Growing up in Baltimore, I was surrounded by Black elders who schooled me about Black history. My grandfather Frank, for instance, would scoop me every Sunday on the way to church. Blasting music from The Delfonics or Funkadelic, he would tell stories about the city in the 1970s, like nights at the legendary Odell’s Nightclub, where you could hear the latest disco tracks and party in harmony with people of all identities. To him, and in turn to me, Baltimore was a Black cultural oasis.

Beyond this oral tradition, I was also literally surrounded by reminders of Black ingenuity. My elementary school in Seton Hill was named after the Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. I went to Booker T. Washington Middle, just like Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Every morning, I walked past the Billie Holiday statue on Pennsylvania Avenue, a street that housed the famous Royal Theatre and, for the first half of the 20th century, was the happening block for Black entertainers (including the blues singer herself, who once lived near Patterson Park). And as a pre-teen, I made trips to the Eubie Blake Center, named after the celebrated pianist who grew up near Oldtown.

All of this was in my ethos, in my air, reverberating throughout the frequency of my youth. Yet throughout my childhood, and to this day, Black Baltimore has been burdened by so many negative narratives. Years of battling gun violence and drugs have tainted outsiders’ perceptions of this city, and impacted those of us who live here, too, especially young Black people. Many internalize this as a place of despair that will never amount to anything.

I was fortunate to be given a window into another story: that Baltimore could produce iconic Black artists who made profound contributions to the American story. And that the city was full of folks who were doing so in this very moment.

During my lifetime, there have always been ebbs and flows to Baltimore’s art scenes. One minute they’re booming, catching national attention, but that never seems to stick. Meanwhile, many artists are left to believe that they need to leave the city in order to “make it.”

For most of my 20s, I worked in Baltimore as a celebrated musician, poet, and cultural curator, producing events such as the legendary Kahlon dance party at The Crown. The past few years, I moved away, earning a master’s degree at Brown University, taking my attention away from my hometown. But after graduation, I came back, and for the first time in my artistic life, noticed something truly different here. A whole host of new Black-led cultural spaces have been erected while I was gone, including The Last Resort Artist Retreat, where I was an artist-in-residence last summer.

On top of that, a boost of creative transplants from other cities were now settling down here. Groundwork has been laid for new initiatives supporting young artists. And all the while, a number of Black creatives with local ties—Amy Sherald, for instance—have become household names.

With all these ingredients, it felt that the promise of a Black arts renaissance was finally materializing in Baltimore again. Like the 1920s Harlem Renaissance, the 1930s Chicago Renaissance, and the Black Arts Movement in cities like New York, Detroit, and the Bay Area through the 1970s, we might just be becoming the next great epicenter for Black American artists.

“This is not really something new for Baltimore,” says Victoria Adams-Kennedy, one of the leaders of Charm City Cultural Cultivation (CCCC), a new nonprofit based in Waverly and founded by her brother, Baltimore native and internationally acclaimed artist Derrick Adams, which serves as an umbrella for the family’s creative projects, including the Last Resort just up the street. “It’s almost like it’s coming home.”

Like the 1920s Harlem Renaissance, the 1930s Chicago Renaissance, and the Black Arts Movement in cities like New York, Detroit, and the Bay Area through the 1970s, we might just be becoming the next great epicenter for Black American artists.

In addition to shepherding CCCC and being the mother of one of my closest friends (best-selling author and arts writer Lawrence Burney of True Laurels), Adams Kennedy is a self-published novelist and has been creating space for Black women writers in Baltimore through her Zora’s Den group, established in 2017. She got the idea during a class on the Black Arts Movement as an undergraduate at University of Baltimore, also my alma mater.

“We talked about how it was the creative arm of the Black Power Movement,” says Adams-Kennedy, 62, pointing to a famous photograph of women from this era—writer Alice Walker, novelist Toni Morrison, and poet June Jordan. At the time, she says, she had not seen women like herself taking up space and forging a sisterhood in Baltimore. “When I saw that picture, it crystallized that this was something I would like to see now.”

She says there’s a reason Zora’s Den, currently housed in CCCC, is specifically for Black women. “Because there’s a certain dialogue that takes place when it’s just us. There’s a certain kind of ownership of our stories when it’s just us. There’s a certain language we use when it’s just us, without having to be apologetic or to stop and explain.”

Even in a predominantly Black city, it’s a hard truth that institutions have not historically felt accessible and inclusive for Black creatives in this way. As an English major at UB, all my professors were white, and as a Black Baltimore native who also happens to be gay, it never felt like my writing was validated, supported, or understood, a sentiment shared by my fellow Black students.

Today, some establishments, like the Baltimore Museum of Art, are making strides, but citywide there’s still a ways to go. Some of that change is coming from the creation of new physical spaces, like Zora’s Den, which will open its own brick-and-mortar near the Last Resort in the new Solar House later this year. When you speak to local artists, space comes up time and again as the most important need. We need space to convene, to perform, to practice joy—and just to vibe.

What is available is limited, despite a city full of vacant buildings, and underground venues are always at risk of closing or being shut down. Even in an arts district like Station North, there are stretches of empty spaces between its independent galleries, music venues, nightlight spots, and shops, leaving the artistic ecosystem feeling incomplete.

Adams-Kennedy’s brother might be at the forefront of filling in the gaps for Black artists in Baltimore. Now based in Brooklyn, Derrick Adams has nonetheless been coming home and pouring his art-world success into physical spaces like the Last Resort—a beautiful, cloud-colored home filled with guest rooms, communal spaces, and a sprawling sculpture garden.

Opened in 2023, it not only serves as a venue for artist residencies like mine, but also offers a whole range of programming, from exhibitions and workshops to conversations for and by Black creatives. Down the street, his CCCC headquarters is also home to the Black Baltimore Digital Database, a repository for local Black history, featuring a physical gallery, online archive, and public workspace that displays photographs of Black Baltimore families.

Plus, Adams is collaborating on the future Sock Factory in Midway, a communal creative space that will house artist workspaces, and recently joined other artists in purchasing the Mt. Royal Tavern, an affordable bar frequented by creatives of all kinds in Mid-Town Belvedere.

“Baltimore is made up of so much promise, but with the lack of resources, sometimes promise dries up, because people don’t believe in it anymore,” says his sister, Adams-Kennedy. “If you show that something is achievable, that it can—that you can—achieve it, that wakes up hope and inspiration in people.”

Another promising new space is The Clifton House in West Baltimore, home of legendary poet Lucille Clifton, Maryland’s former Poet Laureate, and her educator activist husband, Fred. Opened in 2021, the venue now carries on its late owners’ legacies, providing artistic development opportunities like mentorships, workshops, and readings for underrepresented creatives in Baltimore. Their executive director, Joël Díaz, is a New York native who moved here in 2023.

“One of my first impressions was that people are deeply protective of this city and their communities, which is a beautiful thing—they’re looking out for one another,” he says. “My goal is that, when people walk in the house, they feel nourished, they feel more possible in their artistry, and then leave lighter than how they entered.”

Given The Clifton House’s history, Díaz is excited to see the Black literary scene blossoming in Baltimore, pointing to the success of the CityLit Project, run by Carla DuPree. He’d love to see additional support for these artists, like bringing back the Baltimore Poet Laureate designation—especially after local spoken-word artist and Black Arts District executive director Lady Brion was recently named the state’s Poet Laureate—and offering monetary incentives for both artists and the creative spaces that advocate for them.

“A lot of deep integration is happening on the ground,” he says, “but we also need the support of the city.”

“One of my first impressions was that people are deeply protective of this city and their communities, which is a beautiful thing—they’re looking out for one another,” says Diaz. “My goal is that, when people walk into The Clifton House, they feel nourished, they feel more possible in their artistry, and then leave lighter than how they entered.”

Financial support is another top need expressed by local artists, as it helps them find studio space, purchase materials, or just afford the time to create (most work a day job or two). And many feel their holistic value to the city is often underappreciated. For years, musicians, painters, and filmmakers have done incredible PR to combat the negative reputation of Baltimore, and yet that love has not always felt reciprocated from City Hall.

Last summer, Mayor Brandon Scott announced a whopping $4.6-billion budget, with only $2 million of that earmarked for the creation of a new Mayor’s Office of Art, Culture, and Entertainment (MOACE) following chaos at the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts. How far that money will go remains to be seen. There are several city-sponsored grants available now, such as the Creative Baltimore Fund and the annual Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize, as well as those from the Maryland State Arts Council and other arts-related organizations like the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance’s Baker Artist Awards and the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation’s Rubys. But many artists say the application process feels inaccessible, with some not even knowing these opportunities exist.

One artist who’s had success on that front, though, is local musician John Tyler. He recently teamed up with the aforementioned Black Arts District, located on that famous stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue, designated one of the state’s official arts and entertainment districts in 2019, to host his Love Groove Festival. As someone who performed in a rap collective on Belair Road and caught both punk shows in the Hampden skate park and DIY sets at the CopyCat Building, the 26-year-old Tyler had noticed the silos of Baltimore’s various music scenes.

“Everything was very separate and segregated,” says the Hoes Heights-raised Baltimore Design School alum. “I just loved all the different artists and felt we needed to build our own platform to showcase our work in a bodacious way. Because at that time, at least from my perspective, we had Artscape and AFRAM and they were bringing out artists from D.C., New York, and California to come perform. But it was like, dang, how come nobody from here is getting put on? It’s so many amazing folks already right here. Let’s just make our own thing.”

In the years since, Love Groove has grown from a small concert into an annual blowout, platforming everyone from up-and-coming local acts to hometown stars like TT The Artist and Serpentwithfeet. Along the way, Tyler has obtained both huge sponsorships and support from the city, including financial backing, festival barricades, and trash pickup. He’s grateful for their help but admits resources could be more widely shared.

“I definitely think the city can do more…There’s so many different festivals that need money, that need resources they aren’t getting. And I do think there could be a better job [establishing] these partnerships.”

Linzy Jackson III, the new MOACE director, acknowledges the perceived disconnect between the city and its artists, and is already working to amend that. To improve trust and communication, his team intends to host listening sessions, is considering ways to improve grant opportunities, and will be hiring a nightlife coordinator to support hubs like the Black Arts District.

“Our job is to make sure that there’s no red tape and that artists feel supported,” says Jackson.

For him, the overall goal is to bolster a creative economy in Baltimore through new investment, infrastructure, and policies, with artist visibility and economic sustainability being a key focus. He points to the new Inviting Light public art installations in Station North, curated by Adams and funded with the help of a $1-million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, as an example of visionary partnerships they’re aspiring to in the years ahead.

“I don’t think a Black arts renaissance is approaching, I think we’re in it, with Black artists, curators, and producers not just creating work, but shaping the narrative and public spaces in real time,” says Jackson. “Our role is to make sure that the momentum isn’t just temporary, but supported long-term.”

“Baltimore is made up of so much promise, but with the lack of resources, sometimes promise dries up, because people don’t believe in it anymore,” says Adams-Kennedy. “If you show that something is achievable, that wakes up hope and inspiration.”

As much as investing in the future is crucial, part of a strong foundation for Black artists also lies in access to the past. Deyane Moses is a curator, archivist, and artist from the D.C. area, who, since moving here in 2017 to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art, has played a crucial role in documenting Baltimore’s Black history. There, she founded the Maryland Institute Black Archives to preserve stories of the school’s Black artists and, out of that, launched Tom Miller Week, an annual celebration to honor the legacy of its late namesake painter, who grew up in Sandtown-Winchester.

Now, as the director of programs and partnerships at Afro Charities, she’s taking that work one step further, establishing a physical archive for The Baltimore Afro American, the oldest family-run Black newspaper in the United States, at the Upton Mansion in West Baltimore. She’s noticed a growing cross-generational, cross-discipline, even cross-institutional collaboration that’s contributing to this new energy in Baltimore, pointing to elders like art historian Leslie King-Hammond and multidisciplinary artist Joyce J. Scott as vital resources.

“I’m seeing so much collaboration,” says Moses, 39. “I think people are realizing we don’t need to be reinventing the wheel. It used to be like, ‘We’re doing this, you’re doing that,’…but everybody’s working together now to elevate their ideas and get their goals across. That’s so important, because you can share funds, but also audiences, and then grow [through each other].”

She sees the need for more of a “for-us, by-us” approach, especially in light of the Trump Administration and its recent cuts to funding for diversity and the arts. She mentions the rise of local scholarships and fellowships, like those offered by the Valerie J. Maynard Foundation, founded in 2020 by the late Harlem-born pioneer of Black Arts Movement, who spent much of her life in Baltimore, and the Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts at Johns Hopkins University, founded in 2017.

Afro Charities also launched its own youth archivist fellowship in 2022, which it offers in partnership with local arts-education nonprofit Muse 360. She hopes their Upton Mansion project will be one more way of putting Black Baltimore on the map, as well as inspiring people to visit other troves of local history like the Reginald F. Lewis Museum and CCCC. “I’m really excited for all of that, and what’s to come,” says Moses.

That sort of solidarity is especially strong among this next crop of young artists. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the local scenes to a grinding halt, so by the time it was safe to gather again, that next generation was more eager than ever to create together.

Both in their mid-20s, Styles Bond, an emerging DJ, and Joshua Slowe, a dynamic photographer, are based in the Hooper House, a creative hub in Charles Village since 2024. There, the duo and other young creatives are making clothes, hosting events, and curating exhibitions, gaining a diverse and growing following.

“We’re really trying to bring people in and get them new experiences,” says Slowe, pointing to their monthly Sunday maker markets under the moniker Triangle Office. “We’re just trying to activate this space as much as we can and invite others in.”

Adds Bond, “That’s how we can help build on what came before and cultivate into the future. A lot of people love coming through here. It’s becoming a meeting place. And slowly each year, it’s attracting more artists.”

Around the city, both have noticed an influx of out-of-town visitors. Artist Mickalene Thomas frequents the Last Resort. Actress Lena Waithe is partnering with Center Stage. And more and more transplants are moving here, too; Baltimore is still known for its affordability, especially compared to New York and Los Angeles, as well as its authenticity.

Of course, whenever there’s an arts boom like this, gentrification also drives out locals, especially Black and brown folks who spent years investing in the arts.

“So much is being cooked up right now that’ll probably be ready in the next five years, but the big thing is, how do the people who live here get to benefit from it?” says Bond, who’s well aware that many artists think they have to leave Baltimore to reach their potential. “We talk with ourselves, like, ‘Yo, staying is also super beneficial.’ But we gotta look long term.”

That sort of dreaming is happening downstairs at the Hooper House, too. On the first floor, Mama Koko’s is a bustling new bar with art-covered walls that, since opening in 2024, has quickly become the go-to space to connect over coffee and cocktails for artists, creatives, and other cultural figures—including its namesake inspiration, the mother of co-owner Angola Selassie.

On weekends, it’s bustling with good vibrations and, in doing so, fills a void, as few nightlife spaces are dedicated to fostering artistic eccentricity for Black Baltimore.

“I hope for Mama Koko’s to continue to be a hub for community, for artists, for everyone,” says co-owner Ayo Hogans, 48. “It’s been good to see people have a space to come out to and just be free.”

“We’re not just thinking dollars and cents…we didn’t want this to be a transactional spot,” says Selassie, 49. “We wanted to be a place for relationships. A literal watering hole, where everyone gathers.”

Born in California, he moved to Baltimore as a child, where his mother quickly became friends with other Black elders, like Womb-Work’s Rashida Forman-Bey and drummer Baba Kauna Mujamal, which has helped him contextualize this current moment as a continuation of previous cycles.

