About halfway through summer, many of us, especially with temperatures steadily in the nineties for a few weeks now, are readily looking toward fall. And with that, this week, comes the announcement of the hottest Halloween party in Baltimore, when Believe in Music teams up with the Maryland Science Center for its annual October bash.

For one evening, the exhibits—kid-friendly learning experiences on the likes of dinosaurs, space, and physics—transform into a full-on music festival on the Inner Harbor, featuring more than a dozen bands, a wild costume contest, and overflowing craft beer, all to benefit the educational center and local arts nonprofit.

The event, now in its eighth year, has just announced its 2019 lineup, featuring familiar faces who have performed at past parties, as well as exciting new acts. On Saturday October 26, some two dozen Baltimore artists will perform across multiples stages, from the planetarium to the rooftop to beneath a gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex.

The main stage will feature big-name headliners: head-banging rock band J. Roddy Walston and The Business, beloved rap star DDm, and Talking Heads tribute group, Psycho Killers. Meanwhile, the Friends of Friends [Records] Stage will highlight rising DIY acts—post-punk duo Ed Schrader’s Music Beat, alt-hip-hop collective Soul Cannon, indie-pop singer Eyas, and electro-femme pair HexGirlfriends—while the planetarium will host a handful of techno and house, and dance music artists. As in years past, the Charm City Bluegrass Stage will be dedicated to Americana musicians, such as bluegrass rebels The Dirty Grass Players and folk-pop septet Haint Blue. And both DJs Rob Macy of Save Your Soul and James Nasty will be back on the ones and twos into the wee hours of the nights.

Exhibits will be open throughout the evening, as will the IMAX theater, where Future Islands bassist William Cashion and psychedelic electronic artist DeltaNine will curate immersive experiences.
Tickets usually sell out and are now on sale for general admission ($42) and VIP ($80).

J Pope and the HearNow 

Soul Searching (self-released)

One of Baltimore’s most anticipated albums finally dropped this summer. After years of performing around town, this alt-soul collective has released its debut, bottling a dynamic sound that we weren’t sure could be captured outside of a live setting. But on this new record, produced by local beat wizard Wendel Patrick, the soulful sextet, led by frontwoman Jasmine Pope, leaves us wanting nothing but more. Fusing a medley of genres—blues, funk, soul, hip-hop, R&B—Pope showcases her lyrical flair and finesse, zigging and zagging between honey-coated verses and fast-paced rhymes, all delivered with a sophisticated swagger. On each track, her voice is only amplified by her bandmates and their masterful improvisations, filled with heavy runs of bass, the pitter-patter of hand drums, and smoky swirls of sax. Most songs are slow-burning, jazz-influenced numbers, but there are also swift, somewhat-frenzied rhythms, like “Let Them Come” and “Spaz Out,” which truly stand out. The latter is a freestyle feat that’s so pure and raw, it could almost pass as punk rock.

J. Roddy Walston and the Business

Destroyers of the Soft Life (ATO Records) 

It’s been four long years since J. Roddy Walston released new music with his hard-rocking band, the Business. It’s been even longer since they all lived here in 2010—but since their pre-breakout days were spent in Baltimore, we still consider them our own. The years have been kind to the quartet. In a way, this fourth full-length album is a coming-of-age moment for the soulful Southern rockers, as they find more clarity and balance in their giant sound, returning bigger and bolder than ever—but also far more full of light. Walston’s soaring vocals come to the forefront, while the blazing guitar, nimble drums, and pounding ivories balance their time in the sun. Across 10 songs, they confront the past and imperfections with brutal honesty. A new father himself, Walston addresses an estranged dad in “The Wanting,” as well as smoking-and-drinking sins in “I Called You” and “Bad Habits.” Through valleys and peaks, his gospel upbringing shines through, and he finds some sort of acceptance along the way. The band concludes each anthem—be it a raucous rock number or wistful melody—standing powerful and triumphant, somewhere  between the old and new versions of themselves.

See our full interview with J. Roddy Walston and The Business.

