Fireworks aren’t the only thing to look forward to for Independence Day. Baltimore is full of events to keep the red, white, and blue spirit going all day long. From cruises to pet parades, there is no shortage of things to do in the city to show your patriotic pride. Whether you’re looking for a full day’s worth of star-spangled fun or a dinner on the water, we’ve got you covered.

FOOD

Topside
Celebrate Independence Day by chowing down on a BBQ-inspired menu, featuring ancho BBQ ribs, housemade sausage, smoked brisket, corn pudding, broccoli salad, and cornbread. Although the Mt. Vernon restaurant doesn’t provide a front row view of the fireworks in the Inner Harbor, Topside does offer panoramic views of the Washington Monument—and what’s more patriotic than that?

Summer in the Squares
Listen to live music while enjoying a summer picnic in the west square of Mount Vernon Place. Enjoy refreshments in by the picturesque fountain and celebrate Independence Day with two Baltimore-based ensembles: Ghost Sugar and Brandon Woody’s Upendo. To give you time to get to your favorite fireworks, the performance will begin in the early evening. 6 p.m.

Independence Day Deck Party
Climb aboard the U.S.S. Constellation and watch the Inner Harbor fireworks show from the deck of the historic ship. Along with a top-notch view, take advantage of all-you-can-eat barbecue favorites, special boat tours, and even cannon firings. 7-10 p.m. Free- $75.

Fourth of July Fireworks Dinner
Take a three-hour cruise with incredible views of Baltimore’s fireworks show while indulging in a three-course buffet style dinner. Enjoy an open bar, DJ, dance floor, and games. All guests must be 21 or older. 7:30-10:30 p.m. $124.90+.

FESTIVITIES

Towson Four on the 4th
Start the holiday off on the right foot with a four-mile race through the heart of Towson, beginning at the courthouse and winding through Towson University’s campus. If that distance is too daunting, participate in the 1776 (feet) Family Fun Run at 8:30 a.m. and then stick around for the annual parade. 8:15 a.m. $35- 40.

Visionary Pets on Parade
What could be better than a dog dressed in red, white, and blue garb? Try hundreds of pets of all shapes and sizes competing for costume prizes such as most visionary, owner and pet lookalikes, and most patriotic. Watch in awe as local pets parade around the American Visionary Art Museum and compete in a talent show. 9 a.m. Free.

Red, White & Zoo
Spend the Fourth of July with the biggest party animals around at The Maryland Zoo. Watch as the animals receive special holiday treats, including “fishsicles,” and papier-mache toys. A team of zookeepers will educate guests on the importance of enrichment activities for the zoo’s inhabitants. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. $17.99-25.99.

Hanover Street Gallery
Experience the opening celebration of Reframing Pathways, a diverse collection of artwork showcased on the Hanover Street Bridge facade. The Hanover Street Bridge will be transformed into a gallery with the heart of the works highlighting different art-making perspectives from pattern and design to more representational works. 1-9 p.m.

FIREWORKS

Cherry Hill Arts & Music Waterfront Celebration
Celebrate the cultural vibrancy of this South Baltimore neighborhood with live performances, local food trucks, artistic activities, and a fireworks show. Don’t miss seeing Abu the Flutemaker and the organization Safe Streets Cherry Hill receive honors for its commitment to the community. 1-10 p.m. Free.

South Point
South Point, a pop-up outdoor seasonal space, will be open early for first-come-first-served seating areas to bask in the rockets’ red glare. Throughout the day, standard food service will be available and the bar will be open to patrons 21 and older. Stick around for the afterparty starting immediately following the fireworks. 4 p.m.-12 a.m.

Dogfish Head Takes Over at the Sandlot
Join Sandlot and Dogfish Head for Fourth of July at Harbor Point. The Delaware brewery will take over taps and the event features: two live bands, games on the beach, multiple food stations, various draft and can beer stations, and one of the best firework views in town. Expect additional food pop-ups by The Charmery, Blacksauce Kitchen, and The Local Oyster. Food will be available from 4-9p.m. and stick around for fireworks at 9:30 p.m. $5 kids through age 12. $10 cover. $10 event parking.

Independence Day Celebration
Secure a spot on the waterfront lawn of the Baltimore Museum of Industry for a picture-perfect view of the fireworks over the Inner Harbor. If there’s time before or after the show, take a tour through the Federal Hill museum. Admission is included in the ticket price. 6-10 p.m. $65.