“You know, the Harlem Renaissance was sparked by folks who had just come up off the plantations into the big city,” says Selassie, noting that trailblazing eras of Black art, like hip-hop, often emerged in response to the conditions of Black American life. “Right now is post-Obama, post-COVID, late-stage capitalism, and we’re seeing artists of this time making dope work, too.”

He names the Black-run film collective Lalibela, based in Remington and co-created by local filmmaker Elissa Blount Moorhead, as one example. “And the momentum is growing,” says Hogans.

Everyone feels it. Right now, there really is a cultural and creative uptick happening in this city. And at the same time, there are honest and difficult dialogues that need to continue for it to last. Artists will always do what they have to in order to create. But Baltimore, particularly those with financial, cultural, and political capital, as well as the powers that be, should not wait until they blow up to support them.

“Cities have to create their own arts scenes,” says Adams-Kennedy. “Everybody has a culture. We have Baltimore culture. We have Black Baltimore culture. But it needs to be cultivated—and celebrated.”

She thinks about how, in this moment, at arts spaces like CCCC, experienced Black artists are now gathering and connecting with familiar faces they’ve seen at other events happening around the city, including her own granddaughter looking up to sculptor Murjoni Merriweather.

In that moment, “Something happens,” says Adams-Kennedy. “The community is being built.”

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This essay is dedicated to my late grandfather, Frank Webb Eaton.

Sam Sessa didn’t always dream of being on the radio—at least not in the role he plays today, as a DJ with Towson’s own WTMD. “Sometimes sports writers are failed athletes, and music writers can be failed musicians—that’s definitely me,” says Sessa, who cut his teeth as a journalist before becoming the Baltimore Music Coordinator and host of Baltimore Hit Parade.

He grew up playing the accordion, eventually pivoting to the keyboard and organ bass during college at the University of Maryland, where he performed with a local jazz and cover band. Upon graduation, the journalism major went on to cover the entertainment beat at The Baltimore Sun from 2005 to 2013, which “just happened to be at a time when Baltimore’s music scene became one of the best in the country. I got really lucky,” Sessa says, pointing to the storied rise and record deals of artists such as Beach House, Future Islands, and Dan Deacon at the time.

“In the ‘90s, we had Dru Hill and Sisqó, which were incredible success stories for the city,” he says. “But we didn’t have as large of an audience, with attention being spread out on so many different bands, like it was in the mid to late 2000s. It was like your home team coming out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl.”

On Thursday, May 19 at The Charles Theater—in the first of what will be several free public screenings in Baltimore—this historic arch will be on full display in Sessa’s directorial debut, Do Whatever You Want All the Time: The Baltimore Music Scene 2005-2020. Created during the pandemic and named after an album by local art-rock band Ponytail (one of Sessa’s favorites), the short documentary film chronicles how Baltimore made its way onto the national stage, from the late aughts, when the city’s musical milieu was dubbed the best in the country by Rolling Stone, through the 2015 Baltimore Uprising, which, Sessa says, “changed the whole conversation on the local scene.”

“The uprising was a reckoning for a lot of different communities, including the Baltimore music community,” he says. “We made the film in the year of George Floyd’s death, and to compare what was happening in the rest of the country to what happened in Baltimore in 2015—that gave us chills.”

Despite the challenges, there’s an overarching theme of optimism as Baltimore’s musicianship continues to evolve. “Between artists like Micah E. Wood, Outcalls, Super City, and Modern Nomad, we’re seeing collaboration in ways that weren’t that common in the mid to late 2000s for a bunch of different reasons—that really gives me hope,” Sessa says. “The Baltimore music scene is perhaps more connected now than it has ever been.”

The film features up-and-coming indie bands like Snail Mail and Peach Face, as well as veteran artists such as Abdu Ali, Lafayette Gilchrist, and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak (plus images by Baltimore contributing photographer J.M. Giordano and an appearance by senior editor Lydia Woolever.)

Local cinematographer Julia Golonka, who filmed, edited, and co-produced the documentary with Sessa, wanted to make sure that every topic—in particular, racial themes—would resonate with viewers.

“I hope that people feel we did the scene justice,” says Golonka, who went to the same high school as Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan. “Growing up in Ellicott City, I’ve been listening to a lot of these artists for a while now. My Spotify Wrapped for last year was mostly the bands that are featured in the film. I just kept listening to them as I would edit. I hope the viewers feel inspired to do that too. This was a dream-come-true project.”

The same goes for Sessa, who refers to the film as “the bookends of my career, distilled into 24 minutes.”

“In 2005, we still had yet to even realize that the scene was a scene,” he says. “But to watch it coalesce over the years has been fulfilling to me. We’re thrilled to share this little time capsule.”

As is true in many American cities, black artists are the heartbeat of Baltimore, and perhaps nowhere is that pulse louder than in our world-renowned music scene. Across myriad genres, musicians of color turn out the type of songs, albums, and live events that could only be born in this city. They’re bold, they’re ground-breaking, they’re rich in experimentation, exploration, and vivid storytelling about the black experience. Five years after the death of Freddie Gray, as the nation breaks out in protest and unrest over the death of George Floyd, there’s never been a better time to listen to and learn from what these vital creatives have to say. Here are 25 of the many talented local acts to get you started.

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Abdu Ali
From their all-inclusive Kahlon dance parties at The Crown to their latest album, FIYA!!!, Abdu Ali is without a doubt a leading voice of the music community, as well as for queer artists and creatives of color in Baltimore and beyond. With a backbone of their hometown genre, Baltimore Club, with brushstrokes of fervent jazz, their music is an idiosyncratic amalgam of futuristic punk-rap poetry that packs a powerful message about oppression and identity. Kudos are also due for their As They Lay arts initiative, whose recent fundraiser helped raised mini grants for artists of color impacted by COVID-19.
Listen Now: “I’m Here Now (Fiyah!!!),” “Did Dat,” “Chastity”

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Al Rogers Jr.
When it comes to spreading positivity, Al Rogers. Jr makes it his mission, even creating his own expression—“swooz”—for the good stuff: joy, happiness, and love. The trendsetting hip-hop artist imbues that optimism into every song—be it a heart-on-his-sleeve ballad or a funky, feel-good experimental rap track—using smart wordplay, infectious beats, and messages of inspiration. That said, he doesn’t shy away from hardships and hurdles either. Combining jazz, hip-hop, and R&B, the beloved rapper is a go-to for exploring emotions, digging deep, and finding a silver lining.
Listen Now: “Crystal Geyser,” “Bright Hard,” “Sayno”

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Brandon Woody
The past of Pennsylvania Avenue’s rich and revered jazz history is being shepherded into the future thanks to local musicians like Brandon Woody, a rising twenty-something trumpeter in the city’s resurgent jazz scene. He’s performed brass with local legends of the genre like Eric Kennedy and Jeff Reed, as well as DIY rappers like Abdu Ali and Al Rogers Jr., led open-mic nights at the Motor House, and performed regularly with his ensembles at An Die Musik. An alum of Peabody Preparatory’s Tuned-In program and the Brubeck Institute in California, he’s a highly talented, expressive instrumentalist who brings a fiery flare to every set.
Listen Now: “Woodallou,” “Miking Trumpet to Whammy Pedal,” “Real Love Snippet”

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Brooks Long & the Mad Dog No Good
When you first hear the songs of Brooks Long, you will simultaneously think you’ve known them forever and that you’ve been waiting for them all your life. The local singer-songwriter pays homage to the old-school sounds of eras past—particularly mid-20th century soul, funk, blues, and R&B—while adding his own flair, humor, and heart to every mellifluous lyric and smooth melody. Long is also a strong advocate for documenting Baltimore music history, from the present and past, with his Creative Alliance “Songster Series” highlighting both beloved and underdog artists.
Listen Now: “Got Soul,” “Heavy Petting,” “Have You Been Getting Too High?”

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Butch Dawson
It’s no secret that Butch Dawson is a name to know now in Baltimore. Over the past few years, the local rapper has emerged from underground rap staple to a front-of-the-pack headliner, carving out his own lane through a formidable fusion of hip-hop, chill wave, and punk with the potent spirit of DIY. Many of his tracks are about surviving the “swamps,” as he calls the West Baltimore streets where he grew up, and the fortitude that comes with it.

Listen Now: “Feel Nobody,” “Trigger,” “Division Street Blues”

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Dapper Dan Midas
There might be no greater Baltimore cheerleader than Dapper Dan Midas, aka DDm. From his days on the local rap battle circuit to his role as frontman of beloved hip-hip duo Bond St. District to his star-power solo career, the charismatic, dynamic rapper has carried Baltimore on his shoulders and imbued the city, in all of its beauty and struggle, into all of his buoyant and hard-hitting verses. Most notably in his latest The Ballad of Omar, DDm critically examines the black experience of growing up in Baltimore and along the way bares his own soul. It’s a must listen for everyone who calls this city their home.

Listen Now: “The Ballad of Omar,” “Swivel, “Hooray”

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Deetranada
When you finally discover Deetranada, you, too, will ask yourself: “Under what rock have I been living?” This 18-year-old wordsmith and one-time star of Lifetime’s The Rap Game (she placed second) has already garnered a serious fanbase in Baltimore and beyond (think hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views). And for good reason: as shown on her first two albums, Deetranada has some of the most impressive, bravado-filled flows and sharpest, hardest-hitting rhymes about coming up in Baltimore around.
Listen Now: “Attitude!,” Box,” “Know Me”

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Dyyo
In the endless quest to find the next great artist, Baltimore music fans can look no further than the force to be reckoned with that is Dyyo. This alternative rap artist has a singular, shapeshifting sound founded in potent energy, explosive experimentation, and hearty nods to influences like punk rock and improvisational jazz. His latest Live! record bottles that exploratory sound with the clashing drums, driving guitar, and serpentine brass of a full band with Dyyo’s own kinetic vocals at the forefront. As he continues to evolve as an artist, make sure you’re there to follow, and headbang, along.
Listen Now: “Raspberry,” “Checks in the Mail,” “Fight or Flight?”

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:3ION

We hope that in the distant future, there will always be love songs, and we imagine that they will probably sound something like the avant-garde R&B of Elon Battle, or :3ION. Come for the dark, romantic melodies and digital dance beats, but stay for the singer-songwriter’s luminously moody falsetto vocals that float like a feather—swinging low, soaring high, and always speaking to the deepest desires of the heart. :3LON has become a stalwart of the local scene, appearing on many a genre-crossing lineup in Station North, and recently touring nationally with acclaimed Baltimore indie duo Lower Dens.
Listen Now: “Haven,” “Aria of Resilience,” “Many Moons”

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Eze Jackson
One of the most iconic, indispensable voices in Baltimore music is undoubtedly that of Eze Jackson. Over the last decade, the hip-hop frontman has been a dogged creative force for the local arts scene—putting on powerful performances as an MC through solo projects and his powder-keg alt-hip-hop group Soul Cannon, uplifting up-and-coming artists through the Bmore Beat Club rap series, constantly collaborating, and always speaking honestly about black inequality and empowerment. His recent “Be Great” was played over a loud speaker as marchers knelt in unity on Monday’s youth-led protest.
Listen Now: “Unapologetically Black,” “Be Great,” “You Need Some”

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J. Pope

Listen to Jasmine Pope and hear her roar. From her bands the Funk Friday to the HearNow, the alt-soul singer-songwriter’s compellingspoken-word delivery and captivating stage presence has become a stalwart of the local scene over the last decade, capturing the attentions of diverse audiences, beloved by all corners of the city’s scene. Riding on the up-tempo funk and blues-infused, jam-band-style melodies of her bandmates, Pope is a modern-day poet at the core, delivering vigorous verses with rapid-fire flow, honeyed vocals, and powerful messages of truth and positivity.

Listen Now: “Soul Searching,” “Confusion,” “Check Your Soul”

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James Nasty
When considering any of the city’s local concert, festival, and event lineups, one thing is for certain: If James Nasty is on the bill, it’s going to be a good time. This veteran DJ and Bmore Club producer has become a household name in Baltimore for his high-energy mixes that master the genre’s rapid pace and patchwork sound but with a nod to the greats who came before him. Even those who think they haven’t heard of him likely have, as his hits have been regularly spun on local radio stations. Over the last nearly two decades, he’s incited instant dance parties at places such as Paradox, Ottobar, Light City, and most recently The Crown, and been a prolific musician performing hundreds if not thousands of sets across the city.
Listen Now: “Them Do It Horns,” “Pop,” “Dynamite”

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Josh Stokes
Over the last few years, Josh Stokes has been a quiet pillar of the Baltimore music scene. The drummer-singer dynamo has performed in live bands, recorded backup and feature vocals, and been an opening act for other beloved names across the city—all while working on his own exceptional, experimental tunes, making him undoubtedly one of the most hardworking musicians in the city. But his trippy new-age take on funk is worthy of its own consideration for a textured, throwback sound and Stokes’ own ethereal, gospel-tinged croons.
Listen Now: “Focus,” “Thank You,” “14 Daze”

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Joy Postell
Singer-songwriter Joy Postell broke onto the scene with her heart-wrenching recording of “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” in the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent Baltimore Uprising, asserting herself as a mighty voice to be reckoned with. Her follow-ups, “Consciousness” and “Water,” and the entire album Diaspora, would continue her socially minded music, in which she speaks to injustices faced by the African-American community and incorporates influences of jazz and soul into her hip-hop and R&B. On her latest EP, more personal than political, Postell continues to showcase her ability to speak truth to power.

Listen Now: “Consciousness,” “Water, “Back and Forth”

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JPEGMAFIA
He might have moved to the West Coast a few years back, but JPEGMAFIA continues to rep Baltimore, writing songs about his local days, collaborating with local artists, and showing up to perform shows at local venues where the crowds came out in droves. The bicoastal artist’s avant-rap, rooted in dystopian soundscapes and provocative rhymes, is an act of artistic defiance. He refuses to stay inside the lines, to appeal to mainstream audiences, to be bound by genre. For that, from sets at Coachella to rave reviews in indie music publications, all eyes are on JPEG to see what comes next.
Listen Now: “Free the Frail,” “1539 N. Calvert,” “Cutie Pie!”

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Kotic Couture

It’s hard to straddle both the poignant and the party, but up-and-coming rapper Kotic Couture excels at both, approaching their music with confidence and vulnerability, tipping a hat to their journey from a small-town upbringing to being a new leader on the Baltimore music scene. Whether it’s an outright club banger, bare-bones ballad, magnetic live solo performance, or their much-loved Version queer dance party with DJ Trillnatured at The Crown, Couture showcases a creative, colorful versatility that’s all their own—speaking honestly to dreams, doubts, and staying true to yourself.
Listen Now: “Grammy Speech,” “Growing Pains, “Drippin’”

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Lafayette Gilchrist

Over the last 25 years, Gilchrist has earned legend status in the Baltimore arts community. A winner of the prestigious Baker Artist Award, this Washington, D.C. native, longtime Baltimore resident, and piano guru has cemented himself in the city’s artistic history through his jubilant jazz compositions. They’re fueled by propulsive rhythms and seamless improvisations that effortlessly capture the essence of Baltimore—its energy, its joy, its struggle—as well as serve as iconic scores to David Simon’s HBO series The Wire, Treme, and The Deuce. Be sure to catch one of his upcoming livestreams through An Die Musik.

Listen Now: “Assume the Position,” “Bmore Careful,” “Deep Dancing Suite”

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Mighty Mark
Baltimore truly has a soundtrack to the city with the homegrown genre Baltimore or Bmore Club, born here in the 1980s by the likes of Miss Tony and Scottie B with a breakbeat sound that fuses hip-hop, house music, and staccato samples to create a pulsating, frenetic dance party. In recent years, Cherry Hill’s Mighty Mark has been the torchbearer, producing bass-fueled beats for his own tracks, collaborating with other club-minded creatives like TT The Artist, and appearing on national TV, all to assure that the genre continues to make its mark on history.

