SilverVox Film + Music Festival · Frederick, Maryland
A festival
you can walk.
Four days of independent film, live music and big ideas across thirteen venues in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland. Screenings, concerts, talks, workshops and parties, all a few blocks apart, in a town that’s been telling stories since 1745.
The idea
Film, music and ideas sharing one downtown, so you get to do it all.
What’s inside
Six ways in.
Come for one thing. Stay for everything else. The full 2027 schedule is announced closer to the festival; here’s what every day is built from.
Film
Independent film
Narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, music docs, midnight and student work from around the world, with filmmaker Q&As after the lights come up.
Music
Live music
Touring, regional and Frederick artists on stages from a 1926 movie palace to rooms small enough to see the strings move.
Ideas
Talks + workshops
Panels with moderators who did the homework, hands-on workshops and conversations about creativity and the business of making work.
Big nights
Premieres + opening night
Red carpets, world and regional premieres, and the nights everyone talks about on Monday.
Free
The courtyard + free events
Free programming, pop-ups and places to hang out between shows. Over 1,000 people came to free events in year one.
After dark
Late nights
Headline sets, after-parties and the conversations that keep going long after the last screening.
Year one · June 18–21, 2026
Out of the gate
swinging.
161
Films screened
40+
Musicians, bands + DJs
13
Panels + talks
13
Walkable venues
Why walkable matters
Everything’s
a short walk
away.
Year one filled downtown from end to end, anchored by the Weinberg Center for the Arts, a 1926 movie palace, and New Spire Arts right across West Patrick Street, with screenings, sets and talks at Maryland Ensemble Theatre, the Delaplaine Arts Center, Sky Stage, Y Ausherman Arts Center, and more. See all the venues →
For four days, SilverVox is your neighborhood.
Afternoon
A film + a Q&A
Catch a shorts block or a feature, then hear from the people who made it.
Evening
Dinner, two blocks over
Independent restaurants, breweries and distilleries between every venue.
Late
A set + the after-party
A show a few doors down, then wherever the night goes.
Historic Frederick
Telling stories
since 1745.
Frederick was laid out in 1745, and downtown still looks the part: 18th- and 19th-century brick and stone, church spires on the skyline, and a creek-side park running through the middle. It’s the kind of place that makes visitors slow down and look around.
Since 1745
Colonial roots
Stone houses from the 1750s, Revolutionary-era barracks and streets laid out before the United States existed.
1926
A movie palace
The Weinberg Center for the Arts opened as a silent-film theater. Now it’s a SilverVox anchor venue.
Today
Carroll Creek
A creek-side park, water garden and amphitheater winding through the heart of downtown.
For filmmakers
A backlot in
every direction.
Come for the festival, scout your next film. Within a short drive of downtown, Frederick County packs in centuries of architecture and just about every landscape a story could need.
History
Every era
1700s stone houses, Civil War battlefield at Monocacy, a 1920s movie palace, mid-century main streets and modern downtown.
Landscape
Mountains + water
Catoctin and Sugarloaf mountains, Cunningham Falls (Maryland’s highest cascading waterfall), the Potomac and Monocacy rivers and Lake Linganore.
Country
Farms + small towns
Working farms, orchards, covered bridges and small towns with their own main streets, all within the county.
Year one (June 2026), in their words
Never a
dull moment.
For four days, the city felt like a carnival of delights for the arts community.
Lauren LaRocca
I have attended hundreds of film festivals over the course of my 27 years in the film and television industry and SilverVox Film and Music Festival rates at the top of the list.
Rick Kain
Filmmaker · FilmFreeway review
It was an awesome experience with great people and great films.
Peter Arizmendi
Filmmaker · FilmFreeway review
Good to know
Festival FAQ.
What is SilverVox?
SilverVox Film + Music Festival is a four-day festival of independent film, live music, talks and workshops in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland. It’s produced by SilverVox, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization.
When and where is it?
May 6–9, 2027, Thursday through Sunday, across thirteen venues in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland, about an hour from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.
Is it really walkable?
Yes. Every venue is in downtown Frederick, within a short walk of the others, with restaurants, bars and parking garages in between.
When is the full schedule announced?
The full 2027 film, music and talks schedule is announced closer to the festival. Get on the list to hear first.
Do I need a pass?
Passes give you access across days and events; single tickets get you into one event; some programming is free. See how passes and tickets work →
Where should I stay?
Downtown hotels and inns put you within walking distance of everything. Plan your visit →
Is there free programming?
Yes. The festival courtyard hosts free programming, pop-ups and places to hang out between shows. More than 1,000 people came to free events in year one.
How do I submit a film?
Film submissions for 2027 are open now on FilmFreeway, with an extended late deadline of March 1, 2027. See how submissions work →
May 6–9, 2027
Come move in
for four days.
Film. Music. Art. Conversation. Community. Creativity connects us.