Our annual Songs of the Sea concert, offered in conjunction with Downrigging Weekend, has become enough of a success that we are moving to a larger venue, the Garfield Center for the Performing Arts in Chestertown, MD.  This year our show will be on Friday night, October 28, 2016 at 7:00 p.m..  We’ll have a number of special guests, and will do two full sets, so come prepared to join in the ribaldry, which may indeed require some singing on your part!  Aye, matey!  The Sultana is Chestertown’s own tall ship, built right here at the Sultana Shipyard on Cannon Street, and docked at the foot of Cannon Street when it is not plying the waters of the Bay to bring educational experiences and adventure to youth throughout the region.  Downrigging Weekend brings a number of sister tall ships to the Chester River for this full weekend of festivities.  For tickets to our Songs of Sea Show, see our Performance page, or click here.

Red Devil Moon has been accepted to the 2016 New York International Fringe Festival(FringeNYC.org).  The festival takes place during two weeks in various venues in Manhattan, notably the Lower East Side, Soho, the East Village and some in the West Village (Bob’s hometown!). We couldn’t be more excited!

We will post additional information as soon as we get it, so stay tuned!

We are doing a hometown show on Saturday, March 4, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. at Robert Ortiz Studios (Bob’s woodworking shop), at 207 S. Cross Street, Chestertown, Md. Not only can you buy tickets in advance (Click here to buy tickets.), but you can help us choose the set list.

Click here to vote for your favorite tunes! We’ll do our best to perform the songs that get the most love. You can even tell us a story or two about the songs, if you like. Let’s make this a collaborative concert. See you on March 4th!

We recently spent a day in the studio recording live performance videos. We wanted folks to have a chance to hear and see what we look and sound like in performance.  We worked with our friend, Jeff Gruber and his staff at Blue House Productions.  View the videos here on our Videos and Multimedia page.

We are looking forward to reprising our concert performance of Red Devil Moon at the Walters Art Museum on Friday, May 15.  The performance celebrates the work of Deb Gardner, the Legal Director at the Public Justice Center, a non-profit legal services organization in Baltimore, Maryland.  The performance is open to the public.  See the Performance Page for details.

Transportation Available from Chestertown to the Baltimore Show on May 15.  The Eastern Shore’s most amazing local music supporter, Mary Simmons, is organizing a couple of vans to transport folks to the Baltimore premier of Red Devil Moon on May 15.  Contact Mary at 410-708-5833 for additional information and to save a seat on the van!

Pam and Bob met 25 years ago on a coffeehouse stage at the Old Otterbein Church in Baltimore.  This Friday, April 24 the Pam Ortiz Band will perform at the successor location, Cellar Stage, now located at Faith Community United Methodist Church of Hamilton, 5315 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214.  The concert series, hosted by Joyce Sica, has had several homes over the years but always feels like home to us.  The show starts at 8:00 p.m. Doors open at 7:00.  We would love to see you there.  For information call 410-521-9099.  $21.

This is the 10th Annual performance of the Women Helping Women Concert to Benefit the medical clinics of Dr. Maria Boria on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.  This year our performance will mark Dr. Boria’s 85th Birthday and the 10th year this fantastic group of women have come together to support her work.  Pam’s song, Angels, has become the signature song of the performance each year.  For more about the show, the full list of performers, and to stream the performance live, click here: http://www.garfieldcenter.org/gcaevent/women-helping-women.

We have a new album available (digital download only) and a new DVD Video available of Red Devil Moon, the new musical Pam has been working on with playwright, Robert Earl Price.  We worked with Jeff Gruber of Blue House Productions, Inc., to produce a full-length video of our performance in November, 2014, at the Garfield Center for the Performing Arts at the Prince Theatre in Chestertown, MD.

The show featured Sombarkin (Karen Somerville, Jerome McKinney & Lester Barrett Jr.) along with the Pam Ortiz Band (Pam, Bob, Nevin, Ford and Philip) and special guests Tom Anthony (bass) and Ray Anthony (drums).  Narration was provided by Robert Earl Price.

The DVD Video is available as a physical DVD and includes the complete show.

The digital audio album includes the songs, recorded live, but without the narration, with the exception of the very beginning where you can hear Robert Earl launch the show.

It’s a great way to remember a very special performance!

You can order the DVD or download the audio album from this website, by selecting Music from the menu or clicking here: http://music.pamortizmusic.com/album/red-devil-moon-live-at-the-garfield.

Here’s a sample from the video featuring Jerome McKinney singing Pilgrim Train:

Thanks again to all of you who have supported this very special project.

I hear everybody has a musical . . Sting, Green Day, Cindy Lauper.  Well, we’re not going to stand by and be the exception!  For the last year and a half, Pam has been composing and writing the lyrics for a musical play inspired by the modernist novel Cane by Jean Toomer.  The project is the brainchild of Washington College poet and playwright, Robert Earl Price who is writing the “book” – the term for the script for a musical.

Musicals take a long time to refine, market and produce.  Rather than wait for the full production, we have decided to showcase the music from this project in a concert setting.  The concert will feature the Pam Ortiz Band along with Sombarkin, our friends and frequent collaborators, with narration by Robert Earl Price.  We are looking forward to getting you all in on this project in its earliest stages.  Stay after the show for a conversation with the artists.   We promise to keep you informed. Towards that end, we have created a special web page on this site where we will post information about the project.  Click here to read more and for details on the November 15-16 showcase (2 shows only) to be held at the Garfield Center for the Arts at the Prince Theatre.  Thanks for your ongoing support for our music.  We could not do this without you!

We had previously indicated we would be at JR’s Pastime Pub on June 6 but that performance has been canceled.  Actually, we will no longer be performing there on First Fridays, as in the past.  We enjoyed our performances there but have had difficulty scheduling and so will focus on other performances for now.  Look for an updated email newsletter from us about forthcoming shows in May and after.  And, you can always check the Performance page on this site.  Hope to see you soon!