Doug Segree is busy. Busy creating music, busy making a family, busy playing shows. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. “Being busy is a good thing,” said Segree. “For me, when I’m not busy, it’s when I get a little restless.”
This Saturday, Segree and his aptly named Doug Segree Band play at the Uncle Sam Jam at National Harbor.
Segree’s music is classic beach fare, maybe a little more upbeat than a Jack Johnson and a little folkier than a Jimmy Buffet.
Performing Independence Day weekend is nothing new of Segree, who said he’s played professionally for the last 17 years.
“I’d say Fourth of July is a big deal,” he said. “Little community parties. As you get older, the types of parties change.”
What is also a big deal is that Segree and his wife recently had their third child. They’ve also moved into the neighborhood Segree grew up in Arnold, right next to Annapolis.
It’s no coincidence that while Segree’s family has grown, he has not released an album since 2005’s “Live – One Night Only.”
“Once I started making babies, my records got slowed,” he said, before adding that he has some material recorded and needs to determine how to release it.
This doesn’t mean Segree has slowed down. He estimates playing between four and six gigs a week this summer, mostly at the beach communities such as Dewey Beach and Ocean City.
“The hard part is, I play music for a living,” he said. “So I’m always playing. Then there’s a level of commitment when writing and recording to psychically be in the studio, and but also to have that focus. There’s a different focus when it comes to recording and writing than just performing.”
In addition to an enthusiastic fan base, Segree has received attention from the Annapolis press.
Segree jokingly compared his recent exposure to when Eddie Vedder or Bruce Springsteen made the cover of Time and Newsweek.
He also expressed an appreciation for the recognition.
“There are a lot of great artists out there, there are a lot of great businesses out there that don’t get acknowledged. For me, it’s good to continue to be relevant. Obviously it never hurts to get a little good press.”