Picnic at the Top
Climb to the highest floor of the World Trade Center to enjoy a Picnic at the Top. Visitors can take in a 360-degree view of Baltimore and festive fireworks from 27 floors above the Inner Harbor. The event offers catered food and beverages, children’s activities, a live DJ, and photo booth. This is a non-alcoholic, family-fun event, and doors open at 7:15 p.m. 7:30-10 p.m. $35-$75.

In this third iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs we can’t get enough of, ranging from psychedelic pop and Americana medleys to rockabilly headbangers and soulful R&B. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city. 

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“Kinda Bonkers” by Animal Collective

Sure, this experimental quartet doesn’t live in Charm City anymore, but born and raised in the region—and with a strangely wonderful set at Merriweather a few weeks back—we’ll always consider them our own. This fittingly titled track is a swirling feat: off-kilter and eclectic as ever, culminating in a hypnotic, almost tribal piece of pop music that only our boys could create.

“Paper Trails” by Celebration

This sprightly number off Celebration’s spring album will put you in a good mood any time of year. A duet with frontwoman Katrina Ford and Future Islands’ frontman Sam Herring, it’s a swinging dance between two of Baltimore’s most passionate performers. His low guttural croon bounces along with her buoyant, brilliant pipes, amidst a backdrop of shimmering synth and steady hi-hat drums. At the core, it’s a bright little love song. It makes you want to snap your fingers, find a partner, and dance along. (For more Ford-Herring tour de force, see 2010’s “In The Fall.”)

“Heartbroken Shogun” by Dolphin*

We learned about this little known Baltimore songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist through the airwaves of WTMD. With more than 50 unreleased albums, the prolific artist has dozens upon dozens of tracks, but we’ll argue that this new one—a scratchy, funky beat swimming in vintage soul with a hint of futuristic R&B—is his best yet. Go ahead and get lost in the wavy, laidback groove.

“Never Look Back” by The Herd of Main Street

In order to listen to this song right, you need to get out of the city. That’s right—hit the road, get out of dodge—because this jangling, heart-pounding melody is best listened to with the windows down or outside in the country air. Combining classic country and rock-and-roll with blues and folk roots, this 10-year-old quintet makes a rich medley of Americana music, one that’s reminiscent of the greats who came before them: The Band, The Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule. Be sure to check out their full album, Heyday, when it drops this weekend.

“Preaching To The Choir” by Snakes*

This two-year-old band sounds anything but young. With a sort of punkish twang, they strum together the sort of lo-fi frenetic rockabilly music that lends better to bolo-tied mosh pits than boot-scooting line dances. (They also have heartbreaking blues songs, with swirls of organ and pedal steel,.) However you embrace them, this five-piece might just be the best spaghetti-western slingers that ever stepped foot into Station North, with regular sets at Metro Gallery, The Windup Space, and The Crown. We’re eagerly awaiting their 2018 EP.

*Not yet available on Spotify. We’ll add it when it comes online.

Celebration

Wounded Healer (Bella Union)

Celebration is truly Baltimore. For years, the eclectic electronic rock trio has made the type of one-of-a-kind music, nurtured on our small stages and lauded beyond our county lines, that couldn’t quite be pigeonholed. On this new album, frontwoman Katrina Ford is a fearless leader, her expansive, dramatic vocals sweeping across 11 tracks, while her bandmates, multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis and drummer David Bergander, create imaginative suites of sound. Each song is distinct from the others—be it a reverberating, ’80s-infused rock number (“Rolling On”); a whirring, Wall-of-Sound love song (“Spider”); a spacey, symphonic expedition (“Velvet Glove”); or one steady, sunny duet with Future Islands frontman Sam Herring (“Paper Trails”). “Granite” might just be one of the prettiest songs we’ve heard all year. The joy of Celebration is that they take themselves seriously, but not too much.

Bumper Jacksons

I’ve Never Met a Stranger (self-released)

As regulars at local venues like the Creative Alliance and outdoor showcases like the Charm City Bluegrass Festival, the Bumper Jacksons have become a beloved Bmore favorite. The energetic septet makes music for old souls. Their expert instrumentation, from New Orleans street blues to Appalachian backwoods country to old-school roots jazz, is a lively celebration of Americana, present and past. They’re best known for their toe-tapping, skirt-flipping party music, but on this third album, we found our favorite moments in the quiet corners of the slow songs. Sure, we loved the rockabilly rally of “Get On Up” and the swinging groove of “Many Paths to the Top of the Mountain,” but we fell hard for the gentle twang of “Technicolor Waltz” and the pedal steel of “Waiting Round Here.” We can’t wait until these cool cats come back to town.

