The Sunday Sermon was the perfect way to close out our weekend in Maryland. Located at the Fish Head Cantina & Rockin’ Sushi Bar just outside of Baltimore, the event brought together fans who were in town for the M3 Rock Festival for a late afternoon and early evening of live music, food, drinks, and laughs. Brad Lee and his newly revamped BLE (now Beyond Live Entertainment) were joined by promoter Will Mass, as well as hostess Megan Macabre, The Metal Summitt, the return of Hammerjacks, and others to bring this event to life.
The venue lots were full when we approached just shy of 2pm to catch the first band Bitter Luck and order up some well needed nourishment following the late night fun at the festival after-party. And despite a bit of a chill in the air, a crowd was gathered outside to take in the first of several performances while enjoying drinks out on the patio that day.
The first band , who kicked off promptly at 2pm was Bitter Luck. They are a rock band out of the Washington, D.C. area that prides themselves on modernizing the classic rock vibes of Aerosmith and Humble Pie with a progressive rock flair. Fans of Dirty Honey and The Winery Dogs will totally dig their vibe.
The Bitter Luck band is Ean Eschenburg’s (vocals), Andrei Wells (guitar), Will Gies (bass) and Eric Levy (drums). The band’s debut EP, Show Your Hand was produced by Ben Green at Ivakota Recording in Washington D.C., and released on halloween last year. You can find their debut EP on Spotify or check them out here.
Race The Rat took the stage next. Another regional hard rock band based out of Baltimore MD. They brought their own gritty brand of original music to the cantina, and can be found performing all over the Mid-Atlantic region.
They were followed by Rat Rod, who first made their debut with new Philadelphia-based frontman Jeremy Hugo (Betty Whitetrash, Custom Power Ride, Stephanie’s Religion) last year at the Reckless Shepard Brewery for the M3 Rock Festival crowd. He is joined by Mark McCarty (lead guitar), Brice McCarty (rhythm guitarist), Harry Rosa (drummer), and LJ (bassist).
Next up were Maryland’s own Thrill Ride, who some may recognize from the last BLE pre-event. The band features Denny Grace, the lead singer, guitarist and founder who has been a fixture in the local music community for decades. The primary songwriter, Denny launched the band to deliver 80s inspired hard rock. They may also sound familiar having been part of the HighVolMusic family.
We were excited to see New York City’s Spread Eagle join the party after catching them on the most recently sailing of the Monsters of Rock Cruise. They have a new album The Brutal Divine coming out next month via Frontiers Music, and have just released their official music video for “Flat Earth Vultures” which you can watch here.
The new single was part of the band’s engaging set which also included classic cuts like “Scratch Like a Cat” and “Switchblade Serenade” giving testament to the fact this band is showing no signs of stopping now. Spread Eagle is Ray West (vocals), Rik DeLuca (drums), Rob DeLuca (bass), and Jommy Puledda (guitar). Their line-up has been solidified with the addition of guitarist Jommy joining the fold during Brad Lee’s Masquerade event in Philadelphia back in 2022.
You can Pre-order The Brutal Divine here and catch the band 100% live this summer and fall in the US and overseas as well with stops in Slovakia, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom:
Jun 6 – Charlotte, NC – Amos Southend’s RnR Circus
Jun 12 – Clifton, NJ – Dingbatz
Jun 13 – Newark, DE – Halftime
Jun 19 – Norton, WV – RimRocks Fest
Aug 31 – Bratislava, Slovakia – Muzeum obchodu
Sep 2 – Velden am Worthersee, Austria – Bluesiana
Sep 5 – Issenheim, France – Rockfest
Sep 6 – Basel, Switzerland – Sunbea
Sep 10 – Frankfurt, Germany – Huhnerstall
Sep 11 – Lichtenfels, Germany – Paunchy Cats
Sep 12 – Wroclaw, Poland – Klub Muzyczny Liverpool
Sep 13 – Reichenbach, Germany – Bergkeller
Sep 16 – Helsinki, Finland – Bar Loose
Sep 18 – Grebbestad, Sweden – Rode Orm
Sep 19 – Gothenburg, Sweden – The Abyss
Sep 23 – Southampton, England – The Brook
Sep 24 – St Albans, England – The Horn
Sep 25 – Isle of Wight, England – Strings
Sep 26 – London, England – New Cross Inn
Sep 27 – Derby, England – The Victoria Inn
Sep 28 – Birmingham, England – Subside
Sep 30 – Newcastle, England – Trillians
Oct 1 – Edinburgh, Scotland – Bannermans
Oct 2 – Buckley, Wales – The Tivoli
Oct 3 – Harrogate, England – The Den
Oct 4 – Stockport, England – Spinning Top
Spread Eagle greeted fans and took some fun picks with fans before the Atlanta-based post-apocalyptic rock band Vikis Dream took the stage in near darkness to close out the evening with a goth-inspired after-party. Vickis Dream is Fantazma (vocals), Crow (vocals/ guitar), Brince (guitar), Toxic Thomas (bass), and Reaper (drums). They were the one act of the day that offered up some strong female vocals, and a fun way to end the night.
The Pure Rock Shop was excited to be a part of such a great showcase of regional music, and couldn’t have thought of a better way to extend our time in Maryland with the M3 Rock Festival crowd. We look forward to seeing more from the new BLE, and hearing more from these great bands!
Coverage by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen on 5/11/2026. All event photos © Kara Uhrlen and The Pure Rock Shop.
Follow us @ThePureRockShop on Facebook and Instagram.