Listen Now: “Be More,” “Payroll,” “Don’t Want None”

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QueenEarth
The music of QueenEarth is like a salve for the soul. With faint touches of influences like India Arie and Lauryn Hill, the acoustic vocalist makes melodies all her own, using expressive beats and soulful vocals across tracks that range from textured, meditative instrumentals to jazz-infused R&B melodies. Through both her mindful tunes and her community education efforts, QueenEarth has made it her life’s work to share a message of empowerment for women of color, LGBTQ pride, social justice, and spiritual uplift.
Listen Now: “Dear Love,” “Quarantined Sax,” “Game”

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RoVo Monty
Modern love is complicated, but putting it into song seems effortless for RoVo Monty. The electronic R&B songwriter celebrates black queer romance in his effervescent music, asserting his desires, unpacking his fears, ultimately creating a lush musical environment for self-expression and self-empowerment. Inspired by fashion, dance, and disco, rife with irresistible hooks, bouncy beats, and velvety vocals, each track is club-ready and impossible not to bop along to. Monty is also a choreographer; be sure to check out his accompanying videos to learn a thing or two from his knock-out dance moves.
Listen Now: “Pretty in Pink,” “Pretn’d,” “Fix It”

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Rufus Roundtree and Da B’more Brass Factory
A Baltimore institution and high-energy music collective, Rufus Roundtree & Da B’More Brass Factory is hands down one of the most fun, feel-good shows in town, fusing funk, hip-hop, blues, and jazz into a Baltimore-meets-New Orleans get-down that could spark a second line. As the name implies, it’s a brass-heavy sound performed by some of the city’s most talented instrumentalists and led by the smoky, spirited vocals of bandleader Roundtree in his signature chapeau (said to have been a surprise gift from George Clinton).
Listen Now: “Me Think Me Love You,” “In Dem Streets,” “Get Up Live”

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Trillnatured
The lack of safe spaces for people of color and the LGBTQ community has long been a point of contention in Baltimore City, but each month, upstairs at The Crown, Jessica Hyman, aka DJ Trillnatured, creates a welcome, feel-good environment in her monthly Version dance party. Since 2017, these events have been a free, feel-good, second-Saturday night ritual full of Hyman’s dynamic mixes, Kotic Couture’s charismatic emcee, and all-out, sweat-drenched dance-offs into the wee hours of the morning. She’s also lent a hand in teaching the next generation of black Baltimore DJs as a former instructor at Baltimore Youth Arts.
Listen Now: “Use a Damn Coaster,” “True Laurels Show Live,” “This Side Up”

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TT The Artist

She may have relocated to Los Angeles last year, but it goes without saying that TT The Artist will always be Baltimore. The MICA grad has played a pivotal role in bringing Bmore Club onto the big stage, performing at Coachella, collaborating with Diplo, landing tracks on TV shows like HBO’s Insecure and Comedy Central’s Broad City, starting her own woman-of-color-forward Club Queen Records, and now releasing her debut documentary film on the city’s homegrown genre, Dark City: Beneath the Beat, which should have premiered at SXSW this spring. With vivacious energy, fierce lyrics, and undeniable beats, we hail the club queen that is TT.

Listen Now: “Thug It Out,” “Diamonds,” “Off the Chain”

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Warren Wolf

From the Baltimore School for the Arts through Peabody Preparatory to recording and performing with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Cyrus Chestnut, and Robert Glasper, Warren Wolf has made a name for himself, at home and abroad, as a young great of the modern jazz scene­—all while keeping Baltimore’s rich history with the genre alive and well. The West Baltimore native is an in-demand virtuoso on the vibraphones, performing at local concert halls like An Die Musik and prestigious venues around the globe. It’s the sound of another era, made, with groove and gusto that is positively contemporary.
Listen Now: “Montara,” “Soul Sister,” “For Ma”

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Wendel Patrick
Wendel Patrick is a man of many hats: rapper, composer, producer, co-founder of the Baltimore Boom Bap Society improvised concert series, co-creator of WYPR’s esteemed Out of the Blocks radio show, and Peabody Conservatory professor of hip-hop, to name a few. The multi-talented, classically trained artist has a gifted ear and is a master at collaboration, winning the 2015 Baker Artist Award and being referred to as “David Foster Wallace reincarnated as a sound engineer” by the former Urbanite magazine. Simply put, everything he touches turns to sonic gold.
Listen Now: “A Tale of Two Producers,” “Time,” “Producer”

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Every year, we’re seriously impressed by the amount of artistic talent in Baltimore, and 2019 was no different, with top-notch music coming out of the city—making its way onto both the local and national stage. It also felt like a year where the musical community came into its own. No, Rolling Stone didn’t name us the best music city in America again (not that we need that recognition to know that we are), but there were numerous moments of reckoning, if you will. Rising artists finally got their due. Established acts performed epic homecoming shows. Hallowed institutions wrestled with their futures. There were both losses of legends and celebrations of lifetimes, and each reminded us of the great impact this city has had, and continues to have, on the musical form. Here, we round up some of the most memorable moments of 2019. And we recommend keeping your ears perked for all that is to come in 2020.

Ethel Ennis passes away.
This past February, Baltimore’s “First Lady of Jazz” passed away at age 86. During the late 1950s and 1960s, the West Baltimore singer recorded for major labels, toured Europe, headlined the Newport Jazz Festival, and performed regularly with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Duke Ellington. As a child, she learned to play piano at the Ames United Methodist Church in Sandtown-Winchester and later became a mainstay at the Red Fox on Pennsylvania Avenue. Disillusioned by the music industry, Ennis ultimately eschewed national stardom and returned to Baltimore for a more simple life, where she performed until her later years. Her mark on the greater musical world remains.

Dan Deacon performs with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
It felt like fate had somewhat of a hand in the moment when Dan Deacon first took to the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall stage with members of the BSO this spring. At the time, the orchestra was in the midst of a contentious contract dispute that would eventually lead to a summer-long lockout of the musicians by the organization’s management (see below), while the electronic artist—15 years after moving to Baltimore and forever changing the local music scene—was quietly working on a new record about overcoming doubt, and reckoning with age and death and time. For a few hours, the two iconic musical acts, seemingly from opposite of the sonic spectrum, though Deacon studied composition in college, came together for a night that would become a gift to the city. The musicians filled the halls with hope, as concertgoers got out of their seats, ran down the aisles, and started an impromptu dance party in front of the venerable stage.

Abdu Ali releases FIYAH!!!.
Over the last several years, few musicians have been as influential and integral to the Baltimore music scene as Abdu Ali. From the glory days of their all-inclusive, underground Kahlon dance party at The Crown to national coverage by the likes of The New York Times, The New Yorker, and NPR more recently, the avant-garde rapper has helped put Baltimore’s DIY culture on the map, remaining deeply rooted to their hometown city along the way. This spring, the release of their studio debut, FIYAH!!!, took their artistry to a new level, fusing hip-hop and Baltimore Club music with jazz and punk. The record and its release solidified Ali’s star power with a full-band lineup, led to a sold-out show at the Ottobar, and helped them nab a well-deserved “Artist of the Year” award from City Hall.

André De Shields wins his first Tony.
As a cherry on top of a 50-year acting career, 73-year-old Charm City native André De Shields took home his first Tony Award in June, winning best featured actor in a musical for his performance of the god Hermes in Hadestown. De Shields grew up in West Baltimore, one of 11 children, and graduated from City College before moving from regional theater to Broadway. He would go on to gain renown for his roles in shows like The Wiz and The Full Monty. A few weeks after the Tonys, he was also presented with a mayoral salute and key to the city by Mayor Jack Young. “This is what you get when you blow them out of the water,” he said during his acceptance speech, showing the crowd his Tony. “I did it the only way you could—the Baltimore way.”

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon slays on American Idol.
If you don’t watch American Idol, you might have missed, in our opinion, one of the most special stories of the television show’s history. If you do watch American Idol, you’ve already been a Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon fan for months. The Catonsville singer-songwriter placed sixth in the competition, wowing judges and viewers with his sensational falsetto, his original song “Almost Heaven,” and his backstory, the son of a Baptist pastor who discovered he was gay at age nine. This fall, Harmon released his debut album and this winter, graduated from Towson University, where he studied vocal performance.

Beach House gets sentimental at the Hippodrome.
In June, dream-pop duo Beach House returned to the city for their first big hometown performance since the Windjammer music festival at Pier Six in 2015. Taking over the hallowed stage of the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, singer Victoria LeGrand and guitarist Alex Scally put on a powerful show to promote their latest album, 7, with some old favorites thrown in along the way. Typically stoic performers, they both spoke sentimentally about the city, even referencing the Orioles. Opening acts were also must-see sets by Dan Deacon and Future Islands’ William Cashion.

The Ottobar persists and, as The Windup Space closes, Rituals opens in its stead.
Two big changes took place at local music venues this year, with the announcement of sales and closures stirring fear for a scene that already lamented a dearth of creative space. But a few months after the Ottobar announced that its longtime owners were selling the business, it was revealed that longtime bar manager Tecla Tesnau would be taking over the Remington rock club in late summer, keeping it in local hands, and it seems that little has changed. And just weeks after word surfaced that The Windup Space would be closing its doors, news broke that the location would be reopened as Rituals, a bar and venue that would keep the same all-inclusive, DIY tradition alive and well, allowing the arts community to let out a collective sigh of relief. There, lineups have included local favorites like Lower Dens, Eze Jackson, and Chiffon.

TT The Artist pays homage to Baltimore Club.
This summer, TT The Artist made her directorial debut with the sneak peek premiere of her upcoming music documentary, Dark City: Beneath The Beat. Despite relocating to Los Angeles, the beloved rapper has long been a fierce advocate of, and an active participant in, the city’s hometown musical genre, Baltimore Club—the story of which she tells in her unique, colorful film. Featuring cameos and music by fellow local artists such as DDm, Eze Jackson, Mighty Mark, and Rufus Roundtree, it now enters the finishing-touch and fundraising stages in hopes of joining the festival circuit in 2020.

DDm drops Beautiful Gowns.
This summer, DDm released his debut full-length album, Beautiful Gowns, which, unsurprisingly, turned out to be one of the most fun, infectious records to come out of Baltimore this year. That’s thanks to the pure showmanship of the city-born rapper who has brought bravado, wit, humor, and heart to his music and live performances across the city for years, from the local battle rap circuit through his Bond St. District duo and now in his solo career. A year after his planned debut, Soundtrack To A Shopping Mall, was nixed, these 13 tracks stood testament to DDm’s determination and dauntless creativity. Self-released, locally produced, and spread without the help of local radio, singles like “He Say She Say” and “Pull Up”garnered thousands of listens on Spotify and views on YouTube all on their own. We personally love the bright, buoyant ballads of “Hooray” and “Forever 21.”

Future Islands rocks out at Union Collective.
In early September, thousands of Baltimore City music lovers packed into the parking lot of Union Collective for a night to remember by local dream-pop darlings Future Islands. Much like their impromptu Hampdenfest performance in 2014, the band’s free live show took place outside as the sun set, featuring both new material off their upcoming album and fan favorites like “Seasons” and “Balance,” with frontman Sam Herring’s mercurial dance moves out in full force. Opening acts included Baltimore artists Smoke Bellow, Joy Postell, and DJs Jason Willett and Jay Buim, and the brewery’s neighbor, The Charmery, sold three Future Islands-themed flavors of ice cream to support city non-profits.

The BSO survives a tumultuous year.
It was a long, strange trip around the sun for the century-old Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: ongoing contract negotiations that tumbled into labor disputes, the cancellation of the summer season, a highly publicized lockout of the musicians by BSO management, followed by months of player protests outside the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. But this fall, both parties reached a one-year agreement that resulted in the meeting of many players’ demands and the on-time opening of the fall schedule. The organization has also since launched their newly formed vision committee and brought in outside help from arts-org “turnaround king” Michael Kaiser, so things are looking up. (Except for maestra Marin Alsop hinting at her departure.)

JPEGMAFIA continues to soar.
It’s been another big year for JPEGMAFIA. The alternative rap artist, known as Peggy, toured the U.S., to many sold-out crowds. He performed at the likes of Afro Punk, Firefly, and Coachella, where rolling stone called his set one of the best of the festival. He opened for big-name acts like Vince Staples and Flume. He garnered national press and profiles by the likes of Billboard, The Guardian, and Paper. And this fall, he released his latest album, All My Heroes Are Cornballs, to national acclaim— a colorful, cacophonous collage that takes us on a trip into his beautiful, manic, often NSFW dream world. All the while, even though he has since relocated to L.A., Peggy always gave love back to Baltimore, his former city, selling out two nights at the Ottobar, hopping on Abdu Ali’s latest record, and bringing fellow rising local rapper Butch Dawson along on his tour. For that, for as long as we can, we’ll continue to claim him as our own.

Morgan State’s marching band leads the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The holidays came early this year when it was announced that Morgan State University’s Magnificent Marching Machine would be leading the iconic procession of marching bands in the 93rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, making MSU the first of Maryland’s historically black colleges to perform in the parade’s history. Ahead of a giant Snoopy balloon, the college band, led by band leader Melvin Miles Jr., marched triumphantly in blue and white uniforms for nearly three miles from the Upper West Side, around Central Park, and down to the famed namesake department store on Herald Square. Millions of viewers watched from the city streets and on their television sets at home.

A star is born in Maggie Rogers.
In the 12 months of 2019, Eastern Shore native Maggie Rogers released a debut album via Capitol Records, starred as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, sold out her U.S. tour, performed at the likes of Coachella, attended the Met Gala, and garnered her first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. While still a student at NYU, the singer-songwriter got her first taste of fame serendipitously, when a video of Pharrell Williams going ga-ga for one of her songs went viral. But everything that came next, and all that lies ahead, has undoubtedly been the result of her own talent and star staying power.

Check out our Spotify playlist below for Lydia’s Top 30 songs of 2019.

The first-ever Brilliant Baltimore—the lovechild of the Light City and the Baltimore Book festivals—will kick off this weekend with 10 days of free activities along the Inner Harbor. From November 1 through November 10, catch local musicians performing live outside at the main Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage adjacent to the Maryland Science Center, as well as other locations throughout the neighborhood. Here are more than a dozen not to miss.

Marian McLaughlin
11/1, 12 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
Start things off with a mid-day set by this dynamic chamber-folk singer-songwriter. Combining acoustic instruments, stream-of-consciousness storytelling, and a focus on the natural world, her poetic music is a meditative listen in this fast-paced world.

Afro House
11/2, 8 p.m., pop-up performances
This inventive performance art group (and Best of Baltimore winner) brings its Astronaut Symphony—a futuristic fusion of beat box, opera, punk, and funk—to the city streets with roaming performances around the harbor on Saturday evening.

Rufus Roundtree & Da B’More Brass Factory
11/3, 4:30 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
Keep the Sunday scaries at bay with an afternoon powerhouse performance by this funk-fueled Baltimore institution, always bringing a Charm City-meets-New Orleans get-down that should incite a second line.

Outcalls

11/3, 7:30 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
Behold the vocal power of Britt Olsen-Ecker and Melissa Wimbish. The two classically trained opera singers make up this pop-opera duo, as they’ve called it, bringing ethereal harmonies, synth-power ballads, and all-around female empowerment to every stage they play.

Abdu Ali

11/3, 9 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
This avant-garde rap artists first captivated the city’s art scene as the MC of their Kahlon dance parties at The Crown. Years later, Abdu Ali’s talents have only continued to grow, as has their stage presence, with their live performances now backed by a full band and more fiery energy than ever before.