You grew up in Tennessee and live in Virginia now. What brought you guys to Baltimore in 2004?
In its early form, the band had gone on a few little tours and we had some buddies in Baltimore, so we’d stop in and play The Talking Head in the old Ottobar space on Davis Street. It seemed like everybody got it. There was rad music happening in Baltimore, we could afford to live there, and my wife, who is an opera singer, was looking at Peabody for grad school. Once we got to town, we slowly started doing shows and meeting people and it went from there. 

How do you feel your time in Baltimore has influenced your sound?
When I moved to Baltimore, there were some very creative bands that definitely changed the way I was thinking about music. I was 21, from a bubble of a small southern town, and Baltimore was not that at all. Just as you’re forming as an adult, you have this most beautiful yet hard city. Baltimore definitely shaped my understanding of the world and effectively what I was going to write about.

What was the energy of the music scene like back then?
It was incredible. Every night of the week, you could go see a great band. It felt super exciting, and also a little bit competitive. All of a sudden someone would get a write-up in a magazine, or you’d hear about them selling out a show in New York. They were at the same shows you were going to. Everybody was friends, or within one degree of separation, or they were the bartender or waiter at the restaurant you went to. If you’re the only good athlete in your high school, it doesn’t really make you a better player. But if you’re around people who are doing great work, there is an immediate realness. It makes you think, “I could do great stuff, too.” It makes it seem like anything is possible.

You played a lot of your early shows at the Ottobar on Howard Street.
Ottobar was definitely home base. I actually worked there for a little while, doing the janitor/bar-back/door guy thing. It was nice, because everybody there understood I was in a band, but at the same time, we’d play a sold-out show and feel super triumphant and the next night, some guy would be like, ‘Hey man, last night was great!’ And I’d be like, ‘Thanks, man—are you done with that cup?’ Which was sort of humbling. The timing of this record, with the Ottobar’s 20th anniversary, is almost cosmic.

You’re performing there this month. Do you feel any way about performing this new sound in an old venue?
It’ll be a little strange but be super rad. The Ottobar is a great club, and I think we as a band are the best that we’ve ever sounded. We’ve evolved, as a band and as people. We cleared the playbooks, started fresh, and threw in all these ideas. With this new album, there were no rules. There was no “we can’t do what the band we’ve been would do.” But we were kind of going, “What would the band we want to be do?” That being said, it’s not like we said, “Here’s our new sound!” Everybody was just on board to do something new. It makes it dangerous—we might mess up—but we’re excited. I guess some people will want something that we’re not going to give them, but I don’t really care.

Were these songs leftovers or written in between now and Essential Tremors in 2012?
This is the first record that is totally from scratch in every way: Writing, recording. A lot of times in the past, I would have a notebook full of rough lyrics or ideas or collections of words that I would use as a guide or if I got stuck. This time, I approached it completely different. In a sense, a lot more time has been spent on each song. We’re not covering up our vocals anymore. Every single word I say will be available for people to process. 

You’re also a dad now. Has that influenced your process?
I don’t notice any song that sounds like, ‘Hey, I’m a dad—let me tell you a thing or two,’ but it definitely changed me. Having time off, being at home and off the road, having this new studio we built in Richmond really put a different weight and focus on having a balanced life. I think being a father made me a better songwriter.

Visual Arts

Summer ’17 at C. Grimaldis Gallery
Through Aug. 26, 523 N. Charles St. Catch some of Baltimore’s biggest artistic names at this group show, including the works of Sondheim Artscape prize finalists Zoe Charlton, Wesley Clark, and Hasan Alahi. 

Concrete/Complex: a portrait of McKeldin Fountain
Aug. 12-Sept. 3, Current Space, 421 Howard St.  Using photography, video, and sound, Baltimore-based artists Shannon Collis and Liz Donadio documented McKeldin Fountain’s last days. Their portrait of the once-functional space culminates in an immersive installation that conjures a meditation on the essence of this urban landmark. The installation’s sculptural forms reference the fountain’s Brutalist design, and celebrate its minimalism and strong angles; video shot on site traverses each of these surfaces. Collis and Donadio’s abstract, visual, and auditory impressions offer a sensory memorial experience of McKeldin Fountain, opening a layered engagement with viewers. 

