We closed out the 2026 First Thursday Festival season with an all-Baltimore all-star lineup! 
If you were a WTMD listener or fan of Baltimore’s music scene in the early 2000’s, you’re definitely familiar with J. Roddy Walston. A longtime favorite of Baltimore music fans, he returned to his old stomping grounds with something new.
Longtime friends of the station, Pressing Strings are no strangers to Live Lunches and First Thursdays. We’ve watched them gradually refine and master their craft, championing them along the way. More recently, they’ve expanded their footprint outside of Maryland. They’ve embarked on extensive cross-country touring; booked slots at beloved festivals including Floydfest, Palisade Roots & Bluegrass, & Cavefest; and were recently featured on Sugarshack sessions—a tastemaker in modern American reggae, rock, and acoustic roots scenes—reaching hundreds of thousands of global subscribers.
The high-energy, genre-bending rock of MR VCR has made them mainstays on WTMD airwaves for years. They hustle and work hard, performing gigs all over the state. We’ve loved witnessing their growth and hearing their sound evolve. We think they’re well overdue for a First Thursday festival debut!
And if that’s not enough, The Marching Ravens returned to First Thursdays to get us ready for football season!
Support the work of the station at wtmd.org/donate
More First Thursday info and FAQ’s at wtmd.org/firstthursdays
Illustration work by Emilee Beeson (emileebeeson.com)
WTMD’s First Thursdays are presented by The CFG Bank and Baltimore Public Media.
Photos by David LaMason.