Clarence Ward III & Dat Feel Good
11/6, Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage, 7:30 p.m.
On Wednesday, this skilled Baltimore brass player takes to the stage with his full band for, as the name rightfully implies, a feel good show filled with influences by jazz, hip-hop, and funk. Ward himself commands the horn and saxophone, while his bandmates keep the vibes high on keys and drums.

MovaKween
11/7, 9 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
This New Age R&B singer offers a smooth way to slide into the weekend, with jazz-infused melodies, earthy vocals, and an empowering message for all listeners, especially women, on Thursday night.

Wendel Patrick
11/8, 5 p.m. Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage.
It’s hard to know exactly what type of music this composer, producer, rapper, radio host, and more will be bringing to this Friday evening set. But we do know, no matter what, this Baltimore music veteran and mad scientist is sure to be a showstopper.

Super City

11/8, 7:30 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
A perfect way to kick off your Friday night, this infectious indie-pop band puts on one of the best live shows in the city with high-powered hits (new go-tos like “Stay” and old favorites like “Artificial Sin”) and killer choreography (fancy feet, low-low dips) that make it impossible to not dance along.

Billy Price & The Charm City Rhythm Band
11/9, 6:15 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
This veteran blues-and-soul singer brings his six-piece band for an old-school sound and Saturday night shakedown fit for all ages. A newcomer to Baltimore, Price brings funky grooves, rollicking rock-and-roll numbers, and soulful, belt-out ballads.

Joy Postell
11/10, 6:15 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
One of the most soulful voices in the city, Postell packs a punch on every song she performs, be it socially minded hip-hop tracks, jazzy neo-soul croons, or old-school R&B slow jams. Prepare to be mesmerized.

Patrick McAvinue

11/10, 7:30 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
This young musician is quickly becoming one of the most regarded bluegrass fiddle players with national awards and a regular gig at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. Expect a Sunday set of fast-flying, feel-good tunes when he comes back to his Baltimore roots.

Eze Jackson & The Backwudz Band

11/10, 9 p.m., Brilliant Baltimore Concert Stage
A guiding force of the local music scene, this dynamic rap artist and front-man of hip-hop collective Soul Cannon will perform with his Backwudz band for a Sunday evening set of high-octane energy and only-in-Baltimore rhymes.

EAT

Sept. 29: Voyage at the Baltimore Museum of Art

The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Museum Dr. 1:30 p.m. Free.

Local culinary artist Krystal Mack has made a career out of exploring the social relationship between food, art, and storytelling, and this weekend’s edible presentation that celebrates the opening of Generations: A History of Black Abstract Art is an exceptional example of her vision. Reflecting on the 400-year anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to America, this food voyage takes attendees on a culinary tour through the various points of the Transatlantic Slave Trade with an emphasis on African Diaspora staples like rice, plantains, and sweet potatoes. Sample thought-provoking dishes such as curry goat meatballs, low country red rice, and soup joumou made by Mack and a team of local chefs, including Wematu “Wema” Webaduah, Leeonney “Lee” Bentick, and Amanda Mack.

DRINK

Sept. 28: Patterson Park Brew Fest

Patterson Park, 27 S. Patterson Park Ave. 1-7 p.m. $15-70.

It’s that time of year again—the days gets shorter, the weather gets chillier, and there’s at least a handful of beer festivals every weekend. Celebrate the start of brew fest season at this boozy fundraiser in Patterson Park, which will feature a stellar lineup of local breweries like Monument City, Heavy Seas, and Peabody Heights. Bring the whole family to enjoy the first days of fall with live music by area favorites Caleb Stine and DJ Rob Macy, eats from local vendors, and plenty of seasonal sips to try before the park closes.

SEE

Sept. 28: Made in Baltimore Short Film Festival

Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave. 8-11 p.m. $7-10.

Charm City is no stranger to the independent film scene (see the Maryland Film Festival and, you know, John Waters) and this annual festival that honors the city’s short filmmakers is proof of that fact. Settle into the Creative Alliance theater to watch 11 flicks—ranging from animation to mockumentaries—that follow a wide range of stories that are shot through a uniquely Baltimore lens. Be sure to stick around after to find out which films will take home the top awards.

HEAR

Sept. 27: Abdu Ali

Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St. 8 p.m. $10.

If we had to choose one artist who not only sets the tone of the city’s ever-changing music scene, but also translates that message to the rest of the country, Abdu Ali would be at the top of that list. During this one-night stop at the Ottobar as part of the tour for their recently released album FIYAH!!!, hear this boundary-breaking rap artist hype up the crowd with tracks like “Gotta Get It” and “F.U.F.M.” along with sounds by rising artists Grace Ives, Damn Kham, Station North Sadboi, Baby Kahlo, YTK, 4K Michael, and Babby.

DO

Sept. 27: Bmore Historic

The Baltimore Museum of Industry, 1415 Key Hwy. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $10-25.

Calling all history buffs and die-hard Charm City lovers: This annual unconference (AKA participant-led meeting) will delve into everything you’ve ever wondered about the history of Charm City and its preservation. This Baltimore Museum of Industry forum is open to the public and will allow visitors to connect with local historians and archivists to enrich their understanding of this great city.

Visual Art

Shuttered Too: Steel Falls Beyond Baltimore

J.M. Giordano’s images chronicling the fall of the steel industry in Baltimore are currently on view at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, but take a trip around the harbor to Fells Point to the newly refocused Luann Carra Gallery and you’ll find this companion show highlighting the resilience of the communities steel built across Ohio and West Virginia. These stark black-and-white images both haunt and hearten. Through Oct. 10. Luann Carra Gallery, 1918 Fleet St.

Literature

Grand Reopening of the Central Library

Celebrate the return of the Central Library with a full day of music, art, lectures, games, food, and dancing along Cathedral Street and in the newly renovated library’s updated digs. Highlights include a conversation with Chris Wilson, Kondwani Fidel, and D. Watkins in Wheeler Auditorium and performances by the Black Cherry Puppet Theater in the Weinberg Children’s Library. Sept. 14. Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St.

Unscripted: A Celebratory Evening with Patti Smith

Punk icon Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids earned accolades for its delve into the decades-long relationship between Smith and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Now, Smith returns to her own past to recall the dreams and realities of a transformative year spent wandering the country. Join Smith at Goucher College for what’s sure to be an unforgettable evening of stories, song, and sage wisdom. 7-8:30 p.m. Sept. 25. Goucher College, Kraushaar Auditorium, 1021 Dulaney Valley Rd.

Music

Maryland Piano Masters: Daryl Davis & Lafayette Gilchrist

One of these two local legends on the bill would be enough, but the two together are a can’t-miss event. Join boogie-woogie pianist Daryl Davis and self-taught jazz-funk artist Lafayette Gilchrist for a night of dueling keys and styles from both past and present. 8 p.m. Sept. 27. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

FIYAH Power Tour

Adbu Ali is a creative force to be reckoned with, and their latest album, Fiyahh!!, is chock-full of both poignance and power. Experience one of their singular live performances this month at the Ottobar as Ali celebrates this genre-blending release on home turf with guest Grace Ives. 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. Sept. 27. Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St.

Theatre

BIG Monsters: An Improv Puppet Extravaganza

Bring your nostalgia for the days of Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, but leave the kids at home for this improvised puppet show for adults put on by the folks at Baltimore Improv Group. Expect musical numbers, felted faces, and lots of laughs at this BIG Lab experiment. 7:30-8:30 p.m. Sept. 25. The BIG Theater, 1727 N. Charles St.

Film

InFusion East Baltimore Film Festival: Are We Loud Enough?

Art, film, and conversation will come together to highlight East Baltimore voices at this two-day festival. View works by dozens of local artists at the opening night East Baltimore: Her Artists and Her People exhibition, or stop by Saturday for a full day of selected short films, documentaries, and performances. Sept. 20-21. MICA PLACE, 814 N. Collington Ave.

Abdu Ali

Fiyah!!!

If history were written today, Abdu Ali would go down as a driving creative force behind the Baltimore arts scene. For several years now, the avant-garde artist has been blazing the way for local musicians of every stripe while also inspiring the rest of the world to stop and pay attention to the robust talent of our town. But even after four fearless releases, dozens of powerful performances, and one ambitious podcast, this moment feels like the very beginning. On this new record, you’ll hear an amalgam of influences—Bmore Club, rap, punk, jazz, funk, gospel, soul—fused into a singular sound that could not be created by any other artist, in any other city. These 14 tracks are a glimpse into the black queer experience, with each embarking on a deep exploration into themes of self-love, body positivity, systemic oppression, and modern-day freedom. Intense, electric, introspective, they build on Ali’s past and craft a bold and limit- less vision for the future. Lose yourself in the last track, which captures the essence of their live shows. Its lyrical mantra tells you all you need to know.

See our full interview with Abdu Ali.

Kotic Couture

Diary of a Dreamer

As the city’s DIY music scene evolves, a new flush of artists is moving to the forefront, with Kotic Couture emerging as a clear leader. With fierce flows, infectious collaborations, and their much-loved Version queer dance party at The Crown, they have quickly become a rising rapper, thanks in part to braggadocious party-starters such as “Drippin’” and “Go Awff.” This new record shows off their versatility, as well as their vulnerability and commitment to craft. Lyrical finesse remains an instant hook, be it through breathless rhymes or spoken-word poetry. But what gives their storytelling legs is that it speaks honestly from their own narrative—about dreams, doubts, and staying stead- fastly true to yourself. This record announces Couture’s intentions and ambitions, recognizing how far they’ve come, hailing from the small- town Eastern Shore. “I’m at peace with my past, it can no longer haunt me,” Couture chants over lilting strings on our favorite track, “Grammy Speech.” It’s moments like these that demonstrate just how far they can truly go.

If history were written today, Abdu Ali’s name would join the ranks of other legends—John Waters, Anne Tyler, David Simon, and even their musical peer, Dan Deacon, as showcased in a recent feature on Baltimore’s cultural relevancy in The New York Times. The difference is, this boundary-breaking rap artist hails from the heart of Baltimore City, and through their music, the gender-queer artist paints a portrait of black Baltimore that has long been left out of the national narrative surrounding our city’s idiosyncratic arts community.

Over the past several years, Baltimore’s DIY scene has reached new zeniths in terms of experimentation, collaboration, and inclusivity, thanks in large part to Ali’s Kahlon concerts and dance parties that included artists of every color, gender, and genre at The Crown with a similarly diverse crowd. Their music, too, has pushed the limits of the city’s hometown genre of Baltimore Club—a frenetic blend of hip-hop and house music born here in the 1980s—by reimagining the sound for the 21st century. In doing so, they have helped forge the path for other local artists to create their own lanes, too.

And yet, after all these years, now—this moment—feels like the very beginning for the bold musician with their new record, FIYAH!!! Its 14 tracks are an amalgam of both the old-school sounds that shaped them and the futuristic vision that maps out the forward direction they plan to go. On the heels of its recent release, we caught up with Ali about reassessing success, finding their voice, and the prospect of a bass-slaying future.

Recently, you’ve talked about realizing the important of nurturing yourself as an artist. How did you learn to do that with this new record?
There is so much pressure. I love performing, but I was in a space where I was touring so much, and after a while it starts taking a toll on you, especially when you don’t have Beyoncé tour treatment. The travel, the shitty promoters, the pay—it starts to wear you down. So, I needed to take a break not just for my music but for myself. At the end of the day, I think a lot of artists don’t prioritize themselves or their self-care, but we have to stop letting the all the industry, celebrity, social capital dictate how we move. Is it really worth all that pain and struggle?

I’ve been reading The Will to Change by Bell Hooks and she talks about decentralizing what we place as value or pillars of success, especially when it comes to being male-born people. To be a man is to make money, to provide, to overwork yourself, to value material things, and that perception and expectation trickles down to every facet of society, whether you’re a doctor or work at an Amazon factory. I wanted to decentralize what I deem as success—things like getting publicity or internet celebrity—because that doesn’t matter and that is not the work. That stuff is cute, but at the end of the day, what is your legacy? What cultural impact are you making? What community are you directly affecting? What is it doing for your own personal joy and happiness and ability to self-love and love the people around you?

It’s scary though. If you’re independent or marginalized or disenfranchised, it’s really hard to take those breaks because you literally cannot afford to.

This album was inspired, in part, by Fire!!, an early 20th-century, African-American literary magazine, published in the 1920s, that features the likes of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. How did you discover this and when did you decide you wanted it to be a source of inspiration for your music?
As soon as I read it. To me, it was really a pro-black, pro-queer protest against all the antics of respectability politics, of the patriarchy and toxic masculinity, of colorism. It was everything that I’m about, and about speaking out against. It was fascinating to see how radical these writers were in the 1920s. It just made sense, and to me, “fire” is the symbol for queer black energy in America. You can go back to the Reconstruction Period, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, Gay Liberation Movement, the Women’s March—LGBTQ black people have always been at the forefront when it comes to disrupting the status quo. We are the fire providing a new way to look at music, fashion, art, our society, and culture—pushing us a step forward.

Similar to the publication, you’ve included other influential black Baltimore creatives on your record. Do you draw inspiration from each other?
I always knew my friends was dope, but re-reading that book recently, it was like, all these folks was friends, hanging out together, in the earliest parts of their careers, and they turned out to be these legends. And I’m just looking around at my friends like it’s the same vibe. JPEGMAFIA, Butch Dawson, Lawrence [Burney], Devin [N. Morris]. Devin is actually the one who got me the zine for me for my birthday.

At the same time, in addition to taking time for yourself, I loved how you’ve said that you’ve spoken openly about the need to look for inspiration no further than your own past.
Yeah, you know, a lot of black artists are starting to realize that our experiences are enough. That our history, our family legacies, our community, that’s enough, and that should be the narrative of our art.

Was that process cathartic?
I don’t know . . . It was in the sense that it gave me the release in knowing that I can create my own music, that I had it in me all this time, and I don’t need nobody else. It definitely felt freeing in that way. But now, I think the next album is going to be all cathartic. It’s going to be about healing and being more vulnerable and raw. This is the first chapter; everything that came before was me laying down the groundwork. I’ve matured as an artist. I know who I am. I know who Abdu Ali is. It took me seven years to figure that out, and you know, I think it takes a lot longer. Now I’m in a place where I can really sit down and think about these albums as an author would about a book they want to write. This is my first published book.

In it, you’ve found a way to fuse a number of different genres—from rap to punk to funk and especially jazz—that shaped you into one singular sound.
I’m really inspired by the jazz, funk, and soul artists of the 1960s and ’70s. That, to me, was the golden era of American music—of black music. They had the money, they had the time, they had the space to really be creative and experimental. If it wasn’t for that, techno, club music, hip-hop wouldn’t have been able to come. All these huge bands and great instrumentalists did the work to create a lane for people like me. It makes sense for me to get back into that sound in my music because, for me to move things forward, I have to go to the era of when it was nothing but people pushing boundaries. George Clinton and the Funkadelics had spaceships on stage! John Coltrane created one of the most complicated songs of all time and was really creating music based on astrology and science and math! These were great thinkers and they made music a philosophy. This is a lifestyle, a practice, a discipline, a spiritual way of being.

At the same time, these songs also incorporate your longtime love of Bmore Club.

I’ve always had Baltimore pride. I always wore Baltimore on my shoulders. I grew up loving the culture that my city brought to my life. From partying in the club at [the Paradox] to watching marching band practice to the food and the museums—even with all this crazy political, social, economic shit going on, Baltimore was high-key a black cultural oasis in the 1990s and early 2000s. So why not keep amplifying that story and amplifying that culture? I’m a Baltimore Club preservationist, and I want to keep my sound alive until the day I die. Nobody can speak to that existence than me. Nobody can speak on the black queer American Baltimore experience like I can, because there’s not too many people like me.