Celebration

Albumin (Bella Union)

Celebration sounds like no other band in Baltimore, or anywhere else for that matter. The eclectic trio has expanded to a quintet and infused its psych-calliope whirl with more recognizable blues and rock elements. As a result, the new material unfolds with a propulsive swagger rather than circling in on itself. Drummer David Bergander and guitarist/bassist Walker Teret build dramatic tension while Sean Antanaitis coaxes shades of soul from vintage keyboards and singer Katrina Ford finds catharsis within songs like “Razor’s Edge” and “Only the Wicked.” Best of all, “Blood Is the Brine” and “I Got Sol” use a frisky tribal stomp punctuated by reverb-drenched power chords to catapult swampy Southern rock into the 21st century. The record ends with a wheezy incantation, “Don’t Stop Dreaming,” that could be this innovative band’s mantra.

Check out an extended interview with Celebration’s Katrina Ford.

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Various Artists

Red Hot + Bach (Sony)

The Red Hot organization has, for the past 25 years, raised money to fight HIV/AIDS via ambitious recording projects, often tribute discs devoted to a single composer. Past albums have focused on the likes of Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, and Fela Kuti and included performers such as David Byrne, The Roots, and Sade. This time around, an impressive array of artists plays Bach, often with sublime results. A pair of jazz legends, saxophonist/Baltimore native Gary Bartz and bassist Ron Carter, find the swing in Cello Suite No. 1, while Philly DJ King Britt underscores the percolating soul of “Ave Maria.” While those artists set the stylistic parameters, there are plenty of highlights in between, including astute interpretations by mandolinist Chris Thile and ambient vocalist Juliana Barwick. Singer/songwriter Gabriel Kahane contributes the only clunker, a Goldberg Variations inspired pop ditty that feels completely out of place.

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Jad Fair & Danielson

Solid Gold Heart

(Sounds Familyre)

It’s hard to believe this collaboration hasn’t happened until now. Fair—who co-founded legendary band Half Japanese while living in Carroll County in the mid-1970s—is devoted to the transcendent power of DIY rock, much like Danielson frontman Daniel Smith, though Smith’s devotion is tinged with Christianity. Both men are wide-eyed beacons of pop positivity. Here, Fair handles lyrics and lead vocals, while Smith plays guitar and oversees an ensemble that includes percussionists, backup singers, and even a horn section. The ample instrumentation underscores the generous spirit of these songs, which range from the title track’s melodic hush to the anthemic “Rockin’ on the Good Side.” The latter tune name-checks all of The Beatles, urges listeners to “stand up for sunshine,” and builds to a sing-a-long chorus of “Rockin’ on the good side/rockin’ on the side of good.” It’s so joyful, resistance is futile.   

In the 10 years Celebration has been together, what’s been the most significant change/development in the local music scene?
It’s way bigger now. There are more bands than ever, with more diversity of sound. And now there’s global attention to Baltimore because of so many successful bands coming from here. Pretty cool.

In what ways has that scene—or the city, in general—affected the band’s music?
Baltimore, inside and out, represents hope for the future despite being the underdog, and I think that has balanced and invigorated us to strive for improvement. Also, it’s just weird enough here that I feel normal. 

I’ve long been a fan, and this new record, Albumin, feels like a high point. Can you say something about your approach to recording this time around?
We did this record in baby bites. At the time we began recording, we didn’t have a label and were playing shows to pay for each session as we went along. It was cool because we got a chance to test out some of the songs live. I liked the long-range process of making it, as we were growing along with it. Now, we have felt pregnant with it for too long, but we’re excited about its release.

What contributions have Walker Teret (bass/guitar) and Tony Drummond (keyboards/percussion), augmenting the group’s core trio, made?
While making Albumin we did this as a family and a team. Everyone’s roles were different song to song, but they are full-fledged members. These guys are so talented, and we love working together. People still think of us as a three piece, even though we’ve been playing with these guys on and off almost since the band began. We’ve had a revolving door, for awhile, but these guys have stuck it out with us consistently for the last seven years.

The band’s music feels broader and deeper on the new record. What do you attribute that to? And is the sense of spiritual uplift intentional?
Yeah it is. We’ve all been through some intense births and deaths in these last few years, and some big life changes. Our emotional palette has broadened, just through living a life. This is the way I see it: music is the highest form of communication, and every record is an opportunity to improve my skills as a communicator. Music is a way to share this crazy f**king experience of being alive. When you can make people feel connected and not alone, it brings us all more together. UNITY!!!

Why was Matt Riggieri/Digital Cave, who did the video for “Tomorrow’s Here Today,” a good match for Celebration’s music?
I love how the video turned out, but it was an uphill battle to make. We all worked really hard against some big odds to make it happen. Matt rules.