What We Learn While Waiting
Aug. 14-20, Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center, 847 N. Howard St.  Inspired by Baltimore City’s public benches, “What we learn while waiting” – a conversation with Baltimore, the greatest city in America; is a gallery exhibition that explores the many experiences, dynamics, and realities that exist within our city’s parameters. The works curated by Malaika Aminata Clements, with Shan Wallace and LieAnne Navarro, are inspired by public space, human interaction, mass transit, and Baltimore city’s benches. This event is sponsored by    

Our Right To Smile
Opens Aug. 26, Dovecote Café, 2501 Madison Ave.  This exhibit from painter Jerrell Gibbs provides a glimpse into his world through recreations of childhood photographs and memories. Gibbs bestows viewers a lens into the everyday life of the community he’s familiar with. He gives the audience a sense of the traditional Baltimorean family functions. His use of elongated figures, inspired by Ernie Barnes, and expressive gestures allows him to convey a feeling of liveliness in the form of two-dimensional paintings.

Performing Arts

Super City/ Chiffon/ Twen
Aug. 14, Ottobar, 2549 Howard St.  Catch Baltimore rockers Super City and Twen as they head out on tour. Ultra-smooth R&B group Chiffon joins them for this show. 

Ultrafaux
Aug. 20, An Die Musik, 409 N. Charles St. Fresh off their new album release, Ultrafaux—an acoustic trio that presents original music rooted in the authentic technique of 30’s French guitarist Django Reinhardt—will present a set of Reinhardt’s songs exploring the evolution of the gypsy jazz style.  

Summer in the Square with Symphony Number One
Aug. 23, Mt. Vernon Place’s West Square  This performance from the Best of Baltimore winning chamber orchestra that specializes in substantial works by emerging composers includes 15 pieces, 14 of which are new compositions that have never before been played in public. The works feature spoken word poetry by Eubie Blake, a toy piano, dub-step influences, selections from George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Saint-Saens, a taste of patriotic flair, and a piece inspired by the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy’s discovery of the Washington Monument cornerstone.

J. Roddy Walston and The Business
Aug. 24-26, Ottobar, 2549 Howard St. J. Roddy Walston and The Business are returning to Baltimore (they are now based in Richmond) for this three-day residency at the Ottobar. Specializing in a classic-sounding Southern rock/Americana style that emphasizes songwriting and danceable kinetics, they are about to release their fourth studio album this fall and have a new single, “The Wanting”, their first four years.

Events

Throwback III: A 90’s hip hop party
Friday, Aug. 11, Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.  Curators of Hip Hop and Creative Alliance are partnering for a 90’s R&B, soul, and hip hop party, with two dance crews one dance floor. Bmore Than Dance and local Bboy and Bgirl crews will be there along with artists Eze Jackson, Jahiti of Brown FISH, Joy Postell, Al Rogers Jr. and Bobbi Rush, who will be performing your favorite 90’s hits.Throwback gear highly recommended but not mandatory.

Literary Mt. Vernon walking tour
Aug. 19, meet at the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 400 Cathedral St. Follow in the footsteps of Baltimore’s literary luminaries on this Maryland Humanities tour. Discover the elegant brownstone mansions and majestic cultural institutions built by Baltimore’s successful 19th century merchants and industrialists on . Learn how a neighborhood of scholars, struggling artists and authors, newspaperman, philanthropists and social reformers offered rich opportunities to discuss and debate ideas and open new literary avenues. 

News

On August 12, 1992, the American Visionary Art Museum became a United States Congressionally designated national museum. Though it wouldn’t open its doors for another three years, founder and director Rebecca Alban Hoffberger recalls, “That early and unanimous official recognition gave AVAM the imprimatur of credibility to flourish that which has since wildly exceeded even the sweetest of all our dreams. We say on the eve of our 25th Anniversary as a beloved national museum, God-speed the rapid return to united and Bi-Partisan Congressional care and action to impact the greater good. We sure need their urgent visionary action to repair infrastructure, healthcare, climate, and create the jobs of the future, now.”

