CLICK HERE — Photo gallery by Brian Haislip

Solomons, Md – Singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw delivered a fantastic evening of pump-up music on Friday night at the Calvert Marine Museum’s PNC Waterside Pavilion in Solomons, Maryland.

The concert was the last of the CMM’s series of summer concerts that serve as its primary fundraiser.

Southern Maryland native, Philip Parsons, opened the show, playing a mixture of fan-favorite cover songs and upbeat originals to warm up the crowd. Parsons’ was very genuine and down to earth, chatting with the crowd between songs and setting the mood for the night.

Before Gavin hit the stage, the Spin Doctors shook the house with a one-hour jam-packed setlist filled with their 30-years of music including hits like “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” and “Two Princes” from their Pocket Full of Kryptonite album.

Vocalists, Chris Barron, and Eric Schenkman had amazing stage presence, and looking genuinely excited and happy to be performing while also tugging on everyone’s nostalgic heartstrings.

Despite the years, Barron’s presence and elastic dance moves haven’t regressed at all. Schenkman was still rocking his ’80s hair-band rockstar look, while drummer, Aaron Comess and bassist Mark White are unchanged. But as a band, they’re just as musically tight and energetically loose as ever.

Preceding the opening acts, Gavin arrived on stage shortly after 9 p.m. and performed for a solid two hours. Opening with the title track “How Lucky Can A Man Get,” the high energy had the crowd up and dancing straight away.

Soulful vocals, catchy melodies, and smooth harmonies carried the New York native through material dating back to his debut album in 2003. It was evident he had the crowd swooning for him from the reactions he received when he played a few more of his popular songs, including “Chariot,” “You Make My Heart Sing Louder,” “Not Over You,” and “Soldier.”

With almost 20 songs later, DeGraw had the crowd eating out of his hands through to the last note of “I Don’t Want To Be” that he closed the set with.

DeGraw had a great way of making the crowd feel at home, whether it was him dancing and encouraging the crowd to jam out with him and his band or him reaching down for high-fives and chatting between songs.

Thanks to his charm, wit and interactive approaches, the concert felt personal and left a good feeling throughout the night and the crowd left feeling more connected than when they arrived.