The Jack-Of-All-Trades Musicians

From the punchy crack of a kick drum to the earthy melody of an acoustic guitar, you can hear it all from various musicians in the greater Severna Park area. The intertwined harmony between instruments carries over to the performers. Some artists become a chosen family and some are actually related, like Bryan and Aidan Ewald.

Bryan Ewald is an Annapolis native who has performed in Anne Arundel County since the early ‘90s. He started out playing solo gigs and filling in as a guitarist for other bands. Throughout these gigs, he met other local talent that would become members of his bands: the Jarflys, Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, and Starbelly.

“Once you’re out working and playing in the area … you start running into the same people. It has been a very welcoming community,” Bryan Ewald said.

Musicians like Ewald have to be a jack-of-all-trades to make a steady income. In his heyday, he would make about 80% of his pay from bar gigs and tours. For many of those gigs, he was considered a “hired gun” for other acts. Playing a variety of genres and learning songs on the fly is survival. Bryan sees the constant change as an opportunity to either learn or expand his creative expression.

His son, Aidan Ewald, has also enjoyed the variety that comes with the turf of being a full-time musician. He performs up to seven gigs a week ranging from solo to band, duo and fill-in performances. He and his band The Candy Rocks have performed in large venues including Ottobar in Baltimore, where they opened for The Lemon Twigs in front of a sold-out crowd. Aidan is a young, multitalented artist with a smooth vocal range as well as being a virtuoso guitarist with a mastery over his drum set. He earned a bachelor’s degree in percussion and displays his full capabilities with drum sticks when he performs with his band.

One of the most important aspects of live music is the connection with the audience. Bryan Ewald confessed that some of his favorite performances are at Brian Boru Irish Restaurant in Severna Park because of the audience and the casual atmosphere. He compared the experience to playing a set in his own living room. Aiden Ewald agreed, saying, “It’s really the people that show up that make it special … It’s the friends and family that really make a gig memorable.”

The changing landscape and music scene present challenges to the audience connection. The social habits of the population have changed over the last few decades with the pervasive presence of information from the internet.

“Nowadays on any given Thursday night, there’s 40 people playing a gig within a 10 - to 12-mile radius,” Bryan said. “On one hand its great … but it’s harder to get people to come out.”

A frequent collaborator with the Ewalds, Arnold musician Doug Segree has plans to reach audiences through a different medium.

A guitarist and vocalist for three decades, Segree has performed statewide from Merriweather Post Pavillion in Columbia to a dive bar in downtown Annapolis. He created the Doug Segree Band, wrote songs for hit TV shows, and created a children’s band. Lately, he has been more creatively challenged by writing songs for his children’s band, SQRRL. Segree likes the balance of writing goofy songs like he did as a younger man while being authentically quirky.

SQRRL was creating shows with characters to perform for disadvantaged youth, but the shows were halted due to the COVID pandemic and have not resumed. Segree has decided to pivot and produce a SQRRL TV show for children on YouTube or another platform.

“I’d like to work on SQRRL TV. Grow an audience that way and put together a big SQRRL show,” Segree said.

If you want to catch them in person, Bryan and Aidan Ewald play at Brian Boru Irish Restaurant in Severna Park on the second Friday of every month. They also perform individually about twice a month at The Point Crab House & Grill in Arnold. Go to www.bryanewald.com to find show dates. Find Doug Segree at www.dougsegree.com for his upcoming performances in the area.