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.”

This was a big year for Baltimore music. A decade after Rolling Stone dubbed our city the best music scene in the country, local artists continued to make great music—in some ways better than ever—and they got recognized for it, both through local listeners and on the national stage.

Locally, Baltimore artists released a record number of highly anticipated albums over the course of the last 12 months, and in doing so, also treated us to a heap of had-to-be-there concerts on our hometown stages, from Snail Mail making her debut at The Parkway to DDm transforming the Soundstage into a fashion runway to one very memorable night starring TT The Artist at Union Collective during our first-ever Baltimore magazine Music Festival. (Be on the lookout for its return in 2019.) Nationally, it seemed as if every time we went online, another local musician was being recognized by a top tastemaker, from The Fader and Vice (both thanks in no small part to True Laurels’ Lawrence Burney) to, yes, Rolling Stone, plus NPR, Billboard, and The New York Times, with one especially deserved piece on local artists of color. Hearing this music, seeing these concerts, and reading these headlines amidst the chaos of 2018 gave us a glimmer of hope.

Picking favorites from this past year has felt nearly impossible—we simply didn’t know where to begin, or end—so to help narrow our focus, we’ve chosen 20 songs off those aforementioned new albums, which includes everything from fresh-faced folk and up-and-coming hip-hop to the rebirth of indie veterans and the solidification of new rock stars. Hear for yourself, via our Spotify playlist below, but in this age of quick consumption, we encourage you to listen to these records in full, and to find your own favorites. And to continue to follow the local music scene, these artists and others, into 2019 and beyond.

“Dive” by Beach House
We’ve learned to no longer sit on the edge of our seats for a Beach House album as over the last few years the duo has continued to drop a sudden new song here or full-blown record release there without so much as a whiff of Internet buzz. But their seventh record, aptly titled 7, did serve as a solid reminder of the band’s ability to surprise us. It’s a hazy, haunting evolution in their decade-long perfection of shimmering, fuzzed-out dream-pop, with the new songs bringing a fresh sense of urgency and innovation, as heard in this second single. It builds in Beach House’s signature slow-burning way before erupting in a potent moment of thunderous live drums and lustrous guitar. This newfound clarity only further cements Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally as indie rock royalty, in Baltimore and beyond.
Honorable Mentions: “Lemon Glow,” “Drunk In LA,” “L’Inconnue.”

“Feel Nobody” by Butch Dawson

One of the biggest breakthroughs of the year might belong to Butch Dawson (and one of the biggest oversights of the year likely belongs to leaving him out of our Music Issue’s list of top 50 bands to watch). This mosh-ready single off the West Baltimore rapper’s autumn debut, Swamp Boy, was undoubtedly one of the most beloved songs in 2018, bringing his punkish, smoke-swirled brand of hip-hop to the forefront of the local music scene. Dawson’s unbridled fire was also recognized by The Fader and that aforementioned article in The New York Times.
Honorable Mentions: “Division St. Blues,” “Liberation,” “Distances.”

“Hollow Imitation” by Caleb Stine
Long before the birth of the Charm City Bluegrass Festival and the region’s recent folk music renaissance, there was Caleb Stine, stoking the flames of his genre and its deep ties to Maryland through Americana tales over the course of the last two decades. But Moon, the rustic raconteur’s first new solo record in some time, turns its attention away from the road and religion, toward the ground-shaking, all-consuming power of love. This reverential ballad is Stine’s storytelling at its very best, with saturated imagery unfolding like an old film.
Honorable Mentions: “Higher Ground,” “Garden,” “Bodhi Tree.”

“Rude” by DDm
Okay, so we know this record hasn’t officially dropped, but anyone who’s seen DDm perform over the last several months has already fallen for the new tracks off his upcoming Soundtrack To A Shopping Mall, due out in the new year. DDm, aka Emmanuel Williams, aka Unkle Lulu, aka the Secretary of Shade, is the master of bona fide swagger, side-splitting braggadocio, and Beyoncé-worthy production, as showcased on this track. We can’t think of many (or any) other local artists who put on a performance quite like DDm; he brings it to everything he touches.
Honorable Mentions: “Ready To Wear,” “Try Me On,” “Forever 21.”

“Riddles” by Ed Schrader’s Music Beat
After a decade of cutting their chops and gaining a loyal following on the local scene, Ed Schrader and Devlin Rice finally got their national due this year, with the post-punk duo’s spring album, Riddles, via Car Park Records, lauded by the likes of NPR, Spin, and Rolling Stone. We could say it’s about time, but those years allowed ESMB to find new footing in this cathartic triumph, produced by friend and fellow local institution Dan Deacon. Out of 10 bold songs, this twinkling title track is the unrivaled star—swelling in synth-fueled emotion and ’80s-pop euphoria—speaking to facing your fears and, in turn, yourself. Just be sure to watch its Best of Baltimore-winning music video as well.
Honorable Mentions: “Kid Radium,” “Dunce,” “Tom.”

“Knock the Man Down” by The High & Wides
Yes, the city’s bluegrass scene has been growing like kudzu over the last few years, but few new bands have caught our eye—and ear—quite like this Baltimore-by-way-of-Eastern Shore string quartet. Their spring debut, Lifted, was met with critical acclaim for its reverence to, revolution from, and revival of the Americana genre; thought rooted in tradition, the band reimagines bluegrass for the 21st century. This track is all grit and gumption, from its jangly melody to its howling vocals and expert instrumentation—a back-woods boot-stomper for modern day.
Honorable Mentions: “Rake Out The Nails,” “Ballad of Caulk’s Field,” “Dark Blues.”

