One chilly afternoon, some 51 years ago, The Beatles gathered for a wind-whipped final performance on the roof of the Apple Corps headquarters in London.

With just a handful in attendance, The Fab Four spaced out in the open air. It had all the makings of the perfect concert by the standards of today’s new normal (minus the masks), plus an unmatched magic still etched in the minds of millions—including WTMD’s Scott Mullins.

Early last month, while brainstorming ways to bring live music back to Baltimore safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Towson station’s general manager and program director considered recreating the scene of the unannounced rooftop session.

“For years, I always thought that was a really cool idea,” says Mullins, who later realized that, much like the iconic concert five decades ago, recreating it would have its hangups. How would the station manage to lug equipment onto a roof (and where would they secure one?) Would people be able to see the concert from the ground? Would it draw too large of a crowd?

That’s when WTMD’s Baltimore Music Coordinator Sam Sessa had the idea to put a concert on a boat.

“Baltimore is a harbor city with thousands of people living and working near the water,” Sessa says. “So we thought we could visit a bunch of neighborhoods in one night and bring live music to so many people with way less effort than hauling all that gear up to someone’s roof deck.”

And if you’re going to put a concert on a boat, why not make it a pirate ship?

This Saturday, WTMD is partnering with Urban Pirates and Stages Music Arts to bring the Pirate Radio Concert—a live, floating, musical performance—to the Baltimore Harbor. With New Orleans-fused funk favorites Rufus Roundtree and Da B’more Brass Factory aboard, Urban Pirates’ flagship will set sail at 6 p.m. in Canton Waterfront Park, making 15-minute stops for performances in Fells Point, the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill Park, and Locust Point before returning to dock around 8 p.m.

Following in the footsteps of cities like Tampa, Florida—which has organized similar setups to answer the call of distanced concert-going—the floating performance will be what Mullins calls “the opposite of a typical music cruise” with both audience and band on board. Instead, listeners have the option of enjoying offshore in compliance with social distancing, or boarding their own vessel for what he hopes will be “a little bit of fun.”

“I just think anything positive for Baltimore right now is what we need to do, and we’re happy to be a little part of it,” says Urban Pirates owner and CEO Cara Joyce. “I have a feeling we’re going to have a trail of boats following us the entire time.”

And who could blame them?

“I’m like what they would call the new Cab Calloway,” says Rufus Roundtree, although fans have dubbed the infectious brass band frontman “Cap’n Crunch” for his signature Masonic Knights Templar hat—a nod to time spent performing with George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic.

“There’s no music we can’t tackle and give a good, cheerful festival-like vibe to,” he says. And there’s no party they can’t tackle either. In 2015, Roundtree and his band rolled through the streets of Philadelphia in the back of a dump truck to perform at The Mummers Parade, making it a safe bet that a pirate ship performance will be a piece of cake.

Roundtree hopes listeners walk away from the concert feeling that they’ve regained some of the freedoms lost to restrictions during COVID-19, even if only for a moment.

“With all of that, you need something just to give you a glimpse of hope,” he says, calling the opportunity to create joy for others through music “amazing.” “Music does so much that, you know, it just has to happen. I have no problem being the one to bring it.”

How did you know that being a pirate was the job for you? 
I thought it would be a blast to spend my evenings dancing, pouring rum, and having a good time. But I also have a background with children in my day job as a first-grade teacher, so the day family cruises seemed like a lot of fun as well. It beat teaching summer school.

How do you get into character? 
I think of myself as one of The Three Stooges—not that bright, kind of loud—and I just go with it.

Urban Pirates does both family adventure cruises and adult booze cruises. What’s that transition like? 
We try not to drink with the families because we discovered children don’t hold their alcohol that well. [Laughs.] But they both have a great spirit of silliness and fun. Even the adult cruises, when we turn on the water cannons and shoot enemy pirates, they’re in there with us. They’ll do the conga line; they’ll do the limbo, especially for shots of rum.

What has been your most memorable
experience as Jellyfish Jenkins?
Last year on the booze cruise, we had a pirate wedding. One of our pirates is actually able to officiate weddings. It was really fun and beautiful. They were a great group and they all came out in full pirate regalia. When you meet people who are celebrating something special like a wedding, bachelorette party, or birthday, it’s really fun to celebrate with them. 

What is the group dynamic like on your pirate ship, The Fearless? 
It’s a tight-knit crew. We’re very supportive of each other, both on and off deck. Several of us also perform in community theaters, so we go see each other’s shows and hang out afterwards. If anyone has energy or strength after a night of booze cruises, we’ll go get a drink together. 

How long do you think you’ll continue on as Jellyfish Jenkins?
Jellyfish is a little long in the tooth! I’m 48 now and it’s a very physical job. I joke that I’ll quit at 50, but chances are I’ll keep going as long as I’m physically able to because it really is a fun job and I’ve had a blast doing it. 

Do your friends outside of The Fearless know about Jellyfish Jenkins?
They all do! People just call me Jelly or Jellyfish. My family has been onboard the family cruise, and I’ve actually come back as a passenger for my birthday for three years in a row. I’m not a closet pirate—I’m a proud pirate!