More than 30 Bands to Rock Ladybug Festival
Call it an all-star team effort. On Friday, May 31, the Ladybug Music Festival will further its legacy as the country’s largest free celebration of women in music — with the help of more than 30 female-fronted bands.
The festival, which started in Wilmington in 2012, will return to the 400 and 500 blocks of Market Street for the second year in the row, after last year’s show drew an estimated crowd of 3,000 music lovers.
“We couldn’t be more proud of this event, which continues to shine a light on women,” said Gayle Dillman, CEO & Founder of Ladybug organizer Gable Music Ventures.
The Philly four-piece ska band Catbite headlines this year’ show as part of a tour that takes them as far away as Las Vegas, Montreal and Austin, Texas — then to Europe in October.
They are joined at the top of the line-up by fellow Philly rockers Velvet Rouge, which was voted “Best Rock Band in Philly” by PHL Live in 2022, and Humilitarian, which grew from the Temple area in 2019 and has since released a pair of EPs.
This year the Gable team plans to expand the Ladybug footprint with an additional festival in Old Ellicott City, Md., on June 29 as well a featured night in the Bryn Mawr Twilight Concerts on June 22.
“As a young woman in the music industry, being part of the Ladybug Festival is an incredible experience,” said Delaware artist Caroline Hermance, who performed at last year’s festival. “The entire team at Gable Music Ventures created such a welcoming space to celebrate and share our music with the world, and having it happen right here in Delaware is incredibly cool!”
— Visit TheLadybugFestival.com.
St. George’s Blues Festival Returns June 1 & 2
Ask Gene Fontana what has powered the St. George’s Blues Festival into its second decade of success, and he’ll tell you it’s a labor of love.
“I want this thing to keep going,” says Fontana, who along with his co-director Ben Rizzo, has kept Delaware’s biggest festival going for 11 years now. “I love music. It gives you a great feeling. Music makes people happy.”
As they have in years past, Fontana and Rizzo will build on the best of the blues offerings in the First State while also drawing musicians from blues meccas such as Chicago, Memphis and Mississippi.
Local blues stalwarts lower case blues and Roger Girke & Gary Allegretto kick off Saturday, which sees Chi-Town’s John Primer & His Real Deal Blues Band cap the night. Fellow Chicagoans Steve Guyger and Joanna Connor, open and close the Sunday set, respectively.
The festival highlights the type of music and liveliness that the St. George’s Country Store Restaurant & Bar features year-round, a tradition started by former venue owner, the late Joe Michini.
— Visit BlueHorizonPromotions.com or call (302) 836-8202.
Smalls Music Shop Thinks Big
There’s a new kid in town when it comes to guitar services and music instrument retail. Smalls Music Shop will be opening this month at 100 Greenhill Ave. in Wilmington with a grand opening planned for June 1.
In addition to offering new and used musical instruments and accessories, Smalls will offer services such as repair, maintenance, modifications and customizations.
“No matter how old or brand new a guitar is, to make any guitar perform at its best, it requires maintenance and specialized care,” says Michael Koh, who has run an independent luthier business since 2020.
In creating Smalls Music Shop, Koh partnered up with Sam Williamson, who has been buying, collecting, and selling instruments for many years but found a passion for guitars and pedals that he wanted to share with others. Both Koh and Williamson have been longtime members of the Delaware music scene, playing in local bands and organizing shows.
— Visit SmallsMusicShop.com, which goes live on May 1. 