“Water” by Joy Postell
Diaspora, the full-length debut by Joy Postell, only affirmed what we already knew: the twenty-something soul powerhouse is a forerunner of the local music scene and a force to be reckoned with. Drawing inspiration from legends of the past (Nina Simone, Billie Holliday, Sarah Vaughn), Postell looks toward the future as a black woman in America in 2018, and each of the album’s tracks tackle the African-American experience, from freedom to love. With a rippling jazz melody and the singer’s mighty vox, this second single is an especially poignant portrait, presenting young black minds as the seeds of future change. Indeed Postell, also featured in the summer New York Times feature, is one herself.
Honorable Mentions: “Consciousness,” “North Star,” “Free Black.”

“1539 N. Calvert” by JPEGMAFIA
Heading into 2019, JPEGMAFIA is definitely one of the city’s—and country’s—top wavemakers, thanks to a record year riding on the success of his boundary-pushing spring Veteran, with fiery live performances at the likes of Afropunk and spots in a slew of end-of-year best-of lists from Stereogum to Pitchfork sold. Though he now lives in L.A., we continue to claim the rap provocateur as our own. After all, this first track off the sophomore record is an ode to the former Bell Foundry art space in Greenmount West that abruptly closed after the Ghost Ship fire in California. The murky melody is a no-holds-barred stream-of-consciousness, best listened to alongside its dystopian Last Supper music video featuring other fellow Bell regulars.
Honorable Mentions: “Baby I’m Bleeding,” “Rock N Roll Is Dead,” “Macaulay Culkin.”

“Assume The Position” by Lafayette Gilchrist & The New Volcanoes
There are few living legends left in Baltimore quite like Lafayette Gilchrist. The Baltimore-by-way-of-D.C. jazz and 2018 Baker Artist Award winner is revered by critics and listeners alike for his dynamic domination of the keys, easily recognized on his iconic scores in David Simon’s HBO series, from The Wire to The Deuce, but the. On his latest EP, Deep Dancing Suite, Gilchrist and his 10-piece New Volcanoes bring back the uncontainable energy of jazz-era improvisation with a dose of modern danceability. Notably, this long-held hit gets new life at nearly double its original length, where keys, brass, and percussion take part in a lively jive. The reinvention stands testament to the artist’s freestyle fluency and finesse.
Honorable Mentions: “Deep Dancing Suite,” “Ping Pong,” “Return of the Inchworm.”

“Where I’m Bound” by Letitia VanSant
In her spring album and follow-up to 2015’s Parts & Labor, Gut It To The Studs, folk singer-songwriter Letitia VanSant crafts a thoughtful opus on new chapters and change, with this first melody being a love letter to that of personal growth. On it, VanSant’s mellifluent voice rolls bright and clear along a hearty river of acoustic guitar, upright bass, and old-school fiddle, setting the stage for the rest of the record and embracing the yet-to-be-seen discovery that still lies ahead of her. In the end of both this song and the entire record, she emerges newly powerful and perceptive. We’ll be anxious to see how she channels that newfound purpose on her next release.
Honorable Mentions: “Gut It To The Studs,” “Wild Heart Roam,” “Sundown Town.”

“Winning” by Peso Da Mafia
Last summer, Northeast Baltimore rap group Peso Da Mafia launched onto the local airwaves and, shortly thereafter, national stage with their come-up single turned viral dance video “Money Man.” It would be a tough act to follow, but by early 2018, the trio would drop this sneak peek off their debut Never A Drought via Warner Music subsidiary Asylum Records. With more than a million Spotify listens and YouTube music video views for this track, it’s safe to say that their slow-burn beats, confident rhymes, and catchy hooks are in anything but short supply. And with slots at SXSW and the BET Awards preshow, plus shout outs in Complex and XXL, it seems the big-wigs are watching, too.
Honorable Mentions: “Money Man,” “TSAY,” “About Us.”

“Homeward Bound” by Sean K. Preston & The Loaded Pistols
We’ve heard this ballad around the Fells Point dive bars for a few years, but newly produced on the fall full-length, Forgive, by Sean K. Preston and his band The Loaded Pistols, the country blues number has taken on new meaning. This song details the heartache, hard luck, and hungry dreams that it takes to be a full-time musician, and in term, captures the essence of one of Baltimore’s most dogged performers and true-blue, truth-speaking storytellers. After more than a decade on the local scene, this ballad and its accompanying record not only document but put on full display the hard-earned talents of Preston and his bandmates.
Honorable Mentions: “Last Call,” “Barnburner,” “Life’s a Bitch.”

“cherubim” by serpentwithfeet
This spring, the unexpected sound of serpentwithfeet, aka Baltimore native Josiah Wise, brought the country’s top music critics to their knees. The avant-R&B artist’s debut soil was considered a singular tour de force—absorbing in its theatricality, moving in its occult spirituality, liberating in its effusive emotion—transcendent of all boundaries. In short, it’s unlike anything anyone had heard, as showcased in this devastatingly intimate devotional. The holy roller brings the multitudes of love, specifically queer black love, to light, melodically marching uphill to the pedestal upon which we humans put our lovers, chanting a declaration of dedication through an intricately layered chorus of Wise’s vibrato vocals and soaring tenor with every step along the way.
Honorable Mentions: “whisper,” “bless ur heart,” “mourning song.”

“Play Hard” by Soul Cannon
Seven years is a long time for any band to not release new music but still maintain its relevancy in the music business. But rules don’t apply to the hip-hop collective of Soul Cannon, which remains a vital force on the local scene for its explosive experimentation and fiery live shows. And MC Eze Jackson and his three classically trained comrades have only solidified that status through this winter’s self-titled record on which the quartet continues to break new ground through old tracks and new. Exhibit A: this agile sprint of a song that we can’t get enough of, founded in the tight tango of Jackson’s urgent, poetic vocals and his bandmates’ wily, propulsive instrumentation. The band is a well-oiled machine that inspires any listener—music, writer, whoever you are—to play harder, too.
Honorable Mentions: “Hospital Records,” “F Sharp,” “Talk Less.”

