Uncorked Wine and Music Festival Is A Regional Destination [Updated]

Several people have told me the Festival is not until the Fall. Let me clear this up!

Uncorked Wine and Music Festival
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Noon till 6 PM
Rockville Town Square (Be there or … you know what.)

Last year they ran out of wine glasses about half way through the event and wine enthusiasts had to make due with plastic cups. This year they only have 2,000 glasses again, so get there early and pay your $10 to enjoy the tastings. You also might want to be there at noon because my Rockville Central partner, Brad Rourke, will be performing with The West End! The event is free but you need to pay to taste the wines.

Growing in popularity, Uncorked was absolutely packed with smiling and friendly people exchanging opinions about our Maryland wines last year. In my case, I asked a woman to join our group and since then we’ve become friends and volunteer together for Montgomery Women. I’m looking forward to an even better time this year.

As I wrote in my 2009 review:

People were gladly standing around to share their opinions on scents and tastes. Complete strangers were enjoying each other’s opinions. From Elk Run’s “Montgomery College” to Solomon’s Island fruity wines, people would take a sip and inevitably make a comment and enter into a conversation about wine.

THE WINE

Look at this list of participating Maryland Wineries, the best our State has to offer:

• Basignani Winery
• Boordy Vineyards
• Bordeleau Winery
• Elk Run Vineyards
• Frederick Cellars
• Gilly’s Craft Beer and Fine Wine
• Running Hare Vineyard
• Solomons Island Winery
• Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard
• Terrapin Station Winery
• The Bottle Shop
• Woodhall Wine Cellars

If you love wine, you will be happy to know Rockville has a brand new wine bar! Two weeks ago Jackie’s Wine Club opened next to Lola’s Cafe (same owner) [8/29 CORRECTION: the owners are not technically the same]. Although they are late to the table, this new little bistro is attempting to participate in Uncorked. Either way, you can easily stop by since the location is 12 North Washington Street. The wine list from around the world sells from $12 to $38. You can buy by the glass or bottle and they’ll have regular tastings. Also they’re offering exclusive cheeses, imported meats & pate, and a variety of cold and hot tapas. You’ll want to unwind in this is the little corner.

THE MUSIC

The West End at Uncorked 2008

The music is top notch and it’s all FREE! Here’s the band lineup and descriptions from the City of Rockville site:

Noon to One PM:

The West End on the Maryland Stage
Together, The West End produces straight-ahead Americana rock. The band was formed when neighbors Mike Shawn, Monique DeFrees and Brad Rourke got together and they felt a musical kinship. Neighbor and friend Matthew Taylor fills out the sound. In 2007 they released their first EP, Risen, which was named an “editor’s pick” by the influential Smother.net. In 2008 they followed up with their first full-length CD, This Ride Could Be My Last.

Bill Kirchen and Too Much Fun on the Plaza Stage
You wouldn’t be wrong to refer to Word to the Wise, the latest outing from songwriter, singer and Titan of the Telecaster Bill Kirchen, as a “duets” album. The record—Kirchen’s second for Proper American, hit May 25. The new album opens with the rockabilly rave-up “Bump Wood.” On his first Proper album, Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods, Kirchen saw his challenge as “trying to write some songs that were more from the heart and closer to the bone. I wanted to let go of my stance of writing attitude-laden truck-driver songs—I’ve done enough of those to last a lifetime. But, as with any of my albums, I love so many kinds of music that I haven’t figured out a way to focus down and just do one specific thing.”

Kevin Mittleman on the Gibbs Stage
Kevin Mittleman first began playing guitar at age 17 after becoming enamored with the sounds of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. He soon gravitated towards Jazz at age 21 and began his studies under local Jazz Guiatr Master, Paul Wingo. While studying at Berklee, Kevin attended private lessons with Jazz Legend Mick Goodrick, a period which would prove to be pivotal in his development as a guitarist. He has performed in various venues in Boston and the DC area as well as The Knitting Factory in NYC. In 2005 Kevin co-founded The School of Music LLC in Rockville, MD where he currently teaches guitar.