This project marks your debut as a producer, as well. Did that come naturally for you?
For years, I subconsciously avoided producing because I was intimated. It’s really complicated, and it takes a lot of time and patience, especially learning these programs. But I forced myself to keep going and it ended up coming naturally to me and I just got into the groove. It is so empowering to know that I don’t need anybody else to make music. I’ve always been very hands-on with the production of my music. But all of the musicians I love and respect, who are at the top of my list, from Prince to Missy Elliott, they do everything. They’re polymaths. And that’s what I wanted to be. A renaissance person.

Andy you’re already working on your next album now?
Yes, already. Now that I’m in that groove, I’m going to just try to keep it movin’. Learning to produce my own music, it took me to another level. My Co-Star astrology app said that this summer I’m going to be doing things I didn’t realize I was capable of. And you know what the next move is? Learning how to play an instrument. How dope would that be to have a black, queer, gender-non-conforming person on stage in my look, in my dress, with my nails done, playing the bass? That’s a radical act it itself.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from avant garde rap and heartfelt electronic pop to outright funk. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

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“I’m Here Now (Fiyah!!!)” by Abdu Ali

This title track is the last song on Abdu Ali’s transcendent new album, FIYAH!!!, released last week, and yet, in a way, it’s a beginning. The experimental artist has spent the last several years defying all musical boundaries in honing their homegrown hometown craft, and with each new release, the Baltimore native has found new ways to fuse the genres that shaped them—Bmore club, hip-hop, jazz, soul. And now, with this fifth record, they emerge anew, presenting a truly unique amalgam of sound that only Abdu and their journey as a queer black artist born and bred in this city could create. This vivacious song, in particular, captures their intensity, ingenuity, and free-spirited live shows, now featuring the sonic elevation of a full band. The lyrical mantra—“I’m here now, I woke up today, fire in my soul, I’m here to stay”—tells you all you need to know. This is just the beginning. See for yourself when they play live tonight at the Ottobar.

“Gnat Booty” by Black Root Underground*

In Baltimore, funk is alive and well thanks to the six-piece hip-hop collective of Black Root Underground. Fusing both sounds with blues, soul, reggae, and spoken-word poetry, these multi-instrumentalists create an all-around feel-good sound, fueled by drums, didgeridoos, trombones, bass, and keys. Together, they create high-octane rhythms that propel forward Blackroot’s own energetic verses, playing on positivity, humor, and fun. Take this new single off the new album Root Canal. It’s as much an old-school James Brown show as it is a trip to Preservation Hall in New Orleans, where the lead singer refers to himself as “a large child with a really nice beard.” Be sure to check out one of their live performances, which include audience participation, encouraging the crowd, like the Godfather of Funk himself, to get on up out of their chairs.

“Grammy Speech” by Kotic Couture

There are few artists in Baltimore these days with better lyrical finesse than Kotic Couture. With a deliberate delivery and warm, husky, heartfelt vocals, the rising rap artist has become a force to be reckoned with on the local scene, drawing on their own story to honestly speak to dreams, doubts, and staying steadfastly true to yourself. “I’m at peace with my past, it can no longer haunt me,” they declare over lilting strings in this new track, featuring singer Lavon, off their upcoming album, Diary of a Dreamer, laying out a mission statement of sorts. It introduces new listeners to their lyrical prowess and storytelling swagger, and cements their ambitions and intentions for longtime fans and their future self. Fans have flocked for braggadocious party starters such as “Drippin’” and “Go Awff,” but this more reserved moment of vulnerability showcases how versatile Kotic can truly be.

“Stay Right Here” by Micah E. Wood

Leave it to electronic troubadour Micah E. Wood to turn heartache into a club-ready bop. On this track, as in much of his forthcoming self-titled third album, due out May 17, Wood’s trademark talk-sing sentimentality returns, but with a bigger, bolder, newly-baring-it-all sound. Heart on his sleeve, he embraces new emotions, reassesses old ones, and doesn’t hold back with fresh vocal highs. As the title suggests, this love song for long-distance relationships is about not wanting to say goodbye, but owning your own desires and needs, and, ultimately, letting go. As the infectious rhythm swells, amorphous local musician Josh Stokes joins in for a soulful verse and smooth backup vocals alongside his sister, R&B singer-songwriter Bobbi Rush, adding an extra dose of urgency to this fiery, fervent track.

“I See Her Face” By Outer Spaces

This first single off Outer Spaces’ upcoming Gazing Globe gives us all the warm-weather feels. It burns like early summer. It rambles like a sunset drive. It aches like the early days of a fleeting crush.
Maybe it’s the jangly strums of guitar, the steady subtle drum beats, or frontwoman Cara Beth Stalino’s low, listless vocals, but it’s all reminiscent of humid Maryland heat. A follow-up to the band’s 2016 debut, this new bittersweet indie-pop record follows the singer’s recent breakup and forges a path for finding herself again. Though you never quite know whose face she sees hiding in the sun, by the end of the searing crescendo, you think it might be her own.

*Not on Spotify. We’ll add it to the playlist when it becomes available.

Visual Art

Voices: Joyce J. Scott, Oletha DeVane, Christopher Bedford
Don’t miss your chance to hear from two of the guiding voices of the Baltimore art scene, jewelry maker and sculptor Joyce J. Scott (who was recently named the 2019 Smithsonian Visionary Artist) and multimedia artist Oletha DeVane. In this conversation moderated by BMA director Christopher Bedford, the pair will discuss their works, their inspirations, and the city they both call home. 7-8 p.m. April 10. Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles St.

TAPROOT
Two artists with varying backgrounds but shared experiences meet in this exhibition examining colonialism, consumption, and how they work their ways into the other parts of life. Working from their distinct perspectives “one of assimilation and one of frequent migration between continents,” Catherine Khammouane and Samiha Alam will present sculptural pieces that express their view that “what is manmade is natural.” Artist talk 5-7 p.m. April 6; on view through May 4. Waller Gallery, 2420 N. Calvert St.

Pile of Craft
Head to Space 2640 to peruse more than 50 vendors’ wares at this 13th annual craft fest hosted by Charm City Craft Mafia. Past favorites such as Annie Howe Papercuts and Tiny Dog Press will be on hand, and several new vendors will be hawking everything from rosé jelly to 3d paper and watercolor plants for those whose thumbs aren’t quite green. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 27. Space 2640, 2640 Saint Paul St.

Music

Abdu Ali Album Release Show
Abdu Ali has one of the most powerful voices in Baltimore music right now, and this launch of their debut album, FIYAH!!!, is going to be one heck of a party. Catch Ali’s blend of punk, rap, and Baltimore Club from the Ottobar’s intimate stage before this New York Times-lauded artist really blows up. Doors at 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m. April 26. Ottobar, 2549 N. Howard St.

Theater

Come From Away
When planes were unexpectedly forced to land following 9/11, some 7,000 people found themselves stranded in the small town of Gander in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. What began with tragedy grew into a week of friendship and humanity among travelers in unfamiliar territory and the town that took them in. This award-winning musical based on their true story is not to be missed. April 23-28. The Hippodrome Theatre, 12 N. Eutaw St.

Pink Milk
Single Carrot is leaving its Remington home behind soon, but first they have another story to tell. This Technicolor reimagining of codebreaker Alan Turing’s life story from Chicago-based playwright Ariel Zetina explores Turing beyond his history-making work. Zetina is also working with Single Carrot to update the text and score for the first time since writing the piece in 2013. Gala opening April 27, runs through May 16. Single Carrot Theatre, 2600 N. Howard St.

Film

Making Cinema Matter: Masterclass with Sandi Tan
Singaporean filmmaker, zine publisher, and writer Sandi Tan returns to her cult roots for this workshop and screening of 2018’s Shirkers, which premiered and earned the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award at Sundance in 2018. Tan and her cohorts made what could have been a cult hit in 1992, when they were just teens, but their film was stolen by an American collaborator. Shirkers follows Tan back to Singapore to revisit the film, the American who stole it, and what both of them did for her dreams. Free screening at 7 p.m. April 5, masterclass April 6, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The SNF Parkway, 5 W. North Ave.

Literature

CityLit Festival
CityLit is known for bringing great authors and events to bibliophiles of all stripes at their annual fest, and this year is no different. During this day-long celebration of all things literature, visitors can attend more than a dozen session and check out the Literary Marketplace to pick up a few more additions to their nightstand stacks. Stick around for keynote speaker Dani Shapiro, whose memoir, Inheritance, delves into what happens when family secrets find their way to the surface. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. April 27. University of Baltimore William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center, 11 W. Mount Royal Ave.

Hilton Carter’s Wild at Home Book Signing
Local plant expert Hilton Carter’s Baltimore home is filled with more than 300 ferns, cacti, and other green friends. His lush designs on have earned him national attention, but he’s sticking close to home for this celebration of his first book, Wild at Home. Grab some friends and head to Trohv on Earth Day for a book signing, Q&A, and cocktails with the Instagram plant guru himself. 7-9:30 p.m. April 22. Trohv, 921 W. 36th St.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from mesmerizing pop and melancholy indie to avant-garde neo-soul. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

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“Chastity” by Abdu Ali

The first single off the much-anticipated upcoming album from Abdu Ali is a journey through space and time. This fiery, neo-soul melody zigs and zags, pushing and pulling with “the struggle of feeling free,” as the artist puts it. “Do you love me? Do you hate me?” they pose, moving between doubt, affirmation, and discovery in this candid quest for self. An energetic beat unravels into a sparse, jazzy soundscape fueled by the artist’s signature scat and disparate streaks of saxophone. In the end, they find their own place, free of questions and limitations. Watch for yourself in the dance sequences of its futuristic video.

“C.Y.K.U.?” by Hunter Hooligan

If you were in search of an anthem for 2019, look no further than this new single off Hunter Hooligan’s new Child of Venus. The title acronym—“Can you keep up?”—is mantra-worthy and the beat should be blared out of a boombox held on our shoulders at all times this year. In typical fashion from this electronic artist, it’s a club-ready and contagious pop song, full of sparkling energy, thumping bass, Hooligan’s honeyed vocals, and all-around feel-good vibes. The rest of the EP (act one of a forthcoming two-part project featuring production by James Nasty and guest appearances by the likes of TT The Artist) is equally enticing.

“Speechless (Hurts So Bad)” by Lor Choc

Love Is Love, the second full-length record from Lor Choc, has arrived with a lead single with the fixings of an instant hit. (The track was first released last year and has now quickly surpassed her 2017 breakthrough “Fast Life” in online listens.) Where the West Baltimore rapper’s past successes were more an outward display of swagger, this new song, like the rest of the record, grapples with the complexities of the heart, using her candor and earnest verses to help fill the void of queer love songs in the realms of rap and R&B. The production is velvety and effusive, and Choc’s vocals might be her tightest and most soulful yet.

“Stay” by Outcalls

The girls are back. Pop-opera duo Outcalls has released their first new single since last spring. What starts as a heartbreak ballad builds into a funky song of empowerment—slowly taking off the rose-colored glasses of a past relationship as they move through the emotions of breaking up. Come for the trademark ethereal harmonies of singers Britt Olsen-Ecker and Melissa Wimbish, stay for the fast-flying playful verses in the middle of the song, building to a synth-studded vocal crescendo at the end.

“Evergreen” by Wye Oak

While many of these songs have us jonesing for warm weather, we can’t help but admit that we’re still stuck in the winter rut. So it’s a fitting time for this first new track from indie duo Wye Oak since the release of their stunning The Louder You Call, The Faster It Runs last spring. A sonic ode to seasonal depression, it’s a jangly reckoning with self-doubt. “Tell me what’s missing in my mind,” sings frontwoman Jenn Wasner as drums crash and reverberating guitar ambles out into space. “I’m taking everything back.” There’s no clear resolution, which is highly relatable, especially with snow now looming as we speak.

Last fall, you launched your own podcast, drumBOOTY, a recurring series that sheds light on untold black stories.

It’s something I always talked about doing, I’m very conservational and personable, but never took too seriously. You have to let things come to you. Then in the summer of 2017, Mask Magazine hit me up and asked if I wanted to do a podcast for them. It was only six episodes but after my first interview with [writer-activist] Bilphena [Yahwon], I just felt so good.

What is it you like about podcasts?

I like the performance aspect. The audience is not present with you, but you still have to turn something on in order to make it a good show and a good listen for people. As a child, I was always obsessed with talk shows. I went to school for journalism at the University of Baltimore and my goal was to be a media person. I wanted to be Oprah or Ricki Lake. When I would stay home from school, I would watch Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones, all of it. Talk-show TV was like a whole era. I think people my age—the elder millennials, the late 20-somethings and early 30-somethings—we gravitate towards podcasts because we grew up on that sort of conversational television and storytelling. People like story time, and podcasts fulfill that human desire to hear their stories told orally.

After years in the music scene, why did you choose this as your next medium?

Hosting and curating [art and music] shows was cool for a while, but it wore out my soul. It’s not feasible all the time for me. Without the events, I still felt like I needed something else to do beyond music. I’m a Gemini moon, so I need to be busy. And I realize that with podcasts, I can still do what I did with Kahlon [bi-monthly dance party at The Crown] through the guests that I bring on—filling a void, telling stories that haven’t been heard, and being innovative. There are not many shows out there that focus on giving queer people a voice, black people a voice, or women a voice, and especially targeting voices who are creative intellectuals. For me, it’s like In Living Color meets Ricki Lake.

Are there any podcasts out that there did inspire you?

Still Processing with my girl Jenna Wortham and Wesley Morris [via The New York Times]. You really enter their conversation. They have so much chemistry and they don’t always agree on things, which is good, too. A lot of podcasts are about news, politics, or pop culture. They don’t focus on specific themes. They can be dry or boring. I want drumBOOTY to feel like we’re in a living room, and show the world that people my age are having these kind of intimate, real conversations, outside of the election and the pulpit. People want that in their media

I want to bring on people are not really represented on the podcast platform. People like Bilphena, who is a writer, an activist, queer, an immigrant, and an academic intellectual. I also want to talk about topics that aren’t really talked about, like colorism, or desirability politics in dating, or anxiety disorders, or what it’s like to be an underground artist. I’m bringing [local rapper] Butch Dawson on just to talk about his album and being from Baltimore. For me, it’s just about elevating these voices. I want to tell as many untold stories from across the diaspora as possible. There’s something very valuable about having these kinds of discussions and letting them be streamed but also archived so they can be referred back to in the future.

Season two, which you are now independently producing, is now underway. How often will the episodes air?

Every week from fall into winter. I’m going ham. I’m not playing games this time. I’ve been studying and listening to other podcasts all the time. I’m super passionate about it. I think it has so much potential. It’s a platform I could really thrive in, and that it’s going to make me not only a better person but also a better artist. Everyone can learn something from these stories. I want to invite people into my world and my community. I want to give Baltimore a voice.

Visual Art

Maren Hassinger: The Spirit of Things
Maren Hassinger’s four-decade career in art is rooted in sculpture and dance. A selection of her sculptures, made with wire rope, plastic bags, and newspapers, are on exhibit in the Contemporary Wing of the Baltimore Museum of Art in the solo show The Spirit of Things. Some have been reconfigured for this exhibition, which also contains video installations of her performance art and dance. She’s also known for her role at the Maryland Institute College of Art as director of the Rinehart School of Sculpture, which she has served since 1997. July 18-Nov. 25, performance and conversation with the artist at 3 p.m. Sept. 8. BMA, 10 Art Museum Drive.