“Pristine” by Snail Mail
We wish Snail Mail had been around when we were in high school. Has there ever been a band that so perfectly bottles the essence of the teenage heart? Have there every been any lyrics—“Don’t you like me for me?” or “I know myself and I’ll never love anyone else”—that so captured and catapulted out into the world the hidden thoughts and emotions of that tumultuous time of life? Maybe that’s why this has been the year of Lindsey Jordan, with the Ellicott City 18-year-old, her debut Lush, via Matador Records, and this first single featured in nearly every noteworthy publication and best-of end-of-year list on record. And rightfully so—Jordan is the brooding, heart-on-her-sleeve rock star we needed in 2018. And next year, too.
Honorable Mentions: “Heat Wave,” “Golden Dream,” “Full Control.”

“Vulture” by Super City
To get a dose of the infectious energy and undeniable chemistry of Super City, pick any song off their fall Sanctuary—the indie (or “freakwave,” as they’ve been called) quintet’s new fall record. Though not one of the band’s first singles, we find this breakneck anthem to be a good starting point. Co-frontman Greg Wellham commands the mic on this pop-punk-go-go melody, riddled with livewire guitar, punchy drums, and one epic buildup starting at the 2:25 mark as they swat away negative energy. For the full effect, see it live for their fancy, fame-worthy footwork. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: these are the local rock gods you need to know now.
Honorable Mentions: “Sanctuary,” “Artificial Sin,” “Ghosts of Love.”

“I Lost You” by Surf Harp
Eighties kids will feel instantly drawn to Surf Harp’s Mr. Big Picture. Maybe it’s because of the indie quintet’s visuals, reminiscent of the early Macintosh computers and MTV music videos of our youth. Likely it’s their post-punk-meets-new-wave sound, as creative and off-kilter as a Talking Heads hit. This band finds their own lane, though, with each of this spring record’s 10 songs keeping their own unruly pace. For us, this shadowy ballad felt like the album’s diamond in the rough, building from windswept melancholia into a swirl of momentum, spinning out before the story ends, leaving you wanting more.
Honorable Mentions: “D.I. Cig,” “Catholic Glass,” “Homework Program.”

“Payroll” by TT The Artist
We’d like to put it on record: Baltimore Club queen TT The Artist is one of the hardest working musicians in the business. In 2018 alone, she premiered the trailer for her upcoming directorial debut, Dark City: Beneath the Beat, a full-length documentary on the city’s music and dance genre of Bmore Club; she moved to L.A. and launched her all-women Club Queen Records, still with frequent stints back east for filming and fiery performances; and she dropped the label’s first Club Queens EP with New Jersey’s UNIIQU3. But one listen to her label’s first single—full of unabashed bravado, electric beats, playful creativity, and featured on heavy rotation this summer on 92Q—and you’ll see that TT is just getting started.
Honorable Mentions: “Off The Chain,” “Freaking in the Club,” “Fall Back.”

“It’s Okay” by Wume
We knew we couldn’t wait for new music from experimental duo Wume after their mesmerizing 2015 EP, Maintain, but this fall, their new full-length record left us completely dazzled. In a quest for deeper truths, Toward the Shadow, via Northern Spy, offers a moment of reflection and introspection. Combining sparkling electronics by keyboardist Albert Schatz and newly prominent vocals in the form of philosophical incantations by drummer April Camlin, the band takes listeners on a trip into even more immersive soundscapes, urging them to dig deeper, to push further, to shift and breakthrough, just like the band has. This track is a rejuvenating listen in the chaos of our modern times.
Honorable Mentions: “Shadow,” “Walled Garden,” “Ravel.”

“The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs” by Wye Oak
We could feel something stirring in Wye Oak’s 2016 release of Tween. A transition. A simultaneous closure and commencement. A reawakening. And now, with this gorgeous spring record, it all makes sense, as the band has emerged as a stunning new version of itself—and yet after 12 years, we’ve maybe never felt more in tune with music by Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack. Out of a dozen deeply human songs, this title track is an illuminating crescendo, revealing the beauty of the journey toward yourself. We still find ourselves pouring over its lyrics for answers, ultimately finding some sort of solace in the song’s—and life’s—elusions. As Wasner concludes, “Sometimes it takes a long, long, long time,” and if Wye Oak’s long game is any indication, the wait is certainly worth it.
Honorable Mentions: “The Instrument,” “It Was Not Natural,” “Lifer.”

Over the last six years, the most unlikely of venues—the Dover International Speedway and its surrounding woods—has evolved into one of the East Coast’s most popular music festivals, with music lovers from near and far flocking to the Delaware state capital to see their favorite bands at the Firefly Music Festival.

Launched in the summer of 2012, Firefly now draws thousands of attendees and big-name acts such as last year’s The Killers, SZA, and Kendrick Lamar. And next summer, when the festival returns for its seventh year on June 21-23, the three-day affair will feature an equally impressive lineup.

Just announced, headliners will include pop-punk band Panic At The Disco!, indie darlings Death Cab For Cutie and Vampire Weekend, electronic producers Zedd and Kygo, and rappers Travis Scott, Post Malone, and Tyler the Creator. Also on the bill are ’90s R&B legends TLC and D.C.’s own Jukebox the Ghost.

Most notably, though, are the lineup’s three Baltimore acts: rising indie rock star Snail Mail, hip-hop provocateur JPEGMAFIA, and up-and-coming rapper Rakeem Miles. All three artists are set to perform during the Saturday set.

Both Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan and JPEGMAFIA’s Barrington Hendricks have had record years, dropping their debut full-length albums (Lush and Veteran respectably), receiving rave reviews from Billboard to Rolling Stone, and landing on a litany of end-of-year lists by the country’s top taste makers. Meanwhile, Miles has gained a loyal following in his new home in L.A. and is in talks with major record labels.