In this second iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs we can’t get enough of, ranging from indie afropop to rabble-rousing rock-and-roll to soulful R&B. 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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“Nowhere” by Djembe Jones

We just discovered this Takoma Park quartet and let’s just say we can’t stop listening. Their listless summer sound is a feel-good fusion, intermingling Afro-pop (the band is named after a ubiquitous West African drum and one of its bandmates hails from the east side of the continent) with hints of indie, hip-hop, and R&B. We dig the warm harmonies, pitter-patter drums, and groovy rhythms of this sweet little love song.

“Hot Shot” by Joseph & The Beasts

Transport to the stars in this celestial song from local indie-pop-rock group Joseph & The Beasts, on which frontman Joseph Mulhollen’s operatic vocals sail to epic heights—his notes riding higher and higher with dips and diversions as if flying over and through the clouds. It’s a mighty anthem and its ambitious spirit is infectious; it makes you want to seize the day.

“Consciousness” by Joy Postell

This track isn’t new, but with our “Best of Baltimore” issue on stands next week, we can’t stop listening to the song behind this year’s “Best Music Video” for Postell’s fall 2016 flick, shot partially inside the Peale Museum during The Contemporary’s Only When It’s Dark Enough Can You See The Stars exhibit. The soulful singer-songwriter uses unruly, jazz-like rhythms, fiercely sharp lyrics, and emotive energy to address issues faced by the African-American community. Her accomplished sound—and message—couldn’t be timelier. 

“The Wanting” by J. Roddy Walston & The Business

J. Roddy is back, y’all. The once-Baltimore-based rock band (now residing in Richmond, Virginia) has released a new song for the first time in four years. It might be a little more clean-cut than The Business’s rabblerousing Bmore days, but it’s big and buoyant, with soaring guitar and a catchy, crescendo chorus worth adding to your next road trip.

“Kno” by Us and Us Only

The sad news that Mobtown Studios will be closing its doors this fall makes this melancholy melody all the more bittersweet. It was produced there—its lush guitars, punching drums, and cooing vocals made bigger and bolder in the Charles Village space. This song sort of breaks our hearts in a good way, nostalgically conjuring up the sludgy days of Julys past and those even longer romances you can never quite get out of your head. Be sure to watch the mesmerizing music video, too.

In the October issue of Baltimore, I wrote a brief profile on local rock band J. Roddy Walston and The Business. Though they’ve been selling out local clubs for years, the band released its first national album this summer and is currently gaining ground on a nationwide tour. I got a chance to talk to lead singer and piano player J. Roddy Walston and drummer Steve Colmus about their recent success.

Why did you make the transition from Tennessee to Baltimore back in 2004. What were some of the biggest culture shocks?
J. Roddy: The band had started to travel around some and we knew we wanted to get out of the small town we were living in. We played some in Baltimore, played the Talking Head, and always had a good time. Also, my wife sings opera and, when she was looking at conservatories, Peabody was on her list.

The whole thing was pretty shocking at first. We were living in Mt. Vernon, right downtown. I’d grown up in a town that wasn’t at all dangerous and none of my friends ever had anything stolen. But, not all the shocks were bad. There is a lot more diversity and different kinds of restaurants here. Baltimore is very, very cool. It’s got an artistic vibe, but it’s not too heavy, so I connected with that. It’s both a blue collar and an artistic city.

And Baltimore seemed to embrace you back.
J. Roddy: There were some people who immediately liked our band. But, I feel like we gained every fan by hard work. There wasn’t, like, a big breaking point where we opened for a bigger band and suddenly the city knew about us. We got out there and hustled a lot, handed out flyers. Before the last record came out, we burned a lot of CDs and gave out free stuff. It was maybe about two years ago, in the middle of us starting to tour a ton, when people in other cities started to take notice.

I would say the first moment was when we played the G-Spot about two years ago and the show before that wasn’t as attended as I would have hoped, so I thought Baltimore was going to stop caring about us. But then that show doubled in attendance. You get a little bit of press, some people see you, and you get messages from people. All the sudden, one night, everything kind of converges.

Steve: We were stuck there for a while because rock wasn’t happening in Baltimore and the crowd built slowly for a while. Something changed a couple years ago and the crowd started getting bigger and better. Pretty much every show we’ve had at The Ottobar has been sold out for the past couple years. I think Wham City kind of indirectly benefited us because it got people excited about local music. People got more fired up about going to shows. Rolling Stone giving Baltimore “Best Scene” gave us tailwind.

