The Ramble Turns Five With a Festival Built Around Community, Collaboration and No VIPs

by Dan Rozman

Brandon “Brick” Lohr got his nickname on the Appalachian Trail with a joke that wasn’t even true. Someone asked him what the heaviest thing in his pack was, and he answered “a brick,” and within a few days the name had stuck.

It’s a fun story about the person behind The Ramble Festival, which returns to Camp Ramblewood in Darlington, Maryland, Oct. 9–11 for its fifth anniversary. The festival Lohr and co-founder Jason “J” Hubert created after the pandemic has grown into an event built around community, collaboration and the idea that a music festival doesn’t have to divide its audience into different classes of experience.

One of the clearest examples is also one of the simplest: there are no VIP passes at The Ramble. The festival’s official explanation is that everyone is a VIP, with the goal of improving the experience for everyone rather than creating a premium tier for a smaller group.

That approach fits with the larger philosophy behind the festival. Ramble describes itself as a three-day, vibe-centric music festival focused on people sharing music and experiences, with Camp Ramblewood’s more than 200 acres providing the setting.

Lohr brings plenty of music-business experience to the project, with 15 years as an agent and more than 20 years in the music business, but The Ramble has become its own kind of undertaking. The festival debuted in 2022 and has built its identity around an intimate scale, non-overlapping programming, artist collaboration and activities that continue well beyond the main stages.

“I’m incredibly excited about what we’ve put together for the Ramble this year,” Lohr said. “The 2026 lineup is one of our strongest yet, but what I’m most proud of is everything happening around the music. We’ve continued to build on the things that make the Ramble special — the collaborations, workshops, late-night moments and opportunities for artists and fans to really connect.”

The no-VIP policy is part of that same thinking. Instead of separating people by what they paid for their ticket, Ramble puts everyone into the same festival environment, with weekend passes including tent camping, three stages and late-night programming.

The fifth-anniversary lineup gives that philosophy plenty to work with. Lettuce will perform two sets Friday, Kitchen Dwellers will play twice Saturday, including a special Pink Floyd performance called “Dwellin’ on the Dark Side,” and Sunday brings Ripe along with The Ramble Band Goes Interstellar featuring Vince Herman.

But the headliners are only part of what makes the weekend interesting. The schedule includes Diggin Lillies, a collaboration between Diggin Dirt and The Sweet Lillies, Big Vibes featuring Big Something and Big Blitz, The Ramble Ladies Jam and extra-late jams led by Shawn Eckels, formerly of Andy Frasco & The U.N.

“One of the things I’m especially excited about this year is how much of the weekend you can’t really capture on a schedule,” Lohr said. “We’ve created a lot of opportunities for collaboration and spontaneous moments, and when you bring this particular group of musicians and people together for a weekend, you really don’t know exactly what’s going to happen. That’s part of the fun of the Ramble.”

The Ramble Band has become another signature of the festival. Its full lineup is kept secret until showtime, with this year’s edition carrying the appropriately spacey title “The Ramble Band Goes Interstellar.” Vince Herman is joining the mystery ensemble.

The format also gives emerging artists a place in the main conversation rather than treating them as background music. Twin Fin, Boot Juice and Banshee Tree will receive full-length Emerging Artist Sets scheduled without conflicts immediately before headliners, while The Hip Snacks, winners of the Heady Wax Fiends Vinyl Submission Contest, will make their Ramble debut.

There is also a regional connection in the 2026 programming through The Young Guns, an emerging bluegrass group assembled in partnership with DelFest. The project brings together younger bluegrass musicians for appearances at both festivals, creating a connection between two Maryland festivals that have taken different approaches to presenting live music.

The music doesn’t stop when the scheduled sets end. Ramble’s programming includes artist-led campfire jams, buskers, visual art, workshops, New Orleans-style second-line parades and late-night performances, making the festival experience considerably broader than the three main stages.

“I think this year’s Ramble really brings together everything we love about this festival,” Lohr said. “There are artists people are traveling to see, bands we think people are going to fall in love with for the first time, and plenty of surprises throughout the weekend. But at the center of all of it is still the community. That’s the part we never want to lose as the festival continues to grow.”

That emphasis on participation extends to families as well. Children 12 and under are admitted free, and the festival offers designated family camping and Kid’s Kove programming alongside the regular schedule.

The weekend will begin one night early with The Preamble on Thursday, Oct. 8, at Hopkins Farm Brewery in Havre de Grace. The separate-ticket event starts with doors at 4 p.m. and music at 5:30 p.m., giving Ramblers an opportunity to begin the weekend before heading to Camp Ramblewood.

Five years after its first weekend, The Ramble has also accumulated some recognition along the way, including Best Small Festival at the Festy Awards in both 2023 and 2024, along with a 2024 Best Family Friendly Festival honor.

Still, awards probably tell less of the story than the structure of the festival itself. The Ramble has built its identity around putting people in the same places, giving musicians room to collaborate and resisting some of the divisions that have become common at larger festivals.

That makes the fifth anniversary more than another milestone on the calendar. Check out some memories from past Ramble Festivals. The Ramble is still built around the idea that the best parts of a festival cannot always be printed on a schedule, and that sometimes the most memorable moments are the ones nobody planned.