Weekend passes start at $279 and go on sale Friday via fireflyfestival.com.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from barebones indie-rock and supergroup dream-pop to explosive, experimental hip-hop. 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.

“Mirror Mirror” by Chaunter

Introducing Chaunter, the new Baltimore band you need to know now and the brainchild of art scene denizens Brooks Kossover and Jenghis Pettit. In the new year, the duo, with Kossover on vocals and flute and Pettit on guitar, will be releasing their debut album Dream Dynamics with an aspirational league of Baltimore heavyweights, from Dan Deacon to Sam Herring of Future Islands to Lower Dens’ Jana Hunter, as featured here on the record’s first single. Through this song and the rest of its idiosyncratic record, you drift through a mythical dream world. It unfurls in reverie—swirling in gauzy synth, smoldering with reverberating guitar, brimming with both Hunter’s haunting vocals and grand group harmonies—landing somewhere between the glory-days of Labyrinth-era David Bowie and the golden age of Baltimore DIY dream-pop.

“North Star” by Joy Postell

Okay, so by now you might be tired of us gushing over the new music of local neo-soul singer-songwriter Joy Postell, but too bad. We found the first singles, “Consciousness” and “Water,” off her full-length Diaspora debut to be moving portraits with true vision, which imbues the rest of the record. “North Star,” for example, could be seen as the album’s sleeper hit for its quiet disposition, sparse composition, and only minute-long length, but this breathtaking spiritual sets the stage for the entire record, transporting listeners to a midnight field beneath the big dark sky, perhaps in another era, perhaps right now, all the while preparing you to embark on a transformative journey. Postell’s vocals—exposed, ethereal, yet full of power—call for freedom and convey the strength within her music to find it.

“Pretn’d (Drew Scott Remix)” by RoVo Monty

In the 21st century, we can’t get enough songs about the misgivings of modern love, where lyrics help us make our way through the maze of dating in 2018. Take this slow-jam by R&B singer-songwriter RoVo Monty, in which the protagonist asserts his desires and demands in the face of the fair-weather relationship. Turning a common trope of unrequited love on its head, this track is about self-empowerment, through and through, with candid lyrics (“tired of knocking boots, how about you show me ’round town?”) calling it like it is. And calling out for a simple bit of chivalry. Founded in electronic melodies inspired by fashion, dance, and disco, Monty’s confident verses float over a lush, funky melody crafted by local beat master Drew Scott, featuring a fiery guest flow by no-holds-barred Baltimore rap favorite DDm.

“The 2nd Most Beautiful Girl in the World” by Snail Mail*

These days, no one does young heartache quite like Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan, the Ellicott City singer-songwriter who skyrocketed to indie stardom over the last year for her coming-of-age rock-and-roll. And with this cover of a 1990 song by the little-known Washington duo Courtney Love (no relation to the Hole frontwoman), Jordan might just have outdone herself. Compared to the original’s spunky post-punk beat, this stripped-down version features nothing more than a few reverberating strums of guitar and Jordan’s vulnerable vox, stretched out to its most elastic, emotive state, pushing and pulling at certain words like the tugs of memory at a broken heart. In the end, and especially on the live stage as we saw at the Parkway Theatre this summer, she reinvents the song as all her own.

“Play Hard” by Soul Cannon

We knew the long-awaited release of Soul Cannon’s self-titled album was going to bring the fire, and the experimental hip-hop quartet have more than delivered—on their new record, and especially in this potent time bomb of a track. As in all of the band’s music, “Play Hard”makes, breaks, and recreates its own rules from start to finish. The song is an urgent, unruly sprint, with frontman Eze Jackson speaking breakneck truth—a sort of poet-prophet—while the jazz-influenced instrumentation of his talented bandmates both keeps pace and inspires further pursuit. Rapping on the fleeting flicker of life, Jackson’s verses zig and zag, running uphill. At the song’s peak, with ascending runs of bass and an outright avalanche of drums, it’s as if they outrun death itself.

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

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we round up five local songs we can’t get enough of right now, ranging from idiosyncratic R&B to finger-picking Americana to summery indie-rock. Check back each month for new songs of the moment, and follow our Spotify playlist as we continue to build a soundtrack for our city.

“Jaybird” by Charm City Junction

The high heat of summer calls for a back-porch hootenanny with friends and family, and Charm City Junction’s new album, Duckpin, makes for the perfect soundtrack. The Baltimore acoustic roots quartet has become an integral part of the city’s flourishing bluegrass and folk scene, honing their skills at local jam sessions, intimate house shows, and toe-tapping dance parties, as well as big-stage festivals like the Charm City Bluegrass Festival. After years of gigging together, the band’s kinship and chemistry is stronger than ever, as shown as in this first tight, timeless tune. It’s a beautiful, backwoods instrumental, with expert fingerpicking of old-time strings—heavy plugs of upright bass, plucky picks of banjo, plus a few breathy pulls of accordion—rooted in tradition yet driven into the 21st century with creative flair.

“Score” by Lor Choc*

Last summer, Lor Choc made local and national waves with the release of her summer jam, “Fast Life.” With some 77,000 YouTube views, the infectious track would be a tough act to follow, but the 20-year-old rapper is now back with another new warm-weather hit. On it, she returns with her bright, buoyant melodies, elevated with the ring of sharp piano keys and rooted in a beat of snappy snare drum and heavy bass. Wavering between singing and rapping, her warm vocals and measured flows showcase her growth as an artist, as well as the inevitable changes that come with success and even fame. Specifically, she speaks to the struggle of severing ties with toxic relationships in order to truly succeed. Simple and sparkling, this song is all good energy, so we can’t wait to see what comes next.