ISLA: Regarding Paradise
Ironically, the etymology of the word “paradise” goes back to its Greek and Old Iranian roots meaning “walled enclosure.” In this group exhibit at Towson University, curated by Baltimore artist Jackie Milad, contemporary artists working in an array of mediums examine the figurative and literal walls that enclose the pristine beach images of the Caribbean islands, a place that has worked toward political autonomy and environmental justice. Sept.7-Oct. 20. Reception on Sept. 6. Center for the Arts Gallery at Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson.

DOS-à-DOS
Baltimore artists L. Nef’fahtiti Partlow-Myrick and Jenny O’Grady met as students in the Creative Writing and Publishing Arts master’s program at the University of Baltimore and will now exhibit the fruits of their labor: a collection of art books, made from a variety of materials both traditional and unorthodox (paper—but also metal and beans, for example). The show’s title references a bookbinding technique that ties together two text blocks with a shared spine-that spine being the MFA program, in this context. Sept. 7-30. Hamilton Gallery, 5502 Harford Road.

Baker Artist Awards 2017 & 2018
Recent Baker Awards awardees—Abraham Burickson (interdisciplinary, 2018), Sara Dittrich (interdisciplinary, 2017), David Marion (visual art, 2017), and Amy Sherald (visual art, 2018)—will show work in an exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Included in the show will be Burickson’s “The Odyssey Works Box,” an archival box filled with books, photographs, and other ephemera, accompanied by a video tour of the history of the arts collective Odyssey Works; Dittrich’s wall sculptures, arranged with hundreds of clay ears; Marion’s multimedia sculptures “Extinction Event” and “Fracking,” which explore violence perpetrated on the natural environment; and two portraits by Sherald. Sept. 12-Oct. 14, with a free opening event with performances on Sept. 13. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive.

Balancing Act
Joseph Paul Cassar has been working in Baltimore for 13 years as a visual artist and art historian, and is a professor at the University of Maryland University College. He’s shown his work around the world, and this month will exhibit in our city, when Y:ART Gallery in Highlandtown shows his recent work in Balancing Act—drawings in ink and pastel, paper cut-outs, collage, and acrylic on canvas. Sept. 12-Oct. 20, opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 15, artist talk from 4-6 p.m. Oct. 13. Y:Art Gallery, 3402 Gough St.

Mark Bradford: Tomorrow is Another Day
Renowned contemporary artist Mark Bradford represented the U.S. at the 2017 Venice Biennale and will bring that work to Baltimore for the exhibit Tomorrow is Another Day, accompanied by a new site-specific installation, at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Bradford explores themes from his personal life, black identity, Greek mythology, and the universe through mixed-media pieces, paintings, and video. Sept. 23, 2018-March 3, 2019; opening celebration, 1-5 p.m. Sept. 23. Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive.

What Makes Us (Us)
Gina Pierleoni exhibits some 200 paintings and mixed-media portraits of people encountered over a 25-year period in Baltimore and beyond. She’ll lead a coinciding workshop which will include live music to help to dig deeper into questions of place and perception. Aug. 25-Sept. 29; workshop, 6-7:30 p.m. Sept. 15. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

AfriCOBRA: The Evolution of a Movement
This group exhibit at Galerie Myrtis celebrates artists in AfriCOBRA, aka African Commune for Bad Relevant Artists, a coalition that was born from the black arts movement that began in the 1960s and is now celebrating its 50th anniversary. The aesthetic of these artists emerged from activism and aims to speak to black people specifically. The show will display paintings, photographs, prints, and 3-D pieces by the group’s earliest and most recent members, including Akili Ron Anderson, Kevin Cole, Adger Cowans, Michael D. Harris, Napoleon Jones-Henderson (founding member), James Phillips, Frank Smith, Nelson Stevens (founding member), and Renee Stout. Coinciding programming will include Tea with Myrtis (as in, founding director of Galerie Myrtis, Myrtis Bedolla) and an art salon with AfriCOBRA members who will talk about their artwork and its impact on the black arts movement. Sept. 15-Oct. 17, with an opening reception from 5-7 p.m. Sept. 15. Galerie Myrtis Fine Art, 2224 N. Charles St.

Music

Taste of Tuva
Celebrated artist Joyce Scott will host this special evening featuring the music, art, and food of Asia. Alash Ensemble, a trio of throat singers from the Central Asian state of Tuva, will bring both their music and culinary specialties, while collaborating with Baltimore musicians Shodekeh and J Pope. The event supports the Asian Arts & Culture Center at Towson University. 6-9 p.m. Sept. 15. TU South Campus Pavilion at Towson University, 8000 York Rd.

Abdu Ali’s Last Show of 2018
Baltimore music artist Abdu Ali will perform their last live show of the year this month at Metro Gallery, joined by Kotic Couture (hip-hop with pop, Baltimore club, and underground art influences), Pamela_ and her sons (the solo music project of Alessandra Hoshor), and W00dy (Philadelphia-based experimental pop artist). 8 p.m. Sept. 5. Metro Gallery, 1700 N. Charles St.

BeatClub at the Lewis
Over the years, Bmore BeatClub has met regularly inside clubs, bars, and initially a record shop to celebrate hip-hop and beats. Novice artists rap alongside experts at these gatherings, and this month’s event will be extra special, as Bmore BeatClub will bring hip-hop, spoken word, and poetry to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum. 7 p.m. Sept. 28. Reginald F. Lewis Museum, 830 E. Pratt St.

Theater

Fades and Fellowship Barbershop Stories
Barbershops are places of conversation and camaraderie—and from this idea came the production Barbershop Stories by Baltimore-based theater troupe Fades & Fellowship. A cast of real barbers will perform the stories overheard in the shop—and then give actual haircuts to selected audience members. Sept. 28. The Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.

Literary Arts

CityLit Swing: A Special Celebration Honoring Kwame Alexander
CityLit will honor poet, educator and New York Times bestselling children’s author Kwame Alexander with its Chic Dambach Award for Service to the Literary Arts during a celebratory evening at The Motor House. Sliding-Scale tickets are available for this CityLit fundraiser, which will include lite fare, libations, jazz, and a reading by Alexander. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 13. The Motor House, 120 W. North Ave.

Small Press Expo
The annual Small Press Expo celebrates indie cartooning and comic arts, bringing more than 4,000 creatives to Bethesda for readings, workshops, and to meet with one another. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 15 and noon-6 p.m. Sept. 16. Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda

Miscellanea

Mortified: Share the Shame
Everyday adults share their most mortifying moments via teenage diary entries, poems, love letters, lyrics, and locker notes in this popular show. 6 and 8 p.m. Sept. 22. Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Mono Practice
Founding director Ruri Yi is opening a new contemporary art gallery, Mono Practice, in Station North this month, with a focus on abstract and reductive art. The inaugural exhibit, Pointing To The Sun | An Exercise In Abstraction, is curated by Rod Malin and will feature work by Baltimore-based artists David Brown, Zoë Charlton, Ariel Cavalcante Foster, Terence Hannum, Stephen Hendee, Bill Schmidt, and Yi. Sept. 6-Oct. 13, with an opening reception from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 6. Mono Practice, 212 McAllister St.

Three years after the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who died while in Baltimore police custody, Baltimore’s artists, activists, and community members continue to grapple with the underlying causes of his death, the multi-day uprising that followed, and how the events continue to impact every corner of the city. On the anniversary of Gray’s death, April 19, more than 150 people gathered at Union Baptist Church in Druid Hill for the third annual Rise Bmore, a free evening of words and music, of and for Baltimore, in honor of Gray.

“We gather here every year in memory of one of Baltimore’s murder victims. We gather here in memory of Freddie Gray,” said Judah Adashi, founder and artistic director of Rise Bmore. “We are here because he’s not here—we’re here because he should be here.”

Community storytellers and artists Malaika Aminata Clements, Julian Hamer, and Shannon Wallace started the evening with a discussion titled “Seeing Baltimore.” Moderated by local musician and writer Brittani McNeil, the discussion centered around using artistic mediums to challenge the narratives presented by local and national media about the uprising and how the panelists use art to push the conversation about life in Baltimore forward.

Wallace, an award-winning photographer from East Baltimore, said it’s important for her to share stories of otherwise unseen members of the African-American community through her photography. She told the audience about how she photographed a young kid, who lived in Rutland, and put him on the cover of her zine, BLVKBLUE (What Does It Mean to Be Black?). When Wallace gave the boy’s mother a copy, she burst into tears at the picture of her son.

“For the first time, I felt like what I do matters to someone,” said Wallace. “It was the first time I felt like someone was visible because of me.”

For Hamer, who worked for WBFF Fox 45 during the uprising and has since become a documentary filmmaker, the unrest influenced her decision to stay in Baltimore because she felt determined to see the city grow and thrive again.

“There’s no reason that [Baltimore] can’t be great if we continue to do individual arts and make each person’s day a little better,” said Hamer. “I want to see this city be the place that I know it can be, that we’ve all seen it be. And you don’t have to do that anywhere else. We can do that right here.”

At 8 p.m., the event shifted as the voice of Erricka Bridgeford, one of the organizers of Baltimore Ceasefire and The Sun’s 2017 Marylander of The Year, filled the room with a pre-recorded reading of “Invocation: Dear Baltimore.” The performances that followed—from artists that represented a true cross-section of the city’s music and arts scene—provided a window into each performer’s pre- and post-uprising reality.

At the top of the concert, soulful singer-songwriter Joy Postell delivered unflinching performances of her songs “Hands Up Don’t Shoot,” which is dedicated to Gray, and “Consciousness,” that uses her signature rhythms and sharp lyrics to address issues faced by the African-American community. Then, Abdu Ali, who has become a local underground music and cultural figure, shared four of his recent poems about experiencing life in Baltimore as a black man. Voices Rise, a community choir lead by brothers Douglas and Benjamin Buchanan, performed classic uplifting songs “Let It Be” and “Lean on Me.”

Before performing her original song “Sundown Town,” Baltimore folk singer-songwriter Letitia VanSant told the audience she wrote the song in reaction to an experience she had while canvassing for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign in a suburb outside Detroit. One of her fellow canvassers, an African-American man in his 60s, was visibly shaken about being in this quiet, orderly neighborhood after dark because he grew up in a “sundown town” where black people were not welcome at night. VanSant said that when she returned to Baltimore, she questioned how her sense of safety as a white person compared to others in her community.

“I think that if we want peace in Baltimore we have to work for justice for everybody,” she said. “Nobody’s going to be safe until everybody’s safe.”

Three musicians, Akua Allrich on vocals, Japheth Clark on flugelhorn, and Mark G. Meadows on vocals and piano, performed Meadows’ original “Stay Woke,” Nina Simone’s “Come Ye,” and “Baltimore” by Randy Newman to “pay homage to the great city of Baltimore.”

To round out the show, renowned local poet Tariq Touré performed his piece “No Refuge: For the Love of The Game” that addresses his views on the disposability of black athletes and the dilemmas they face when choosing whether to speak out about social injustices.

His final stanza, “I assure you they love me! / surely they’ll understand today / So when I take this knee / as that anthem starts to play. / You think they could look at me / with this passion in my face / And truly be able to say / this is the land of the free / and the home of the brave?” was immediately followed by a passionate interpretation of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Adashi on piano.

Jonestown resident Ashley Day, who attended Rise Bmore for the first time since 2016, said she’s glad Adashi has been able to maintain the event as a platform to address the changes or lack thereof since Gray’s death.

“It reminds people that it happened,” she says. “It also creates the memory and the life of a presence that’s no longer here, and it motivates and inspires the community again to get more involved and spark change.”

Five things to eat, drink, see, hear, and do with your Charm City weekend.

 EAT

March 17: St. Paddy’s Day Block Party at Parts & Labor

Parts & Labor, 2600 N. Howard St. 11 a.m. Free. 443-873-8887. 

From the takeoff of new businesses and foodie spots (think R. House and Clavel) to the announcement of the first-ever Remfest in May, Remington continues to blend its rich neighborhood history with its bold plans for the future. This weekend, two of the area’s mainstays are teaming up to celebrate the greenest day of the year with Irish classics like corned beef and Shepherd’s Pie from beloved butcher shop Parts & Labor and Old Oriole Park suds from Peabody Heights Brewery. Get to the shop early for beat-the-clock beer specials (beers start at 25 cents at 11 a.m., then increase to 50 cents at noon, and so on until 4 p.m.) and spend the afternoon devouring happy hour-priced snack specials around the fire pit.

 DRINK

March 17: Official Rye Whiskey Release Party

The Baltimore Whiskey Company, 2800 Sisson St. 1-5 p.m. Free. 443-687-9099. 

Since opening its doors in 2015, The Baltimore Whiskey Company has been preparing for the official return of rye whiskey distilling to Baltimore. And now, after three years of aging, the Remington-based company will release its first batch of Epoch Straight Rye to commemorate the first rye whiskey made in Baltimore in more than 50 years. With feature notes of clove, vanilla, honey, cinnamon, and tropical fruit, try this 100-proof spirit at its release party on Saturday, accompanied by eats from Well Crafted Pizza and Sugarvale.

 SEE

March 17: Torrey Smith Family Fund Charity Basketball Game

Royal Farms Arena, 201W. Baltimore St. 6:30 p.m. $15-100. 410-347-2006. 

NFL wide receiver Torrey Smith will wear a Carolina Panthers jersey next season, but after being drafted from the University of Maryland in 2011 and helping The Baltimore Ravens win a Super Bowl title in 2012, we’ll always claim him as one of our own. This Saturday, Smith and a group of his former and current teammates will return to Baltimore for the eighth annual charity basketball game to support his foundation, The Torrey Smith Family Fund, which benefits local after-school and teen mentoring programs. Watch these pro-football stars show off their basketball skills and enjoy giveaways and live entertainment during halftime.

 

 HEAR

March 17: Zip Into The Yellow Light

The Motor House, 120 W. North Ave. 8 p.m. $7-12. (410) 637-8300. 

Since his early years on the Baltimore club scene, Abdu Ali has hustled to create spaces—like live performances and DIY collectives—for marginalized members of the music community. This weekend, following the release of “DaWon” from his upcoming FIYA!!! mixtape, Ali will headline “Zip Into The Yellow Light,” a performance dedicated to using music as a transportation device into a metaphysical abyss where othered people can access every entity needed to fully live as themselves. International DJ BEARCAT, instrumental rock quartet Horse Lords, and legendary local voguer Marquis Revlon will open the show before Ali debuts new music on The Motor House stage.

 DO

March 16: TRÖEG-A Toga Party

American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Hwy. 8-11 p.m. $25-30. 410-244-1900.

It’s like that party from the movie Animal House, but with Tröegs beer, better snacks, and handmade crafts. This Friday, don your best bedsheet and head to the AVAM for a night of toga-filled fun to benefit the upcoming Kinetic Sculpture Race. After hitting the dance floor and sampling snacks from local restaurants like Encantada and Handlebar Café, make a keepsake craft using Tröegs Independent Brewing’s bottle caps, labels, and packaging. Don’t forget to enter to win killer raffle prizes like a behind-the-scenes tour of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and gift cards to places like Thames Street Oyster House and Race Pace Bicycles.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from futuristic rap and high-flying post-punk to shimmering, nostalgic New Wave. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city. 