One Thirty to Two Thirty PM

Kevin James on the Gibbs Stage
A veteran of the Washington, D.C., area acoustic music scene, Kevin draws on elements of pop, rock, country and Irish folk music. His easy-going manner and sense of humor combine with tasteful guitar playing, bluesy harmonica and heart-felt singing to create lively and entertaining performances. An award-winning songwriter, Kevin received national acclaim for his song “USS Indianapolis—Let History Remember.” Most recently his song “When Dixie Was Young” won honors in the Billboard Magazine song contest.

Two to Three PM

Mama Jama on the Maryland Stage
Since 1990, Mama Jama have been intoxicating Bay music lovers with their eclectic blend of rock, reggae, calypso and blues. The band plays everywhere, from week-long performances at local bars and restaurants to benefit concerts to the Chesapeake Bay Blues Festival. “You can’t sit down when we play. We just make you feel good.” Drummer and original member Larry Griffin is joined in the band by John Gladstone—the other remaining original member—Avon Lucas, Henry Sar, Fallah Dadzie and Mike McHenry.

Big Light on the Plaza Stage
San Francisco-based rock band Big Light first emerged in 2007 as a vehicle for aspiring singer/songwriter/guitarist Fred Torphy to get his songs into the world. Now hailed as one of the fiercest young rock bands on the Bay Area scene with a growing national buzz, Big Light is poised to release its debut full-length album, Animals In Bloom, through reapandsow on March 2. With band members Fred Torphy, drummer Bradly Bifulco, bass player Steve Adams and guitarist Jeremy Korpas, Big Light quickly climbed the S.F. club circuit, going from bar gigs to headlining The Independent to playing support at the legendary Fillmore; they’ve shared bills with Spoon, Broken Social Scene, The Mother Hips, Dead Confederate, Everest and Howlin Rain to name a few. Listening to the new album and watching the band evolve at such a rapid rate onstage, one gets the feeling that Big Light is poised to get a lot bigger.

Three Thirty to Four Thirty PM

Hand Painted Swinger on the Maryland Stage
Hand Painted Swinger, formerly the PestStrips, is one of Washington D.C.’s most sought after cover-original bands, playing an electric arrangement of hit songs spanning over the last five decades. Since their first show in 1991, the band has performed more than 1,000 cover songs at hundreds of mid-Atlantic venues all while promoting two self produced original full length CD’s. Hand Painted Swinger continues to tour the Washington D.C. area entertaining fans of all ages.

Four to Five PM

Toby Walker on the Gibbs Stage
Toby Walker is a unique, accomplished fingerstyle guitar virtuoso adept at blues, rags and hot country picking, coaxing more out of a guitar than anyone can imagine. He is also a skilled singer and songwriter who draws inspiration from traditional and contemporary music.
Toby takes this foundation and creates something uniquely his own and has been eagerly received in concert halls, festivals, schools and coffeehouses throughout the U.S., England and Europe.

Four Thirty to Six PM

Superland on the Plaza Stage
Formed in 2004 at the University of Maryland, Superland quickly became College Park’s favorite band. Featuring a raucous horn section playing funk classics from the ’60s and ’70s, the band was soon familiar throughout the region. On the way, Superland has played shows with local favorites Chuck Brown, the Bridge, and the Pietasters, as well as funk icons Papa Grows Funk and Sam Kininger. In 2008, Superland’s horns crossed generations to back up guitar legend Tom Principato in a reunion with vocalist George Leh, and later that year Superland released its first studio recording, “Taste the Mangos,” featuring all original compositions.

THE COOKING

If you are not into local music or wine, you might enjoy cooking!

One to Two PM

Chef Patrice Olivon, the Program Director of Culinary Arts at L’Academie de Cuisine, “uses humor, anecdotes, and charm to captivate live audiences and television viewers.”

Three to Four Thirty PM

Suzanne Carreiro, Cookbook Author & Independent Food and Wine Consultant, looks “at its ancient recipes, traditions and the people who pass them on.”

See you there!

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