“Whisper” by serpentwithfeet

We don’t know how to prepare you for this song, let alone its boundary-defying artist, now based out of Brooklyn but born and raised in Baltimore, so we won’t—just go ahead and listen. It would be easy to call Josiah Wise, aka serpentwithfeet, experimental or avant-garde, but this boundary-defying artist, born and raised in Baltimore and now based out of Brooklyn, refuses to stay inside those lines. Combining the gospel roots of his choir-boy childhood and a collection of goth, atmospheric soundscapes, he creates his own hauntingly beautiful amalgam of R&B. It’s theatrical, it’s spiritual—devotional, even divine—and yet it’s tempestuous and wayward, all at once. With a singular display of the human voice, his tenor flitters and flutters—low, tender, ethereal, building in texture then soaring up, mountain by mountain, to new zeniths, to other worlds—always speaking to the multitudes of love. Get lost like we have in the vivid scenes of his just-released debut record, soil, as well as the video for “Cherubim.”

“Heat Wave” by Snail Mail

We couldn’t think of a more fitting song for the dog days of July. Hey, Rolling Stone named it the song of summer, after all, and if you saw Snail Mail perform at The Parkway last week, it’s already at the top of your “recently played” list. It’s a universal song about heartbreak, the self-destruction that can come with it, and the moment of glory when you finally, triumphantly, decide to move on. It unfolds in the same slow and steady way a summer-break morning might do, bedraggled by young romance, stifled with ennui, before Lindsey Jordan and her prodigious indie-rock band decide to kick her heartache’s ass. They do so with a rocking dose of guitar, a shimmering crash of drums, and her howling vocals that stare down “sometimes” and “maybe” and make their own destiny instead. It’s a song that has the power to help mend a million teenage hearts.

“Go Ahead” by Thunder Club

As we get older, this season seems to hold less and less of that romantic sentiment that it did when we were young. Whatever your age, let this new song from these pop-infused indie-rockers take you back to the sweet, nostalgic salad days of summer—sticky afternoons that seemed to go on forever, moonlit nights that felt like they would never end. In this bright groove, the quintet proves to be the king of infectious guitar riffs. The melody releases like a sundrenched wave, rolling forward with undulating bass, punchy drums, and golden harmonies, crashing through old memories and conjuring up forgotten emotions with its all-around youthful buzz. Nominated as a best new artist in WTMD’s Alternative Music Awards this spring, the band has just released this song on Summer Vice, their sophomore EP.

*This song is not on Spotify. We’ll add it to the playlist if or when it comes online.

Todd Marcus

On These Streets (Stricker Street Records)

Over the past two decades, Todd Marcus has become a Baltimore jazz mainstay for his virtuosic instrumentation on the bass clarinet. Swinging between modern compositions and standard roots, the composer and performer celebrates the city’s rich musical heritage and, in the great tradition of his genre, brings other hometown talents along for the ride through his various ensembles. With the help of those lauded local and national musicians—including Charm City’s own veteran drummer Eric Kennedy, rising-star vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and spirited bassist Kris Funn—this spring record is an ode to West Baltimore, where Marcus resides and moonlights as a community activist. Released around the third anniversary of Freddie Gray’s death, these 16 songs use freewheeling arrangements and intricate melodies to capture Sandtown-Winchester—a neighborhood riddled with poverty and violence—in all its beauty and struggle. Marcus honors the community’s vibrant past, addresses existing challenges, and salutes its promising future with emotional fervor.

Snail Mail

Lush (Matador Records)

In 2018, it’s not every day that a teenage band starts out of a small-town garage and then nabs a major record deal only about one year after releasing their debut EP. But Lindsey Jordan of Snail Mail is not your average Ellicott City 18-year-old. The vocal powerhouse and guitar-shredding prodigy is the driving force behind her band’s raw, reverberating, mighty-yet-vulnerable sound—one that, heralded by the likes of The New York Times and Rolling Stone, is worth every inch of its unwavering acclaim. Snail Mail is a fresh breath of ’90s rock and roll, and this first full-length record is a robust, coming-of-age look at the love and loss of growing up, shining with unpretentious emotion and refreshingly electric authenticity, especially in our highly digitalized and trivialized world. Across brooding anthems and slow-burning ballads, Jordan goes all in and slays on her star-of-the-show guitar, delivering heart-on-her-sleeve songs with the wisdom of a woman well beyond her years and bursting forth with the sort of punkish riffs that would make her idols proud. In the end, she solidifies her place as a natural-born songwriter at the top of the heap—no longer at the edge of stardom, but here, now, and ready to rock.

Read our full interview with Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan.

In 2017, everyone wanted a piece of Lindsey Jordan. The Ellicott City high school student had just recorded a raw, reverberating EP with her two childhood friends in their small-town garage, and in a few short months, it seemed like every publication, festival, and fan now knew her band’s name. As the new whiz kids of indie-rock, Snail Mail performed SXSW, graced The New York Times, set up shop behind an NPR Tiny Desk, and arguably became Pitchfork’s favorite act of the year, all before recording a full-length record.

That day is finally here, with June’s debut Lush—a robust coming-of-age album full of refreshingly genuine emotion and ’90s-era guitar—and Jordan’s life shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In between photo shoots, music videos, and cross-country tours, we caught up with the 18-year-old singer-songwriter-guitar-slayer during a visit home to Maryland. Catch her band at the Parkway Theater on July 12.

Your life is crazy these days. This year alone, you’ve been to SXSW, toured the U.S., and released two music videos. You still live in Maryland, though, when you’re off the road?
Yeah, in Ellicott City! I’m kind of in-between deciding if I want to live on the West Coast, North Carolina, or in Baltimore City. I’m really torn but at this hopeful crossroads.

Do you find coming home to be rejuvenating?
It’s incredible. It’s the best thing ever. I have a really nice routine. I sleep in and make food. I go to the gym in the morning, then this coffee shop right next to my house called Bean Hollow, where I just read. I go roller-skating when I have time on Thursday nights at our roller rink. I write songs. I love traveling but it’s so good to have time at home.

