OCEAN CITY, Md. — Downtown Ocean City was packed this weekend as fans poured in by car, bike, bus and on foot for the first-ever Boardwalk Rock festival. A lineup featuring Rob Zombie, Shinedown, Nickelback and Def Leppard turned Ocean City’s inaugural Boardwalk Rock festival into a sell-out smash, jamming streets and delighting business owners hungry for an early-season boost.
“It was way busier than expected,” said Andrada Roba, manager of All Friends Specialty Coffee Shop on Baltimore Avenue. “From nine to noon we had a line out the door for three hours straight.”
Sold-out shows mark inaugural Boardwalk Rock weekend in Ocean City.
Multiple downtown lots filled before noon both days, forcing many visitors to park in West Ocean City and walk back over the Route 50 bridge.
For Ron Weidlich, who drove from Pennsylvania to rock and roll along the coast, the heavy traffic didn’t dampen his enthusiasm. “It brought a lot of people in that wouldn’t be here normally,” he said. “That’s good for the town.”
Sold-out shows mark inaugural Boardwalk Rock weekend in Ocean City.
Weidlich says he plans to be back next year, and can't wait for Country Calling later this year.