Most bands coming out of Baltimore these days do seem to be experimental, electronic, dance, etc. It’s refreshing to have a rock band put us on the map.
J. Roddy: We’re aware that we’re different than a lot of the bands doing well in Baltimore now. We were doing our thing before they all got famous. Dan Deacon was playing The Talking Head the same week as us. It wasn’t like we were fed up with artsy stuff and had to do something different. I’m surprised that [experimental music] is what took off in Baltimore. That was always kind of something that was happening on the side.

But there are still so many good rock bands here. I didn’t realize that Baltimore was suddenly tacked as an artsy music city until we were touring. It became easier for us to book because we were from Baltimore. What I thought was more of a hard working, blue collar place turned out to have a completely opposite ethos. All the sudden we’re finding out in other cities, Baltimore is becoming the Mecca of these other things. But, we’re just kind of doing our thing.

Steve: I’m from Pasadena, so I grew up going to the old Ottobar on Davis Street, and I knew Baltimore for some of the D.C. hardcore bands like Fugazi. I think part of it is that a lot of the experimental bands are transplants, so maybe it’s not a direct lineage. Since Liars Academy went away, there hasn’t been much of a rock presence in Baltimore. In terms of new bands playing rock, when we try to find a local rock band to open for us, it can be tough. It would be good to get people thinking about rock again.

What has it been like to release your first national album?
J. Roddy: Before, the only way somebody bought our CD would be at our show. It’s kind of cool rolling into cities where people have already bought the record. People have been singing the words to every song at shows, which brings it up to a whole new level. Even doing this interview is a little bit different. We’ve always been really good about touring and being a band, but all the media stuff is one of the biggest differences. We did produce a record that we’re proud of. It’s been cool to sort of see this thing that we’ve been working on so hard for many years take a life of its own.

Steve: I think we kind of feel like anything is possible. There are bands all the time that put out really great records that don’t go anywhere. But I think with Vagrant and the team that we have, we have a nice sort of apparatus behind it. We’ll know more in six months if we’ll get any traction. I’ve been playing in bands since I was 15 and this is the first time I think it’s conceivable we’ll be in a different place a year from now. You need to take a step back and see how much has changed. I think we’ve learned to keep kind of a level head.

You’re known for your energetic stage shows. How did you translate that to your album?
J Roddy: We went out and recorded in a really nice studio in L.A. We sort of hit this wall, like, the record’s great, but the live show is completely different. The tendency would be to overproduce, try to make this big record. But really we just tried to play these songs well and record them that way. We tried to make the songs strong enough to stand on their own without a bunch of fancy tricks. We recorded in a simple way in a really live, organic room so there’s less chance for things to be wild and crazy. It sounds like you’re in a room with us playing.

Steve: That was actually really difficult. We tried a bunch of different approaches: playing in different studios, playing live in studio, playing together, and playing separate. We didn’t obsess over takes as much. It was like pretty much every take that’s on the album was from the first three takes. All of us were kind of feeling the pressure of the first record. There were moments where it’s not really comfortable, which almost kind of translates the nerves of being on stage. You can tell it’s not, “Let’s do 100 takes and pick the very best one.” We kind of went for a rough-and-tumble approach.

Most rock bands these days overlook the piano—it almost seems old school to use one. What is it that’s drawn you to the instrument?
J Roddy: I grew up around the piano. My grandmother was always playing it. All the houses I spent time in had pianos. I think there was a point when I was younger when I was listening to new and old bands and I stopped listening to bands that only had guitar, bass, and drums. I wanted something other than that. For a while, I got more into keyboards, but as I started writing faster-paced and pound-it-out kind of songs, I realized there’s no keyboard that sounds good doing that. So, piano was it.

I do write on and play guitar, but I kind of felt like there was more room to do whatever I wanted on piano because there weren’t that many people doing that in rock bands. Not a lot of the rules have been written. I just kind of beat the crap out of the thing and after the show people are like, “You’re such a great piano player.”