When you’re not home, how do you stay grounded? 
I find the process to be humbling. It’s been fun and terrifying and busy, but aAll the publications and travel and attention are pretty secondary to how everything actually happens. At the end of the day, it’s just me in my room, writing songs. Everything’s down to my discretion. The most important part is the songwriting and the performance. So much goes into just knowing yourself and being a genuine writer. But if you really believe in what you’re doing and actually care about the music, everything goes pretty smoothly.

Your interest in music started at a young age. How did you come to find the guitar?
I asked my parents for a guitar and lessons for Christmas when I was 5. I have very vague ideas as to how that came to be because it was such a long time ago. It may have had something to do with the movie School of Rock, and I really liked Avril Lavigne. But once I had a guitar in my hand, I discovered Paramore, at the age of 8, which is still my favorite band today. Paramore was the first band I knew that was led by a woman. I was so into all those Warped Tour bands and didn’t even know that girls were allowed to be in them. But my sister took me to their concert and I remember so clearly having this big moment.

Growing up in Maryland, did you go to a lot of shows?
I went to a lot of shows in Baltimore and D.C. as a tween with my mom. She’d go and stand in the back so as to not embarrass me, which is really sweet. But I was always an avid music fan. I remember being really young, watching MTV and VH1, and copying whatever my older sister was listening to. I went to rock camp and played in the jazz band and the church band and school plays. As I became a guitar player, I reallydove into music so that I could have even more to play. A lot of shreddy stuff, because that’s the kind of player I wanted to be.

You mentioned that you still write when you’re home today. What is your process?
I write really sparsely. I don’t write on the road; I only write when I’m fully alone in my house and feeling absolutely inspired or in the mood, or else it feels like I have to do it. With the last record, I had to actually sit down and write because I was running out of time and didn’t have enough songs. Nobody’s put a deadline on me for the next record. I’m fully planning on taking as much time as possible to make the best thing I possibly can. I don’t want to spoil the process for myself. It still feels like a really magical thing.

There’s been a lot of magic in the air, including a recent interview with one of your favorite artists, Liz Phair. It must be pretty cool to just have casual phone calls with some of your idols.
It’s just cool to have that around you. I don’t find myself drooling over anybody or being anything more than just humbled to be around musicians who I’ve always respected and admired. It’s been especially amazing to experience the album-making process. I’ve learned so much. There are so many things coming up that I don’t think I ever would have had if it weren’t for this opportunity.

You’ve been friends with two of your bandmates—Ray Brown, on drums, and Alex Bass, on bass—since high school. Is it nice having them be a part of this with you?
I really love and care about them and I’m so glad that they’ve been able to take time off school to do this. We brought this thing from the ground up, all together, and it just feels right. We all really support each other. We love going out to breakfast together when we’re on tour. We’re as close as can be. It’s so natural and nothing is forced about it—or anything with Snail Mail for that matter. Everything still feels really homegrown.

Now that Lush is about to come out, how do you feel?
I’ve actually never felt crazier in my entire life. Well, when we were making the album, I probably felt a little crazier. But it feels like you’re about to go down a drop on a roller coaster. I love roller coasters, but I’m still kind of scared. At the same time, I feel ready to share it with the world. I can’t wait to play it live and have people know the words. I still really believe in all of these songs and I wouldn’t change a single thing if I could.

You’ve talked about the frustration that comes with being considered a “female guitar player,” rather than just a “guitar player.” Does that still bother you, and how do you balance that with the pressure to own your femininity in the midst of the #MeToo movement?
I do think we’re going through a really cool time in music, but I don’t necessarily feel like I’m proud of being a woman. It’s just who I am. There’s a lot of “you go, girl!” energy out there right now, and in a way, it’s kind of infantilizing. It puts forth this idea that girls are born with an actual disadvantage. In music, young girls are not encouraged to play the guitar, and I definitely grew up in gaggles of boys, struggling to figure out what it meant to me to be a musician and a guitar player and where I stood in the equation.

I don’t necessarily involve my private life in my public life, not because I’m ashamed of it, but because it doesn’t feel like it has anything to do with my music. At the same time, I am openly gay, and if that allows me to be a beacon of representation for people, then that’s good to do. I’m comfortable talking about being gay and being a woman if that means something to someone else. If that can mean we’re making strides and that my daughter one day will be able to be in a band and not just be the “female guitarist,” then that’s great.

You’ve now sold out the Ottobar and WTMD and, soon enough, the Parkway Theater on July 12! Do you consider yourself part of the Baltimore music scene like we do?
I definitely used to be. If there was a show, I was at it, like every single day as soon as I got my license. I followed all the DIY and punk bands and was really into local record shopping. Now I don’t get that much time at home, but I watch it from afar and have lots of local favorites—Romantic States, Outer Spaces, Post Pink, Celebration, pretty much anything Jana Hunter has ever done; I have all of her Lower Dens records. It’s still really important to me. I’m really excited to play the Parkway.

In the latest iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we found five local songs ranging from game-show gold and unrivalled rap to the-next-big-thing indie rock. 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. 

“Come On Down” by DDm* 

If we weren’t already excited for the upcoming release of DDm’s Soundtrack To A Shopping Mall, this high-spirited single has turned our anticipation up to an 11. Who knew that The Price Is Right theme song could be so much fun? Leave it to Manny Williams, who you might know as one part of hip-hop duo Bond St. District, to transform this iconic game-show jingle into a hater-swatting dare. With the ’60s-tinged tune turned into a sparkling, staccato loop, the boisterous rapper and lover of pop culture takes Bob Barker’s trademark line and declares, “If you want to steal my crown, I told ya’ll hoes to come on down.” We wouldn’t recommend it; Williams is royalty on the local music scene.

