Say what you will about Atlas Restaurant Group, and many of you do, but the opening of The Admiral’s Cup this weekend adds another musical element to downtown Annapolis.
The Baltimore owners of the high-profile location at City Dock in Annapolis highlight its “live music, and vibrant energy” in promotional material. But they have gone a long way to reassure city officials they’re not opening a music tavern like its namesake pub in Fells Point.
Atlas Chief Operating Officer Brian McCormick told the city liquor board the Annapolis location would be a place where he could eat with his kids.
“With the population size in Annapolis, and the level of tourism that we see on a regular basis, we are much more confident that it can be a successful full-service restaurant,” he said during a public hearing in October.
With a side of music. The Admiral’s Cup will have a small corner stage downstairs and a DJ setup upstairs, following the Baltimore model of game nights mixed with bands.
The music has to end by midnight, though, and can’t be heard outside the building.
Downtown Annapolis has a long history of fighting over new bars, and city officials took that into account as they approved plans for the Dock Street site.
Inside, the music is limited to 75 decibels with 100-watt speakers, enough to fill the space but not much more. More than acoustic, less than a dance band.
The renovated downstairs is dominated by a rectangular bar and stools, with room for standing.
Atlas isn’t saying how many nights a week music will be live. In a town like Annapolis — where you can find local music almost every night — the eventual answer will be important for music lovers, musicians and competitors.
Honey Sol will be the soft opening act, 7-11 p.m. on Friday. It’s a family trio made up of Mac Priddy on vocals and bass, her brother Andrew Priddy on drums and their father, Lee Priddy, on guitar.
It’s a friends and family event, but the doors are open to the public. Regular hours and service start on Saturday.
The company told city officials the restaurant would have a full menu of pizza, sandwiches and other fare to go with the restaurant-first concept. The website is still under construction.
Full disclosure, my wife works at an Annapolis hotel where Atlas is building two more locations. That didn’t mean company officials wanted to talk to me about their plans for entertainment.
Will The Admiral’s Cup offer five more nights of music, as it does in Baltimore, and remake the city bar scene? Or will it be something lower-key?
We’re about to find out.
Here are some other great things to do through Feb. 11.
Freedom of the press
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday
A traveling exhibit on the evolution of press freedoms is at the Visit Annapolis Center through Feb. 25.
“Revolutionary Maryland: Freedom of the Press Then and Now” by the Maryland Humanities Council explores the evolution of a basic American freedom from its earliest incarnation in the Maryland Colony to its role in contemporary society.
The 10-panel exhibit includes a collection of portraits by Capital Gazette photojournalist Paul Gillespie, dedicated to the memory of five colleagues lost in the June 2018 mass shooting at the newspaper.
Admission is free.
Get outside
10 a.m. to noon Saturday
If you’re looking for a little outdoor adventure after two weeks of cold and ice, join forest therapy guide Laura Armstrong Falvey of Chesapeake Nature Connection for a walk along the Chesapeake Bay.
Coordinated with the Scenic Rivers Land Trust, the two-hour Winter Walk will trek through conserved trails of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Bay Ridge.
Armstrong Falvey will offer creative prompts designed to help hikers slow down and connect with nature.
This walk is free, but registration is required. Fair warning, the forecast calls for a sunny 17 degrees at 10 a.m.
Tell your story
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday
Historian Janice Hayes-Williams will lead a storytelling session for Black History Month at the Oral History Day at the Stanton Community Center.
Hayes-Williams is a preeminent researcher into family connections and significant events within the Annapolis Black community. The Stanton Center is located on the site of a once-segregated school in the historic Old Fourth Ward.
To sign up to share your memories, email program@ourlocallegacy.com or call 443-854-1315. The event is free.
One more time
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday
Thirty vendors of vintage goods and vinyl will get together inside Maryland Hall in a vintage sale rescheduled from last weekend.
The sale, put on by Naptown Flea & Vinyl, will be staged in the Bowen Theatre and include music and a food truck. It is dubbed “Annapolis Idiot,” and the flyer for the event is a play on the 2004 Green Day album “American Idiot.”
Admission is free, with purchases priced individually.
Second Monday
7:30 p.m. Monday
Singer-songwriters get together for the Second Monday series at 49 West Coffeehouse.
Callie Burns, who performs as Burnsie, will host the February performance. Acts include Lynn Hollyfield, Leslie Webber and Heather Aubrey Lloyd.
Tickets are $15. The venue is small, so reservations are recommended.
Groovy music
7:30 p.m. Monday
Classic Theatre of Maryland’s monthly cabaret series celebrates the decade that changed music with Motown, the British Invasion and folk anthems.
“Be My Baby” repeats at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets are $81-$89.
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