Honfest 2023

June 15th, 2023 by Liz Kosik

by Liz Kosik ’25

Another year in the books! Baltimore’s 2023 Honfest was a vibrant celebration, reminding us of the town’s community-based pride. The streets of Hampden filled with families and parade attendees, all coming together to embrace the quirky spirit of the event. The energy of the event was infectious as the air was filled with laughter, music, and the smells of Baltimore’s best foods. WLOY had the pleasure of hosting 15 local artists this past weekend at the WLOY STAGE at Honfest. We were visited by alumni, students, and community members in the gathering of WLOY’s favorite event of the summer. Honfest is a great function for local artists to showcase their talent and we couldn’t be more grateful to have shared another parade with them. 

We have to give a big shout-out to Garrett Long for making the stage run smoothly and soundly all weekend. He danced between solo and group artists, doing his magic with smiles and swift hands. Garrett is the recording engineer for the Watermelon Room, a local recording studio based in Hampden, MD. They’re known for their variety of instruments and recording equipment, encouraging artists to pursue their musical creativity. Definitely check them out!

Eddie Fine ’23 exceeded MC expectations, keeping everyone appraised for the upcoming acts. Students Johnny Cozza ‘24, Aliyah Smith-Bradley ‘24, and Liz Kosik ’25 manned the tent for the weekend, engaging with community members and raffling off some cool prizes.  Attendees loved the nifty turn-table that was repurposed for the raffling, allowing participants to “spin and win” a variety of prizes such as Thread Coffee, mugs, t-shirts, and vinyl. Despite a flat tire immediately upon arrival (lol silly John).. the weekend was full of excitement!

WLOY is proud to have concluded its 7th year hosting a stage at Honfest. It’s impossible to talk about our stage without mentioning the talented cast of artists that came and performed. We would like to express our gratitude to all the incredible bands and artists that dedicated their time this weekend. From Red Sammy kicking us off on Saturday morning to Old Eastern closing us out on Sunday night, every one of them delivered an amazing performance. We were showered with compliments and positive feedback all weekend from members of our favorite community and are ecstatic to be back next year!

The full schedule (and links to the artist’s pages) is here – go buy their merch!!

Be sure to watch this space for a gallery full of images and links to videos as we put them up. Also, check out our Instagram @wloy_radio for some Honfest recaps, alumni spotlights, and WLOY news. 🙂