4 trends and events stealing Wilmington’s entertainment mojo

Yes, it’s the state’s biggest city. And yes, if you’d like to see established acts like Graham Nash or Ryan Adams, you’d likely be sitting at The Grand on Market Street.

We also know about places like 1984, Oddity Bar and Bar XIII, which have put a priority on live, original music for the 21-and-older crowd. And the ever-growing Ladybug Music Festival, held each year on Market Street, will expand to two days this year (July 20 and 21), two months after David Bromberg re-starts his Big Noise festival May 20 at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park (May 20).

But with this week’s announcement of World Café Live at the Queen’s transition – World Café Live is pulling out, an as-yet-unnamed new manager is coming in – the city’s status as an entertainment hub was thrown into flux.

Here are 4 venues, events and developments shaking Wilmington’s status as the nexus of entertainment in Delaware.

NEWARK

Newark is on an entertainment upswing.

After Mojo Main folded in 2014, there was some fear that entertainment, specifically live, original music, on Newark’s Main Street would die.

Not so.

With Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen now residing in the spot of the former Mojo Main, the music is still going. The bar and restaurant has also added events like foodie and beer festivals, tap takeovers and game nights.

A few steps away, a new five-screen movie theater – Main Street Movies 5 – will open next month in the spot vacated by Cinema Center 3.

But the biggest change, though, could be coming to the biggest stage in the city.

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Some older Blue Hens will remember when legends like Johnny Cash played the Bob Carpenter Center. But even the young tykes will recognize names like Walk the Moon, Kanye West and Drake, who have also all played the venue in more recent years.

Many of the big names – like Chance the Rapper, who played the arena in October – were brought in by SCPAB, the Student Centers Programming Advisory Board.

While SCPAB books shows for students, the school is aiming to serve the entire community by bringing in major-name shows to the 4,500-seat venue by teaming with national promoters.

The school teamed with AEG Live to bring country artist Chris Young to the stage in November and promise that more are on the way.

The country star with hits like “I’m Comin’ Over” and the duet “Think of You” with fellow young country star Cassadee Pope, is no stranger to Delaware. He was one of the stars who took the stage in Dover for 2015’s Big Barrel Country Music Festival.

The school would like to bring in acts that people will be talking about in years to come.

"I've heard stories from alumni about shows back in the day like when Billy Joel came," Chrissi Rawak, UD's athletic director, recently told The News Journal. "It's great for the community and I feel like there's a responsibility that we have to provide those experiences for others. Part of what we are trying to do out here is create great memories and fun for people who visit our side of the world."

No other shows have been announced yet, but stay tuned.

CRAFT DRINKMAKERS

If you haven’t figured out yet that the state’s drink makers are into more than booze, you haven’t been paying attention.

And while Wilmington has one of the grandaddies of the state’s craft brew movement – Iron Hill – the bulk of the state’s craft drink makers reside elsewhere.

Delaware’s slew of breweries, wineries and distilleries -- from Crooked Hammock Brewing way down at the southern end in Lewes all the way up to the Liquid Alchemy meadery in Elsmere -- have added food, often in the form of food trucks, and entertainment to their offerings as a way to keep people for more than a tour of the facility and growler to go.

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The good times often include music. At Argilla Brewing Company at Pietro’s Pizza near Newark, the Sin City Band takes the stage every Monday, just like they used to at the old Mojo Main and East End Café for years. In Smyrna, Blue Earl Brewing is so into music that it has a dedicated stage, blues-themed décor and beer names. And Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats in Rehoboth Beach has been bringing in national acts for free concerts for years.

But the fun extends past just music.

This Friday night you could spend time at a pajama party and chili cook-off at 3rd Wave Brewing Company in Delmar. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 12.0px Times; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}

And on Saturday you could learn to pair wine, cider and cocktails with Super Bowl snacks at Harvest Ridge Winery in Marydel.

Add to all that recent festivals, like the blowout Harry Potter-themed party at Mispillion River Brewing in Milford, and it’s clear the state’s drinkmakers are offering some unique opportunities.

FIREFLY

Wilmington has some longstanding music festivals, including the Riverfront Blues & BBQ Festival and Peoples Festival, while start-ups have tried to establish large-scale draws for younger crowds. Remember Foxtail Fest?

But nothing has rivaled Firefly Music Festival in the wide-open Woodlands in Dover.

Firefly fans have been atwitter about today’s line-up announcement since, well, the end of last year’s festival.

The anticipation reached frantic levels earlier this month as lineups dropped for major festivals, clueing fans into shows like U2 at Tennessee’s Bonnaroo Music + Arts Festival. Tool and Childish Gambino – a.k.a. Donald Glover, on a recent high with his TV show “Atlanta” – will be at Governors Ball NYC Music Festival. And Radiohead, Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar are set to headline Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the two-weekend, celeb-packed party in California.

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ans can relax, knowing that come 10 a.m. today they’ll have this year’s Firefly lineup in their mitts.

The festival has topped out at 90,000 people in recent years, bringing a younger demographic and unprecedented level of entertainment to an area previously best known as a NASCAR hot spot. Who would have thought a Beatle would play near Dover International Speedway 20 years ago? Or even in 2012, after Firefly’s first stint in The Woodlands with 30,000 of its new friends?

As far as entertainment is concerned, we know: It’s only one weekend per year. But it’s one hell of a weekend.

RISE OF SUSSEX COUNTY

When “SNL’s” Sasheer Zamata took the mic for a standup show last year, it wasn’t at The Playhouse on Rodney Square in Wilmington. It was in Milton.

The re-emergence of the Milton Theatre has brought an edgier vibe to the town’s entertainment scene.

Shows like the one-off gig by Guided By Voices sponsored by Dogfish Head aren’t the norm, but cult movie screenings via the monthly Revival House events and pop-up art shows are. So are drag shows and comedy open mic nights.

It’s just one example of how some of Sussex’s sleepier spots are coming up with interesting alternatives to Netflix and chill.

The Freeman Stage at Bayside in Selbyville figured it out nearly a decade ago. The outdoor stage hosts performers from the community and children's programming, but it’s also seen sell-out crowds of about 2,400, usually for national acts, according to Alyson Cunningham, communication and public relations manager for the Joshua M. Freeman Foundation.

While fans will have to wait for this year’s lineup (it’s tentatively due in March), past performers like Heart, Huey Lewis & The News, Lyle Lovett, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, The Band Perry and Melissa Etheridge should give you an inkling of what types of headliners the stage has featured over the past few years.

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Come summer, there will be another outdoor concert venue in Sussex. Hudson Fields, near Milton, will play host to a run of national acts. The concert venue is the baby of the Highway One Group, which owns the Bottle & Cork and The Rusty Rudder.

Tickets went on sale last Friday for the first act announced for the series – country act Old Dominion. The concert is June 1.

Also coming to Sussex this summer is the Big Chill Beach Club, a new Big Chill Surf Cantina spin-off restaurant slated to offer a 360-degree view of the Atlantic Ocean,

Indian River Bay and Indian River Inlet. It’s not far from Hammerhead’s Dockside, which first opened in 2013, a spin-off of the popular Dewey Beach hangout.

And don’t forget Lefty’s Alley & Eats, the bowling/laser tag/bar hybrid, which opened just last month.