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“DaWon” by Abdu Ali

From his Bmore Club roots to his punk-infused noise-rap, Abdu Ali continues to experiment and evolve, with this new single off his upcoming FIYA!!! mixtape being nothing short of rebirth. Expanding on his energetic work that came before, the young artist brings fiery (and at times NSFW) verses that traverse a transcendent discovery of self through a swirling dystopian soundscape. He proudly rejects sympathy for the struggles he’s overcome, let alone the city from which he was born, with his Baltimore roots imbuing every inch of this frenetic, futuristic sound. If you missed last week’s explosive performance last week with a full band at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., be sure to check it out to see what Abdu is all about.

“Riddles” by Ed Schrader’s Music Beat

So we know we included Ed Schrader and Delvin Rice in January’s BBP, but watch the music video for the title track off the band’s boisterous new record, and you’ll quickly see why we have to give the post-punk duo a little back-to-back love. This song is an exuberant feat, but its infectious film incites some serious FOMO, as, simply put, making it had to be so much fun. With twinkling piano and an urgent, anthemic chorus, hometown heroes like Dan Deacon (who co-wrote and produced the album), Manny Williams (aka DDm of Bond St. District), and Lexie Mountain (of Scroll Downers) play dress-up, dance, and sing along. Keep your eye on the Music Beat—with recent features in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and Spin, these local dudes are on the cusp of something big.

“Sheet Stains” by Lauren Ruth Ward

We just caught wind of this Ellicott City native, whose earthy, boot-stomping rock rolls like old wheels down a dusty back road. Fittingly, she’s recently relocated to California, where the sunny Golden State has infused her forthright, vintage-tinged folk sound. With brash lyrics and hearty, husky vocals, Ward is as much an East Coast songstress as she is a West one, with maybe even a hint of Southern belle. Think Janis meets Dolly meets Florence. And this single, off her February Well, Hell will have your toes tapping along. Her fearless sense of style with force you to follow her wherever she goes next (The Los Angeles Times and Nylon are already groupies). In fact, on April 28, you can catch her back in Baltimore at the Ottobar .

“Half A Heart” by Mark Renner

This song, or better yet, this album, is one of the great comeback stories of the past decade. In the ’80s, there was a little-known Baltimore County musician by the name of Mark Renner who was said to have made music with the moody likes of Ultravox and Cocteau Twins—and who himself was as talented as any one of those British indie big-weights. Culled from Renner’s 1986 All Walks of This Life, this jangly track, recorded in Scotland with the guidance of Big Country’s Stuart Adamson and re-released this spring, is being brought back to life for the sole purpose of appreciating this masterful musician whose songs never made it out of the shadows. (Though, as a painter and printmaker, he is well regarded for his prolific art.) With driving drums, shimmering guitar, and buoyant synth, Renner’s soft, distant baritone will leave you haunted, and hungry to hear more.

“Winning” by Peso Da Mafia

Last summer, Baltimore got a viral dance moment, but it wasn’t from Future Islands’ sultry Sam Herring moves. Instead, it was from the young guns of Peso Da Mafia and their shimmy-shaking breakout, with “Money Man” now reaching more than 3 million views on YouTube. A month ago, they released this highly anticipated follow-up, featuring that same confident, come-up attitude and an infectious slow-burn beat, equipped with an even catchier Mike Jones tribute at the chorus. You know the one. With shout-outs in XXL and Complex magazines, and a spot on this year’s lineup at SXSW, the group is one of the next big rap acts to come out of the Baltimore scene.

In this next iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs we can’t get enough of, ranging from star-quality country music and jazzy R&B to experimental instrumentals with a touch of spoken-word poetry. Check back each month for new top songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city. 

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“Not That Into You” by Emma White

It’s not often that a Baltimore singer makes it big in Nashville. For starters, we’re just barely below the Mason-Dixon line, and our music scene is better known for its bluegrass roots, hip-hop heritage, and DIY devotees than its country stars. But Towson native Emma White has changed all that, with her pop leanings and stellar pipes leading her to be dubbed one of the “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know,” according to Rolling Stone magazine. White breaks the mold of heartbroken love songs and odes to Mr. Right with this righteous number about skipping games and not settling for anything less than what she wants. With fresh vocals, original lyrics, and hearty acoustic strums, she has all the trappings of a future—though all her own—T. Swift.

“Stay On It” by Horse Lords

We’re a few months behind on Horse Lords’ latest Mixtape IV, out this past May, but when we finally heard this compelling number, we were completely mesmerized. The experimental quartet takes their instrumental grooves to a new level with this adaptation of “Stay On It,” created by composer Julius Eastman in 1973. With its original political undertones and brazen departure from the mainstream, this homage couldn’t be timelier, and Horse Lords carries on those same themes as it transforms Eastman’s minimalist layering of vibes, strings, and brass into a sax-funked, festive dance number. Moving from syncopated rhythms to a beautifully dissonant chaos, it questions the norms and rethinks the very nature of sound. Best of all is the introduction, as Eastman’s program notes are turned into spoken-word poetry by the one and only Abdu Ali.

“Gut It to the Studs” by Letitia VanSant

It’s been five years since we’ve heard new music by Baltimore’s Americana darling, Letitia VanSant, and boy are we glad she’s back. The folk singer-songwriter returns with a full-length follow-up album (out February) that quietly rivals her already accomplished debut. On this rich single, VanSant announces a sort of rebirth—having quit her job to become a full-time musician, watching the world and her city change along the way. This title track uses her trademark harmonies, heartfelt storytelling, and authentic acoustic sound to start over, to reemerge with fresh eyes, to expose and embrace her truest self. It arrives just in time for the New Year, reminding us to do the same—gut it to the studs—while showcasing how the tumultuous times of 2017 have led to the creation of some pretty great art. 

“FreKweency” by MovaKween

One of the smoothest voices to come out of the woodwork this year is that of MovaKween. The local singer-songwriter has just released her first full-length debut, featuring this infectious single. The slow jam doubles as a freestyle jazz number, with MovaKween’s voice swinging between cooing neo-soulful lows and urgent hip-hop highs. In the vein of Erykah Badu or Jill Scott, she uses her honey-coated vocals and sharp rhymes to tackle larger topics, like the importance of female empowerment, creative freedom, and feel-good vibrations for the hardship-riddled city of Baltimore. Mark her down as an artist to watch. 

“Spiral/Wave Is Not the Water” by Wye Oak

Wye Oak might no longer live here full time, but they’ll always be a Baltimore band to us. The indie duo came home for the Ottobar’s 20th birthday this fall, and lead singer Jenn Wasner’s solo Flock of Dimes show before that. And who could forget their performance at BSO Pulse. (We know we never will.) It’s been a long year since their last album, Tween, but the band now gives us a possible sneak peek of its upcoming record with this new double release. Sure, they’re essentially two separate songs, but they compliment each other like no one might have guessed in the five years between their creations. “Spiral,” circa 2012, is a rolling, chord-running number that stems from the band’s early days—back when they first started adding electronic touches to their rock-forward sound—while “Wave Is Not the Water” is a song of 2017: blossoming, powerful, introspective. If it’s any indication of what’s to come, we can’t wait for 2018. 

As for many of us, 2017 was a year of introspection and growth for the Baltimore music community. Familiar faces returned home, launched new ventures, or released seminal albums. New artists popped out of the woodwork and made their mark on the local scene. Collaboration was prolific, emotions were liberated, and a sort of homegrown catharsis ensued. A sense of change is in the air, and with the amount of talent we saw this year across all genres, we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for 2018. We couldn’t fit them all, but here are a handful of our favorite musical moments from the tumultuous past 12 months.

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Abdu Ali launches a podcast.

This fall, Baltimore native/rapper/writer Abdu Ali got to add a new title to his resume: radio show host. In October, the local artist launched his first-ever podcast, DrumBooty Radio, in iTunes via Mask Magazine. Using his background in journalism, Ali talks with fellow creatives of color about the African-American experience. With five bi-monthly, hour-long segments now under his belt, Ali has interviewed the likes of local writer/editor Lawrence Burney of True Laurels, writer/social justice advocate Bilphena Yahwon, and writer/filmmaker Nia Hampton on topics such as the importance of therapy, being black in the DIY scene, and owning your own narrative. Through this new medium, featuring one special song per episode, Ali continues to craft compelling art in the audible form and shine a spotlight on our city.

Brooks Long sings “Blues for Freddie Gray.”

Local jazz legend Lafayette Gilchrist released a new album this spring with a powerful single titled “Blues for Freddie Gray.” Riddled with Gilchrist’s pounding piano keys, a full brass section, and the soulful vocals of old-school virtuoso Brooks Long, the song is post-2015 Baltimore in a bottle. The lively, driving number is full of energy and emotion, with audio samples from actual television footage following the death of Freddie Gray and subsequent officer trials. But despite the opening police sirens and closing whirr of a Foxtrot helicopter that both speak to the lack of closure in Gray’s case, Gilchrist ends on a hopeful note. “I want to know that there’s a day that’s coming soon and fast,” howls the ever-talented Long. “I want a justice and a peace that’s made to last and last. Don’t ya tell me that we can’t all get it done.” 

Dan Deacon celebrates Spiderman of the Rings.

A lot has changed for Dan Deacon since the release of this seminal record some 10 years ago. He’s grown from a quasi-known experimental musician to a nationally acclaimed artist. His music has become a soundtrack for the New York City Ballet; his mad-scientist compositions have scored award-nominated documentary films. And yet, to celebrate the anniversary of this record, Deacon returned home to perform at the kind of DIY space that started it all. At 2640 inside St. John’s United Methodist church, his exuberant melodies led the city’s most die-hard music lovers through a journey back in time. They danced. They sweat. They stood in awe of Deacon’s humble musical mastery, along for the ride and forever thankful that he is and maybe always will be ours.

Future Islands performs four nights at the Ottobar.

When Future Islands announced a series of shows at the Ottobar this spring to commemorate the release of The Far Field, it seemed like the whole world was vying for a golden ticket in the heart-racing online lottery. When it was all said and done, Pitchfork was there, tuning the entire country in to hear the trio’s heartbreaking new record, but Baltimore was all in tow—John Waters and a medley of other notable hometown musicians included—to welcome the boys home. Through new hits (“Ran”) and old favorites (“Little Dreamer”), frontman Sam Herring sashayed across the stage, William Cashion plugged those iconic riffs on bass, and Gerritt Welmers let that swirling synth fill the sold-out room, it felt like our old hearts—full of local love—just might explode.

Good Fridays makes Baltimore dance again. 

Over a year ago, then-Baltimore arts and culture editor Gabriella Souza was on the phone with John Waters when she got an idea. The local auteur noted that his hit film Hairspray! had been inspired by the variety and dance television shows of the mid-20th-century that had sadly gone the way of the buffalo. Wouldn’t it be great, they mused, if people could get together—regardless of age, race, or class—to just dance like that today? With the help of PipeDreamz’s AC Miller-Abdullah and Baltimore contributor Cassandra Miller, Good Fridays Baltimore was born, bringing all walks of city life together for live music by the likes of Al Rogers Jr., Wendel Patrick, and Eze Jackson, local art by Shan Wallace and Aaron Maybin, and a free-for-all dance party featuring local DJs into the wee hours of the night. As the event continues to grow, we can’t wait to see what—and who—comes next.

J Pope and the HearNow release its long-awaited debut.

After years of performing around town, this alt-soul collective released its debut in June. Produced by local beat wizard Wendel Patrick, Soul Searching captures the dynamic sound of this prolific live-performing sextet—a unique fusion of soul and hip-hop with a touch of R&B and blues. The record highlights the honey-coated lyrical flair and fast-paced finesse of frontwoman Jasmine Pope and showcases the masterful improvisations of her dexterous band mates. From the highs of frenzied funk rhythms to the lows of slow burning jazz numbers, the HearNow touches on the ups ands downs of living as a working artist. This album is Exhibit A of the talent, dedication, and hard work it takes. 

Local musicians spin at Idle Hour.

Last fall, Friends Records began a new residency at our favorite vinyl-slinging dive bar, Idle Hour, in Riverside. With the watering hole newly reopened, we weren’t sure if the famed record player would live on, but thanks to the bar owners and Jimmy MacMillan’s roster of local artists, the ones and twos are alive and well curated. Hometown favorites like Blacksage, Natural Velvet, and Surf Harp have spun handpicked selections from their various genres of electronic R&B, post-punk, and indie rock. In 2018, we’d buy the bar a round of pickle backs to hear Bond St. District’s Unkle Lulu, Microkingdom, or Peals.

Micah E. Wood makes dating easier.

Perhaps our favorite album of the year goes to See Me by Micah E. Wood. On this new record, the local songwriter and music photographer tackles the trials of modern love, pulling our heart strings as he rolls through the tribulations of 21st-century romance with honesty, humility, and humor. In the poignant “Match,” Wood candidly delves into the brutal honesties of online dating. In his first single, “Without You,” his anthemic chorus sums up the jubilant feeling of finally getting over a breakup. In the buoyant “Something,” his bubbly beat embodies the beauty of letting your guard down and liking someone again.  We especially love the additions of fellow heart-pullers Joy Postell, :3ion, and the aforementioned Al Rogers Jr. Through tender electronic melodies and charming talk-sing vocals, Wood and company make our stone cold hearts—thanks a lot, Tinder—finally feel human again.

Natural Velvet drops a timely album on feminine rage.

We couldn’t have realized how much Natural Velvet’s new Mirror to Make You would resonate in 2017. But with a strong focus on “feminine rage,” as frontwoman Corynne Ostermann puts it, coinciding with the nation’s “silence breakers” that have shed fresh light on widespread sexual harassment and assault throughout multiple industries, we can’t help but find new meaning. Each song is a rebellious declaration of feeling and fury with unabashedly frank lyrics that dissect femininity and endorse the power of the female. Whatever your gender, listening to these songs is cathartic. You finish with the full weight of three small lyrics to live by from “Kronos.” “I am. I choose. I chose.”  

Opera singers unite to form Outcalls.

We love the ladies of Outcalls. With their glittering get-ups, engaging social media presence, and ambitious attitude, Peabody grads Britt Olsen-Ecker and Melissa Wimbish have catapulted themselves onto the local arts scene and created their very own genre along the way. While the band has been around since 2015, the classically trained singers have carved out a sort of baroque indie-pop music on this debut-like record, combining the classics of shimmering synth and shoegaze guitar with ethereal soprano harmonies and robust electronic rhythms that are as hypnotic as they are awakening. Witchy, somewhat tribal, and even a little bit dusty old Spaghetti Western, “Skip to Sunrise” has become one of our top songs of the year. 

Snail Mail shoots to stardom.

It wasn’t long after the 2016 release of Snail Mail’s debut album that Lindsey Jordan and her two band mates started to get national attention. The band’s lo-fi indie rock music was suddenly in the web pages of Pitchfork and, before long, sprawled across a feature in The New York Times. The trio sold out the Ottobar, recorded a NPR Tiny Desk Concert, went off on tour with indie darlings Beach Fossils, and then signed a deal with Matador Records. (We also awarded them a Best of Baltimore for “Rising Star.”) Fresh out of high school and already well beyond their years, it’s safe to say that they are, officially, the next big thing.

Super City get synchronized in infectious music video.

This year, the Baltimore music scene has really upped the ante when it comes to music videos, with few more shining examples than that of this playful spring take on Super City’s most recent single, “Artificial Sin.” The indie slow jam gets star treatment with fresh outfits and unexpected choreography as the band’s five musicians don white jumpsuits and leather Chelsea boots and use coy dance moves to tap, twirl, and even, in one moment, drop it like its hot in a room full of turtle-necked backup dancers. Special guests include Paul Hutson of Bond St. District and Olsen-Ecker and Wimbish of Outcalls, to name a few. You can’t watch it without wishing you were there, too. 

The Cardinal Sheehan Choir performs “Rise Up.”