“Box” by Deetrenada

With the help of Baltimore arts mag True Laurels, we just caught wind of Deetranada, and when we did, we had to ask ourselves: Under what rock have we been living? This young rapper—a mere 16 years old—has some of the most sharp, sophisticated rhymes we’ve ever heard, on both the local and national scene. Last year, she placed second on season three of Jermaine Dupri’s Lifetime Channel The Rap Game and released her debut mixtape, Adolescent Swim, which included this breathless flow. Watch its new music video and prepare to hold up your jaw.

“Foxglove” by Gideon Gallows

Before Drew Scott joined electronic R&B duo Blacksage, he was a respected solo artist, known for skilled raps and masterful production across both his own and his friends’ beats. With his new Critter, he now returns as Gideon Gallows, and the results are as bewitching as ever before. This deliriously springtime song, fittingly named after the bell-shaped flowers that sprout up this season, stands out among the album’s other murky melodies. Over an off-kilter, almost tango-esque rhythm, Scott’s distorted vocals tangle with the background coos of his fiancée, Pale Spring, for a hazy love song, fit for the warm, tempting days that lie ahead.

“Two Stop Train” by Pocket Bells

We dig the way this song builds like the subject of its title, with the indie-rock seven-piece’s pounding piano, thunderous drums, and urgent guitar gaining momentum before Piper Greenbaum’s mighty, earthy vocals peak at the anthemic chorus. The rolling melody makes you want to follow along, undulating toward some unknown destination, knowing that some sort of consolation awaits at the end of the line. Let its expert instrumentation build—and then expect to hear this number on WTMD’s heavy rotation all summer long.

“Pristine” by Snail Mail

Boy are we rooting for Lindsey Jordan. The 18-year-old Ellicott City native has shredded her way to indie stardom, with her now four-piece rock band’s debut Habit making waves across the national scene. Last year alone she played SXSW, graced The New York Times, and recorded an NPR Tiny Desk concert, and, if this new single off next month’s Lush is any indication, she’s just getting started. With heart-on-her-sleeve vocals and jangly ’90s guitar, Jordan’s lo-fi sound ignores the modern trappings of auto-tune and electronic touches to create something that, in its outright authenticity, feels completely new. Keep your eyes peeled for their full-length record, out June 8 via Matador Records.

*Not available on Spotify. We’ll add it when if/when it comes online.

Expressions

Mar. 3-4, 6. Baltimore School for the Arts, 712 Cathedral St. Sat. 6:30 p.m., Sun. 2 & 5:30 p.m., Tues. 6:30 p.m. $15-375. 443-642-5165. At the end of every winter, there comes a bright moment in the form of the Baltimore School for the Arts’ annual fundraiser, Expressions. Support the local art school during one of four awe-inspiring student shows—plus a cocktail party and evening gala—which we consider among the don’t-miss performance art events of the year.

Stephen Towns: Rumination and A Reckoning

Mar. 7-Sept. 2. The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. 443-573-1700. In late 2016, Stephen Towns became an official artist to watch in Baltimore with the debut of his Take Me Away to the Stars exhibit at Galerie Myrtis. Towns’ installations were used to draw parallels between Nat Turner’s historic slave rebellion in 1831 and the modern violence and inequities that still plague African Americans today. Many of these profound textile works are now on display at the BMA, continuing both the conversation and the artist’s compelling reputation in Baltimore.

Intercambio

Mar. 9. The Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Dr. 8 p.m. $25-30. As part of Stoop Storytelling’s “Stoop Special Engagement” series, and coinciding with the closing of the BMA’s Mexican modernist print exhibit, these two cultural institutions are teaming up for a night of positive foreign relations. Seven Baltimoreans will share personal stories about exchange and inspiration found across the U.S.-Mexico border.

National Cherry Blossom Festival
Mar. 20-Apr. 15. Tidal Basin, 1500 Maine Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. Times & prices vary. 877-442-5666. In the DMV, spring is marked by a bounty of flowers— including daffodils, dogwoods, and, of course, an abundance of cherry blossoms. At the end of the month, those blooms reach their peak in Washington, D.C., with the entire tidal basin turning pale pink and pillowy white. For nearly four weeks, admire their beauty and celebrate the new season with a variety of festivities, including a pink-tie party, parade, kite festival, and world-renowned performances.

Snail Mail

Mar. 21. Ottobar, 2549 N Howard St. 8:30 p.m. $10. 410-662-0069. It wasn’t long after the 2016 release of Snail Mail’s debut album, Habit, that Lindsey Jordan and her two bandmates started to get national attention. The band’s lo-fi indie rock music was suddenly getting written up in Pitchfork and, before long, sprawled across a multi-faceted feature in The New York Times. The trio sold out local shows at WTMD and the Ottobar, recorded an NPR Tiny Desk concert, signed a deal with national label Matador Records, and then went off on tour with indie darlings Beach Fossils. (We also awarded them a Best of Baltimore for “Rising Star” this past August.) Fresh out of high school and already well beyond their years, it’s safe to say that they are officially the next big thing to come out of Baltimore. See for yourself as the trio returns home to perform at the Ottobar on March 21.

BSO Pulse: Valerie June

Mar. 22. Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. 8:30 p.m. $35-55. 410-783-8000. After three short years, the BSO Pulse concert series has become a beloved arts institution here in Baltimore thanks to its unlikely fusion of classical music and indie rock that features artists from near and far. This time, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and WTMD team up with June, the vibrant singer-songwriter from Tennessee whose Memphis roots shine in her soulful blend of gospel, folk, and blues. Before the show, be sure to catch a performance in the lobby by local Americana musicians Nick and Luke.

