Sizzling in the summertime heat with Promising Leith

A Triple Band Smackdown on a Sizzling Summer Saturday

A near ninety-degree day and I’m speeding down the highway to make my way to Antietam Music Fest. I’m running late on account of photographing another project I’m working on but I’m trying my damnedest to get there to catch all the bands. 

I pull in at 5:28 and trek over to the festival grounds. I’m parked a little ways away and have missed The South Mountain Breed’s set. I’m a little bummed but I spoke with the band and we’re going to do a rain check. Back in business! Antietam Music Fest is taking place at a large brewery in Hagerstown, MD at, well, Antietam Brewery. There are vendor tents and food trucks lining the outskirts of the building itself, and at the heart of the grounds, there’s an outdoor stage connected to the brewery area. It’s really a neat set up and the sound coming from this place even as I was parking was impressive. It carried well and was crisp, carried so far in fact that the prison across the street could certainly hear everything, as the prisoners were hootin’ and hollerin’ and carrying on. 

Anywho, there’s some load-in and sound check time prior to Promising Leith going on so there’s some hype being doled out by an announcer on stage. He tells us about the meaning behind Promising Leith’s name. Here’s a little bio I wrote for them 2 years ago and a little about the name. 

The vocalist has been singing as long as she has been walking. Promising Leith is a tribute to Krissy’s mom – Sandra Leith – a promise to keep the name “Leith” alive as a family treasure and to foster her love of music across generations. Fourteen women over 4 generations in Krissy’s family share the middle name, Leith. A heartwarming bit that prompts some smiles from the crowd, and then suddenly Krissy grasps the mic and croons. 

You may not think that this short-statured lady has pipes like she does, but you would be mistaken. Krissy is one of the most incredible female vocalists in our area in my opinion, and she shimmies and shakes with a grin as she performs. I’ve seen Promising Leith once before, a year ago at a local rock festival. Immediately I was taken by Krissy’s soulful vocals, and each other band member is a talented asset to this group. Standing right in front of me is Chris, huffing and puffing away on his harmonica with a mic pressed against it. He gave us a very impressive and high-energy solo at one point that had my mouth agape. 

Did I mention it was almost 90 degrees today? That didn’t stop Promising Leith from delivering a rockin’ set for this brew lovin’ crowd. They played several classic covers such as “Mississippi Queen”, originally by Mountain and Krissy even went acapella to deliver “Mercedes Benz”, made famous by Janis Joplin. There was a small makeshift dance floor section of asphalt right in front of the stage that ended up packed with fans movin’ and shakin’, thrusting their arms into the air and singing along to every song. 

The band keeps it at 110 for their whole set, which is 90 minutes long. Sweaty, sunburnt, and at times blinded by the sunset beaming directly onto their faces, they gave it their all. I knew coming into their set we were in for a damn good time and I was right. Leith and the gang wrap it up and greet me at the side of the stage as they take turns loading out and we chit-chat. Krissy is grinning from ear to ear even though she is visibly winded as she thanks me for coming and hands me a free t-shirt from the band’s merch. Seriously, if these guys come out to your neck of the woods it’s a show you don’t wanna miss. Not only are they insanely talented, but they’re very fan friendly and left the stage to go straight into the crowd to mingle. 

Doc Marten and The Flannels are set to go up onto the stage next and this is a band that I have not previously heard of. They set up their instruments and drop an enormous flag down as a backdrop behind their drummer that dons their band name, with a small “formerly Dirt” in the corner. The band looks cool enough, wearing all black and tattooed up. I have no idea what to expect but am pleasantly surprised when they start to play. The guys did a near-perfect cover of “Hero” by the Foo Fighters, and plenty of other popular rock jams, including “Even Flow” by Pearl Jam. The audience is having the best time, the little asphalt area in front of the stage is now packed full of bodies that are constantly in motion. Everyone has a beer in their hand and a smile on their face. 

At one point, a fan tossed some sunglasses past the banner barrier to the band. Unfortunately, the glasses hit the stage and out popped a lens, but this didn’t stop bassist Keith from grabbing them up and putting them on. He rocks out with the single-lens sunglasses for a short time before tossing them back onto the stage. The sun has pretty much set now and the temperature outside is dropping but Doc Marten and the Flannels are on fire. The crowd is cheering loudly between each song and one random guy kept shouting over them with a “get the fuck up”, which made me laugh. You could tell he was pretty toasted but hey, he was having the best time I know that for certain. The band darts around the stage for their whole two-hour set, yes. TWO HOURS they played straight through and rocked as hard on the last song as they did the first. I took the opportunity to get my sunburnt and sleepy ass outta there midway through their last song and made my way back to my car where I could still very well hear them closing out their set. I wasn’t the only one listening from afar, I could still hear prisoners whooping even behind all that brick. I slide into my car seat and pump the AC while I sit for a minute to soak it all in. What a banger of a small-town festival.  

Safe to say everyone within a mile radius of Antietam Brewery got a good taste of some great music that night. I’ll definitely be making my way back through for next year’s fest. 

See the Full Gallery Here!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see. 

Check out the bands from this evening:

The South Mountain Breed

Promising Leith

Doc Marten and the Flannels