In September, Baltimore middle schoolers went viral after a video of their choir rehearsal featuring a powerful performance of Andra Day’s “Rise Up” made its rounds, in the millions, around the Internet. Within a couple of weeks, they were performing live on “Good Morning America,” with Day herself responding with a special message for the students: “Your video was so powerful and moved me so deeply and is moving the entire nation right now…We appreciate you so much.” One of the more heartwarming moments of an otherwise turbulent year, the students later performed for Baltimore in their Loch Raven gymnasium, while choir director Kenyatta Hardison shared the back-story of their shot to fame. This below video went viral for us, too.

The Ottobar turns 20.

Two decades is an eternity in the lifetime of a rock club, let alone one in Baltimore where it seems like every old-school establishment is quickly being replaced with a glitzy sky-rise apartment building. But this September, the Ottobar turned a whopping 20 years old. From the rabblerousing rock years downtown on Davis Street to the wide-ranging lineups on Howard Street in Remington today, our dark, dingy, perfectly-imperfect music venue has remained the go-to spot for artists of all genres, still sticking to its unapologetic, underdog guns as more massive arenas open in D.C. and across the country. To celebrate, legends of the past—J. Roddy Walston, Wye Oak, Roads to Space Travel, Candy Machine—stepped back onstage to relive, and continue, the glory days.

WTMD launches kid-friendly Saturday Morning Tunes concert series. As a young father himself, Sam Sessa saw the conundrum: what happens when music lovers grow up and have kids?  They can’t just go see a show any old night of the week anymore. They have bedtimes—and pajamas to put on. Can they not have fun anymore? Enter Saturday Morning Tunes, Sessa’s brainchild concert for both the young and the young art heart. With a smattering of sold-out shows at both the Towson studio and Senator Theatre, and future plans to include more notable Baltimore bands that are otherwise not associated with the “kindie” genre, these weekend morning shows have quickly become a new favorite family ritual. Best of all, like sifting through an old record collection with your mom or sharing that old cassette tape with your son, it’s even an better opportunity for parents—however cool they used to be—to bond with their (hopefully) music-loving kids. 

Other Colors

Natural Motion (Friends Records)

From the first beats of the first track of this new album, you immediately think: Okay, I’m listening. Within seconds, “Return to Life” blossoms into a beautiful spell, enchanting you as it dances across a vivid landscape, swinging between the sweeping desert twangs of a dusty spaghetti western and the sultry bossa nova of Copacabana on some 1960s summer night. Each song on this radiant record unfolds like a film score, layered and complex, evocative of some distant time or place. For us, for some reason, the instrumental intro for “You Know the One” really strikes a chord. But throughout, the local duo gently melds tender vocals into these vintage-tinged tunes, finding a happy place between genres—psychedelic pop, lo-fi indie, and easy listening—fittingly drawing inspiration from “forgotten AM radio hits and the smoother side of krautrock.” The result is a lush, atmospheric dream—one where you’re almost able to follow the pluck of fuzzy guitar chords with your fingers, or feel the steady punch of drums in your gut. You’ll find yourself not wanting to wake up.

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Abdu Ali

MONGO (self-released)

Over the past few years, Abdu Ali has been knighted a king of the Baltimore DIY scene. His bi-monthly, boundary-breaking Kahlon parties at The Crown garnered diverse crowds and national attention, and his smattering of mixtapes grew exceedingly more accomplished as they straddled the line between aggressive dance music, earnest rap, and avant-garde performance art, all on the back of his hometown genre, Bmore Club. But on his new record, the 24-year-old has begun a metamorphosis, evolving from an intrepid prodigy into his full potential. Through passionate words, fearless beats, and unapologetic vigor, he hones his bold, unbridled sound into a mighty tour de force. He runs headfirst into the dark cloud of existential questions and battles heady topics like race, sexuality, love, hate, and survival. In the clearing, he finds himself lighter and stronger than ever before, recognizing and celebrating the pieces of his identity: being black, queer, young, an artist, from the city streets of Baltimore. In these times, his powerful messages of empowerment (“Keep movin’,” he chants) and acceptance (“I’m alive!” he shouts) are more important than ever before.

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Wye Oak

Tween (Merge Records)

This is not an album. According to Wye Oak bandmates Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, it is a “not-album,” born out of other lifetimes and past experiences—leftovers from the cutting room floor, melodies that never made it there in the first place. But all eight of these songs had a moment, however fleeting, when they had meaning, and now the local duo has given them room in which to exist. The album is not meant to be cohesive; it’s not supposed to be the Wye Oak you’ve come to know and love. At times, Wasner sings so softly you can barely hear her. At others, she growls like a deep, dark, slow-rolling thunder. Even still, there are explosive moments, and those that shimmer and shine. These new-old songs are a testament to the band’s 10 years together, having grown from indie darlings into accomplished, self-assured artists. This is not the band’s much-anticipated fifth album, either. It is a cathartic vessel to get them to the next place they want to go.

Read our interview with lead singer Jenn Wasner.

In a few short years, local rapper Abdu Ali has become an important fixture in the creative community of Baltimore. On the heels of a brand-new album and the anticipated rebirth of his Kahlon party, the young talent talks about his personal growth, positive message, and the future of our city’s arts scene.

You were just featured by Teen Vogue as one of the “coolest queers on the Internet.” Teen Vogue! How did you hear the news?
It was early in the morning. Somebody tweeted me and I didn’t believe it. The writer wrote about my—for lack of a better word—rants, or monologues, on social media and I realized, ‘Whoa, people are really paying attention.’

It’s especially awesome because there’s so much stuff out there now.
It’s really exciting. 2016 has been the year of me getting over a hump, coming into myself, and self-actualizing both my music and my identity—being queer, and black, and from Baltimore. Because of those pieces of my identity, I face a lot of challenges, especially in the music industry, especially rapping, which is such a heteronormative scene.

Being from Baltimore creates challenges, because for a long time, people in other cities like New York or D.C. ignored the Baltimore music scene, so we had to work so hard to give the city national weight. There are also the challenges of just being a creative in this city, trying to combat these archaic, deep-rooted institutions where older writers, editors, gallery owners, academic leaders don’t want to move forward and let young people, black people, women come through and do their thing. We’re working with so many challenges being from Baltimore, but Baltimore has so much potential, it has so much talent. We see who we could be.

What are some of the things that you’d like to see done?
For a long time, the media wasn’t really giving us platforms, which is so important, not just for artists but also for the community to be introduced to new voices and ideas. It creates progress and gets Baltimore out of that old, dry environment. We also need more support from city government, and not just for straight white artists but more marginalized creatives, like they do at The Contemporary with the GritFund. The city needs to realize it already has a good thing going [with the DIY scene]—something that makes the city beautiful—and they should put more money towards those things than tourism.

A number of local musicians have mentioned that the lack of venues is a major issue.
Space is very limited, but since I started touring, I realized that’s not just a Baltimore issue—it’s national, it’s happening all over, with gentrification. We need more venues like The Crown, and collectives like Balti Gurls, and events like Kahlon. One of the constant struggles is how do we get bigger audiences? How do we get new people to come out? Because at this point, it’s just a bunch of artists supporting artists.

As a leader of the local music scene, from your perspective, is the arts community as close-knit as it seems to be?
There’s starting to be a web—the Freddie Gray unrest definitely helped ignite some creative solidarity. It created a lot of sparks and inspiration for people to come together and be more active. It was a significant landmark in Baltimore history that catapulted impossible change. Baltimore will never be the same because of it. We saw so many positive things happening during that time, but there’s still a lot more work that needs to be done.

I think the mainstream has success, but the alternative and underground needs help. The visual arts scene is severely lacking in cultivators, a missing piece that could help create a kind of artistic renaissance in Baltimore. They need more than just Bmore Art. This is a big city. There are 600,000 people here, and that’s not including Towson or the county or surrounding areas. There are definitely a lot of people we can attract. And black artists specifically are still not getting the audiences they deserve. It shouldn’t be hard to get people to come out on a Saturday for a $5 show. It’s kind of crazy how hard it is.

That’s interesting, given that Kahlon, your bi-monthly DIY party at The Crown, always had a line out the door. What was it about that show that inspired such turnout?
We put in the work to put that party in people’s faces. We put flyers at MICA, Morgan, Towson, and had this massive email list. These days, people are just using the internet, which might work in New York City, but in Baltimore, you still have to be visible—and physical. We put ourselves out there not just in URL, but IRL. We had to prove that Kahlon was something that people should be a part of. We had to make it more than just a show; we had to make it an experience, where people felt welcome, and like they were witnessing something different and new and exciting.

Kahlon did a great job at pulling different walks of life together in Baltimore, thanks to its genre-crossing lineups.
I just started making music three-and-a-half years ago and I would go to shows and be the only black, queer, or young person, and I thought, this is too separate. Why not put something together where everyone can go? Inclusivity is the most important thing that made Kahlon different, but we shouldn’t have been the first.

You recently ended Kahlon, but it’s returning as a festival.
November 5 at Bambou. We’re working on a lineup now, with a lot of local artists and more national acts. The Crown was getting too tight. We want to bring it from 200 people to 500 or 1,000. And if this one’s successful, we’ll do more.

And you also recently had tours with the likes of Lower Dens and :3ION.
Those tours made me realize, this is working. That’s why I say 2016 is the year of self-actualization. I’m realizing that what I’m doing is bigger than me. I’m realizing that I am creating representation and inspiration for people like me. I want to go out there and empower and speak positivity for black people and queer people, and women and trans people, and any other identities that cross or intersect with mine.

Your new album, Mongo, carries a lot of those messages and is especially powerful.
I wanted to create something that was raw, real, inclusive, and accessible. On my previous projects, I was thinking too much—that I needed to be very different from everybody else, like I needed to be the future, that my music was a product. I wasn’t thinking about the bigger picture, and I realized that in doing so, a lot of my music wasn’t accessible in many ways.

I started thinking about how I go to art shows and some abstract artists don’t humble themselves when explaining their work. They’re not like, yeah, this is abstract but everybody can get it. They’re elitist, like if you don’t get it, it’s not meant for you. I don’t like that shit. I think art should be for everyone. Music is a universal language and it should be for all people. I think music can create an open dialogue for people to be able to dissect things like racism, misogyny, and transphobia and start to understand how they relate.

You call the album a “black self-care mixtape.” How does the process of creating music help or heal you?
It makes me feel like I exist—like my existence is important and valid. It makes me feel powerful. It brings me purpose. It does something for me that no money, clothes, or material things can do. It helps me survive. And that’s what I want to make people feel like, in Baltimore and beyond. Like, you do exist. Like, you fucking exist. This world is trying to tell people like me that we don’t, and I’ll do whatever little efforts I can to make people feel like living.

Like in your songs “I’m Alive” and “I, Exist.”
I’ve never told anybody this, but I’ve had suicidal thoughts, and that’s not something I should ignore or not talk about. We have anti-bullying campaigns but that’s not fully addressing the problem for those people who need it the most. People will say, well there’s Ru Paul, and there’s Caitlyn Jenner, with her own reality TV show, we are progressing—but just because you see people getting support doesn’t mean it’s easier for the other thousands of people out there. Transgender people still get murdered every day. So I want my music to inspire some queer black boy living in some city where not a lot of people look like him.

You want the music to do for them what it did for you.
You asked me if it helps me heal and it really does. Growing up, I always wanted to be an entertainer or performer, but my fears of being queer and black had me unsure if I really could. But then I just said, ‘Fuck it—let me try this thing out, and see where it takes me.’

It takes a lot of courage to do that.
It does, and while I try to motivate people, I’m not going push somebody who struggles to do so, because it’s hard. It’s hard to be yourself when you’re not a straight white male, because you get challenged at every step of the way for just being you. It’s hard to do things that people like you don’t tend to have the opportunity to do. But music makes me feel like I’m worthy of living, and that there’s love out there for me. When I say ‘I exist,’ I’m speaking to the audience, but I’m speaking to myself.

Even with all these hurdles to overcome in Baltimore—as a city, in the arts and culture community—what is the best thing about being an artist here?
The freedom to do whatever you want to do and not to have to limit yourself. We have an advantage in Baltimore to grow as much as possible within ourselves and for ourselves. In New York, there are a lot of rules. You have to adapt to what’s going on or you’ll be overlooked. But Baltimore is unruly.

“My resolution for life is to try my best to not be a robot.” —Abdu Ali, musician

“Go on a truffle hunt in France, vote for a forward thinking President, teach city kids about gardening (right after I learn how to), drink some old, great Burgundy and be more environmentally responsible.” —Cindy Wolf, co-owner of Foreman Wolf/executive chef at Charleston

“More films and filmmaking in Baltimore.” —Jed Dietz, founding director, Maryland Film Festival

“2016 will be all about ‘lines and licks, prose and punk’ I resolve to turn up my writing another notch and, after thirty years, pick up the guitar again. Watch out Dylan, or at least Paul Westerberg. ‘These go to 11.’”—Gregg Wilhelm, founder and executive director CityLit Project

“I have learned that resolutions can be the perfect ego juice for lazy overachievers such as myself. In 2015, my resolution was to ‘spend less time interacting with people and more time with my iPhone’ which, much to the dismay of all of my loved ones, I totally slam-dunked this year! So much so, that for 2016, I’m stepping up my game and challenging myself to successfully finish a ChapStick. Here’s hoping!” —Deana Haggag, director, The Contemporary

“In my job, I get to throw some of the city’s biggest festivals, and it lets me celebrate everything I love about Baltimore. I’m going to take it to the next level in 2016 by upping my Instagram game: more posts, better posts about living, working, and promoting Baltimore. #goals” —Kathleen Hornig, festivals director, Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts

“I am over New Year’s resolutions. Done. Made too many resolutions that were history by February. I’ve read the articles about how doing a new routine for seven day locks it in as a habit. Nope. Doesn’t work. Maybe I’m a slow learner. Or maybe that habit-forming formula only works for something you’d secretly want to do anyway, even if it wasn’t a good-for-you resolution. Napping, for example. I could probably lock in a napping habit inside a week. A daily dose of treadmill, not so much. But hope springs eternal, so I’ve got a compromise resolution for 2016: Breath. Just breathe. Deep. Let that diaphragm drop, those lungs expand. Don’t wait for choir practice to be reminded. Don’t wait for yoga class to find the groove. Just in. Sloooww. And out. Slooww. Until it’s a habit.” —Sheilah Kast, host of Midday on WYPR

“As a member of the Baltimore City Council, I am lobbied almost daily by email from various constituents, sometimes by scores of emails on a given legislative or policy issue. And we pay attention. The currently muted voices in this culture, however, are those failing to participate in the personal electronic communications in which so much ‘business’ is generated and conducted in this day and age. Not surprisingly, in a recent house meeting with constituents in a proud but cyber-deprived neighborhood, a group of active leaders complained of feeling ‘left out’ and ‘forgotten’ by city government in general. These residents go to community meetings and stay in phone touch with elected officials and community leaders. They are diligent. What’s missing is the ‘buzz’ of back-and-forth electronic communications with each other and the world outside. My resolution to these leaders and to myself: To help promote a critical mass of neighbors in my cyber-deprived neighborhoods to get online (with phones if not laptops) and join the conversations that daily lead to attention and even resolution from city agencies, private service providers, and elected officials. Until then, active residents are foregoing that communication with each other which leads to the concerted impact of their ‘electronic’ voices on the outside world.” —Mary Pat Clarke, city councilwoman, 14th District

“I have resolved to look for the best in each person I meet and for the positive in every situation—and to see challenges as opportunities for growth. I am determined to find the inner strength I’ll need for the work ahead.” —Freeman Hrabowski, president, University of Maryland, Baltimore County