Mobile Unit: Twelfth Night

Mar. 22–25. Various Locations. $25. 410-332-0033. They say that all the world’s a stage, and Mount Vernon’s Center Stage takes that adage literally. In 2017, the local theater company launched the Mobile Unit, a free-wheeling production project, in the belief that everyone deserves access to the arts. For those who don’t have the option to enjoy a night of theater, the Mobile Unit brings it to them, and to date, actors have delivered dramatic, whimsical, and comedic performances in such unconventional spaces as shelters, jails, retirement homes, and recreation centers in underserved communities. From March 22-25, a cast of five will perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at various sites around the city. Center Stage calls these shows “minimal,” but we think they’re pretty grand.

Annapolis Oyster Roast & Sock Burning

Mar. 24. Annapolis Maritime Museum, 723 Second St., Annapolis. 12-4 p.m. $25-75. 410-295-0104. Every March, it’s worth the drive down I-97 for this spring tradition in the state capital. For the 40th year, celebrate the spring equinox with roasted oysters, live music, and an oddball sock burning (literally) in Annapolis to welcome the beginning of boating season (for brave, blanket-wearing souls) on the Chesapeake Bay.

Crowning Glory: Art of the Americas

Mar.-Oct. 7. The Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles St. Wed.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thurs. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Free. 410-547-9000. The exhibits at the internationally renowned Walters have long traversed the globe, from the tapestries of Medieval Europe to the textiles of the Middle East. In this new exhibit, the museum stays close to home with a collection culled together from North, Central, and South America. Some 20 objects spanning thousands of years will explore the two continents’ various cultures and their relationships to power, spirituality, and identity through head-worn decorations.

Jimmy Buffett

Mar. 30. Royal Farms Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St. 8 p.m. $52.50-152.50. 410-347-2020. For one evening at the end of the month, Baltimore will transform into the blue waters of the Florida Keys with the island-themed country-pop music of the legendary Jimmy Buffett and his Coral Reefer Band. Whatever the weather—lion or lamb—imagine sun, sand, and margaritas in hand during this feel-good Friday night show.

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.

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. 

In this fourth iteration of The Big Baltimore Playlist, we feature five local songs we can’t get enough of, ranging from glittery pop remixes and chill-wave raps to experimental electronica and lauded indie-rock. 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. 

“Sightsee” by Blacksage ft. :3ION (Moss Of Aura remix)*

Talk about a quadfecta. Blacksage’s Josephine Olivia and Drew Scott produced a pretty stellar album last fall, with its debut Shivers, featuring this sexy snaking number and a handful of other lovely, dark ballads. But in this just released remix, 2016’s “Sight See” gets a euphoric, orchestral new look in 2017. The original melody floats through the luminous mist of Moss Of Aura (aka Gerritt Welmers of Future Islands), bringing the angelic vocals of futuristic R&B singer :3ION to the forefront, wrapping the warbling coos of Olivia into a featherbed of synth, and infusing Scott’s initial, deep beat with a hefty dose of light. By the end, it transforms from a lust song into a sort of love one. 

“Dead Man Draggin’” by Butch Dawson

If you dig Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, or Tyler The Creator, you’ll want to follow Butch Dawson. The local producer and frontman for Basement Rap Records is a reservoir of smart, sophisticated, slow burn rhymes, and he stands on his own as one of Baltimore’s sharpest rappers. The beauty of his beats lies in their contrast, as his tranquil melodies are studded with hard-hitting ruminations. On this number (featuring some NSFW lyrics), the jangling chill-wave beat and shimmering timber of hi-hat drums meets lyrics that are listless in their delivery yet complex and contemplative in their content. Through verse and chorus, Dawson seems to address the struggles of our city (“Something ain’t right right now, nothing can save my town”) and the predicament of being a young black man in Baltimore (“Gotta give it up, I’m just a dead man . . . Can’t do much when you’re a dead man”). In short, don’t sleep on his upcoming album, Swamp Boy.

“Wham City” by Dan Deacon

When this song first came out 10 years ago, Dan Deacon was a quasi-known experimental musician, best known for his Wham City arts collective at the Copycat Building in Station North, still years away from becoming a local household name. Now, Deacon is wedged somewhere between Beach House and Future Islands as one of the biggest and brightest acts to come out of Baltimore. At nearly 12 minutes, this recently re-released track takes you on a journey, from its exuberant bookend melodies through its race-pace electronic heart. In the end, we wind up where we are now: standing in awe of Deacon’s musical mastery. Back then, as in today, he turns the unexpected into a beautiful cacophonous symphony.

“Without You” by Micah E. Wood

Last year, we fell for Micah E. Wood’s infectious song “Go Away,” featuring the aforementioned Butch Dawson. We also adored his prolific portraits of Baltimore musicians bathed in afternoon light, like Joy Postell, Abdu Ali, and Al Rogers Jr., which seemed to be popping up everywhere. Naturally, we were extra excited to hear about Wood’s upcoming album, See Me, out September 22, and this new single, featuring a brighter brand of his trademark talk-sing electro-pop. This catchy, bass-heavy beat builds and blossoms into an anthemic chorus that pretty much sums up that jubilant moment of finally getting over a break-up: “I feel alive without you,” he sings, drawing that five-letter adjective out into eternity. Even if you’re in a relationship, this song makes you feel like you are full of life.

“Thinning” by Snail Mail

This song has been around for a year, but we’re adding it to the list anyway in celebration of Snail Mail’s badass inclusion in last week’s New York Times. In a rad roundtable titled “Rock’s Not Dead, It’s Ruled by Women,” frontwoman Lindsey Jordan keeps it real and, as in her music, comes across as well beyond her 18 years. Over the past few months, this breakout single has caught the attention of everyone from Pitchfork to SXSW to, now, the Gray Lady. It’s potent and pure, and its lush, lo-fi melody is laying forth the groundwork for a new era of indie-garage rock. It’s everything you felt at that coming-of-age moment before your twenties—her openhearted lyrics read like your internal diary, those gritty guitar chords pull at your heartstrings—and yet it continues to resonate, whatever your age might be today. 

*Not available on Spotify yet. We’ll add it when it comes online.