, and create memorable experiences. That anniversary traces back to 1976, when founders Jack and Lucille Aellen converted a former Mount Airy dairy farm into what became one of Maryland's pioneer commercial wineries, according to Wine Business, with the couple having planted their first vines back in 1972.
A Weekend of Reggae Acts Old and New
Saturday's lineup puts S.T.O.R.M. Reggae Band on stage from 11 am to 2 pm, followed by Richmond-based headliner Mighty Joshua from 3 to 6 pm, per the News-Post's published schedule. The Washington, D.C.-area act S.T.O.R.M. Reggae Band — an acronym for Strong Talented Organized and Real Musicians — was founded by Jamaican-born artist Denton “Monsoon” Bedward and built regional recognition around its release “Eye Of The STORM,” according to Monsoon Reggae, with tracks from the group's debut album earning international airplay on reggae radio stations. Mighty Joshua, a roots reggae vocalist and percussionist who weaves traditional instruments like the djembe into his live sets, was nominated for Virginia Reggae's Best New Artist in 2012 and regularly performs at Mid-Atlantic festivals, according to Reveler Experiences.
Sunday brings S.T.O.R.M. Reggae Band back for an 11 am to 2 pm set before Baltimore's Jah Works closes out the festival from 3 to 6 pm. Jah Works formed in Baltimore in the spring of 1993 and has independently sold more than 100,000 records across nine albums over its three-decade run, according to Last Call Entertainment, which notes the band took its name from a 1970s song by Jamaican reggae group The Gladiators.
Mount Airy's Place on the Frederick Wine Trail
Linganore sits on 300-to-800-foot elevations at the eastern edge of the Piedmont region, where growers work within a 170-to-190-day growing season shaped more by late-summer humidity than by winter frost, according to Phantom Ales. Co-founders Jack and Lucille Aellen successfully petitioned the federal government to establish the Linganore American Viticultural Area in 1983, making it one of Maryland's earliest federally recognized wine appellations, per Maryland Wine Compass. Today the estate produces more than 30 wines, according to The Daily Record.
The winery is also a key anchor of the Frederick Wine Trail, according to the Tourism Council of Frederick County. Linganore hosts five major outdoor weekend festivals a year, alongside more than 20 smaller indoor events held throughout the calendar year, per the same Daily Record account.
Tickets for the Autumn Reggae Wine & Music Festival are available through the event website, and organizers list Linganore Winecellars, located at 13601 Glissans Mill Road in Mount Airy, as the presenting host. Those with questions can reach the winery at 301-831-5889 or by emailing [email protected].
