Rockville’s Hometown Holidays to Feature Over 30 Bands

Hometown Holidays is a three-day street festival in Rockville Town Center celebrating the beginning of summer over the Memorial Day weekend. Two days of music, food and family fun are followed by Rockville’s Memorial Day Ceremony and parade on Monday, May 26.

The music entertainment features national, regional and local performers playing a broad spectrum of music. These talented bands are converging on Rockville from eight states and the District of Columbia for one of the best music festivals in the Washington, D.C. area.

Music lovers, families and visitors looking for a way to kick off summer will find something to enjoy at Hometown Holidays. The festival is now entering its 26th year and typically attracts about 60,000 people.

The festival includes two days of concerts on five stages, kids amusements and the Taste of Rockville on Saturday, May 24, and Sunday, May 25, from 2-10 p.m. Rockville’s 70th Annual Memorial Day Ceremony starts at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 26 and will be followed by a parade through Town Center.

In all, Hometown Holidays will showcase more than 30 bands, community performers and young teen musicians. People can expect to hear a world of music with influences from pop, rock, Americana, bluegrass, polka, Latin-American, Irish, Hispanic and other diverse sounds.

Bands to look for this year are:

• John Brown’s Body, playing reggae, from Massachusetts and New York.
• Green River Ordinance, playing alt-pop/rock with a southern twist, from Texas
• Brothers Osborne, playing country music, from Deale, Md. (their song, “Rum,” is said to be the “song of the summer” and they are scheduled to open for Eric Church this fall)

Local bands include:

• La Unica, playing Irish-Latin and new American roots, from Washington, D.C.
• Honor by August, playing rock ‘n’ roll, from Washington D.C.
• Lionize, playing groove-heavy rock ‘n’ roll, from Silver Spring, Md. (they’ll be on the 2014 Vans Warped Tour)

Entertainment by local performers and community groups on the Town Square plaza stage is sure to entertain elementary-age children and pre-teens. These groups include:

• Uno, Dos, Tres con Andrés, playing kids music that celebrates Spanish language and Latin American culture
• Bach 2 Rock, featuring student musicians
• Reptiles Alive, an interactive reptile show

Hometown Holidays offers entertainment, activities and food for visitors of all ages throughout the weekend. The Taste of Rockville will feature a wide variety of foods from 18 local restaurants that showcase Rockville’s diverse restaurant scene.

The City’s Memorial Day Parade will bring more than 60 groups to perform for thousands of visitors throughout town center, with a competition for prizes in a judged show. Celebrating its 70th anniversary on May 26, the parade is one of the largest and longest-running parades in the Washington area.

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