This rising Maryland singer is putting "crab country" on the map
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Luke Borchelt. Photos: Courtesy of Carly Long
Country music, but make it Maryland. Rising star Luke Borchelt is crooning about crabs and Ocean City — and landing gigs with big names like Shaboozey for his distinctly Free State sound.
Why it matters: The Riva native is part of a small but growing wave of country artists from the DMV — including Shaboozey and Jackson Dean — and a rare one putting Chesapeake life at the center of his music.
Driving the news: Now he's headed to Nortdhwest Stadium on Thursday to headline the Commanders' NFL draft party.
- A lifelong Washington football diehard, he doesn't hedge: "Real Maryland boys are Commanders fans."
Between the lines: Playing a hometown NFL event wasn't always on the radar — but it's become a full-circle moment.
- Borchelt told Axios he once dreamed of performing at the team's future D.C. stadium. So when the Commanders called, he was "stunned."
- His fandom also helped spark a friendship with actor Jon Bernthal, another Maryland native and Commanders loyalist, who's since boosted Borchelt's music.
Zoom in: Borchelt's sound starts in church.
- He grew up singing in gospel quartets alongside his dad, with a grandfather who directed the choir — influences that still shape his voice.
- He credits Maryland's musical mix — including a love of DMV hip-hop — for giving his sound an edge. "It's not so down-the-middle country."
The intrigue: What counts as "country" is shifting — and Borchelt is part of that evolution.
- Like Shaboozey, the Nigerian American Emmy winner from Woodbridge, Virginia, he's expanding the genre's geography and storytelling.
In Nashville, telling people he's from Annapolis still sometimes raises eyebrows.
- "What the hell is country about that place?"
For Borchelt, the answer is the water.
- "Talking about Waterman culture… those stories are different from what's current in country music," he says. "There's inland country and beach country, like Kenny Chesney — but this is different."
What's next: A new album, "Watertown," is on the way this summer.
- Borchelt says it leans even further into what he calls "crab country."
- "If 'Every Rain' was the introduction, this is me planting my flag — telling Maryland stories."
🦀 Maryland hot takes:
- Crab spice debate: "There's only one answer — J.O."
- Best crab cake: Edgewater Restaurant, "period."
- Go-to feast: Conrad's Crabs in Baltimore
- Ocean City bar: "Ducks — for sure." And of course, Seacrets — he's playing there July 1.