Visual Art

Young Blood
Art has the power to reflect the culture in which it was made, often expressing ideas that cannot be articulated as effectively through words alone. In the case of the exhibit Young Blood at Maryland Art Place, we see—through painting, sculpture, installation, photography, and animation—what inspires and stimulates the minds of our local creative youth culture. Each year, MAP celebrates recent Baltimore-area masters of fine art grads with an exhibit of their work.

This year’s Young Blood showcases pieces by graduates of Maryland Institute College of Art; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and Towson University, including Caroline Hatfield, Mollye Bendell, Mitchell Noah, Madeline Stratton, Ryan Lytle, and Sara Kaltwasser. Through Aug. 25, with an opening reception from 6-9 p.m. July 11 and an artist talk at 1 p.m. Aug. 18 at MAP, 218 W. Saratoga St.

Sondheim Artscape Prize exhibition
From sculpture to photography to painting, fiber art, and video installation, work by this year’s Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize finalists is visually spellbinding, and the artists don’t shy away from exploring such issues as spirituality, race, gender, and immigration. Baltimore-area visual artist finalists Erick Antonio Benitez, Nakeya Brown, Sutton Demlong, Nate Larson, Eunice Park, and Stephen Towns are each exhibiting selected works at the Baltimore Museum of Art through August 5. The winner will be announced during a ceremony at 7 p.m. July 14 and awarded a $25,000 fellowship. Exhibit runs through Aug. 5, awards ceremony at 7 p.m. July 14 at the BMA, 10 Art Museum Drive.

Summer ’18
The current show at C. Grimaldis Gallery in Mount Vernon revisits the exhibitions shown over the past year while giving a little preview of what’s to come. This survey exhibition features pieces by British sculptor Anthony Caro, abstract expressionist Grace Hartigan, and Korean light artist Chul Hyun Ahn. It also debuts work by 2018 Guggenheim Fellow Rania Matar, Colin Van Winkle, and 2017 Rome Prize recipient Beverly McIver. Through Aug. 18 at C. Grimaldis Gallery, 523 N. Charles St.

Intimate Women
Intimate Women, currently on view at Full Circle Gallery, explores the relationship between women’s minds and bodies through photography-based collage and sculpture by women artists. Their inner worlds are revealed through stories of culture, gender roles, and sexuality. As curator JiaJia Chen puts it in a statement about the show, “Every work in the exhibition is an adjective, presenting personal but universal subject matter from different perspectives.” Artists include Asha Holmes, Jianan Liu, Layla Choi, Michelle Cuevas, and Rachel Hartman. Through Aug. 4 at Full Circle Gallery, 33 E. 21st St.

Music

Jack Novotny Sextet
The Jack Novotny Sextet will bring their original music, composed in the spirit of the great jazz masters, to An die Musik. They’ve studied the nuances, style, and flavor of works by icons such as John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Charles Mingus, and Ornette Coleman, and expand upon and integrate those ideas into their own pieces, rather than duplicate the originals or even replicate improvs.

“Performing new material that has never been heard is exhilarating for our group,” says Jack Novotny, saxist in the group. The sextet also includes bassist Juini Booth, pianist Benito Gonzalez, trumpeter Marlon Jordan, tenor saxophonist Edwin Bayard, and Baltimore drummer Nasar Abadey as a guest, filling in for regular drummer Mark Lomax II. Novotny will play tenor/soprano saxophone and flute. 8:30 and 10 p.m. July 12 at An die Musik, 409 N. Charles St,.

Literary Arts

John Lingan
Rockville-based John Lingan, who has written for the Oxford American, New York Times Magazine, and others, brings us his debut book, Homeplace: A Southern Town, a Country Legend, and the Last Days of a Mountaintop Honky-Tonk. Lignan spent four years researching the early-American town of Winchester, VA, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He first went there to seek out Jim McCoy, a honky-tonk owner and the DJ who first gave Patsy Cline airtime. What he uncovered though was a story about a town facing an identity crisis. He’ll launch his book tour this month with a reading and signing at Bird in Hand. 7 p.m. July 17 at Bird in Hand, 11 E. 33rd St.

Miscellanea

Cirque du Soleil Crystal
Cirque du Soleil’s show Crystal explores the artistic limits of ice through jaw-dropping acrobatics on the ice and in the air—synchronized skating and adrenaline-pounding extreme skating will be performed alongside traditional circus arts like trapeze. This dreamlike world is brought to life with visual projections and an original score. July 5-8 at Royal Farms Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St.

Artscape
Our beloved Artscape returns this month, taking over 16 blocks of Baltimore and boasting three outdoor stages, 11 indoor venues, over 200 concerts, an artist market with more than 150 vendors and craftspeople, plus large-scale projects showcasing visual and performing arts, visual art exhibitions, film, street theater, and youth-focused entertainment. Performances include theater, dance, comedy, and more. And all of the above is free. It’s a great way to celebrate the city and all the arts in one fell swoop. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. July 20 and 21, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. July 22 at Mount Royal Avenue & Cathedral Street, Charles Street, Bolton Hill, and Station North Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods.

Ratscape
After a two-year hiatus, the wonderfully bizarre Ratscape will return this year in conjunction with Artscape. A lineup of more than 40 local bands spanning rock, rap, punk, experimental, hardcore, and more will perform free shows at the Ynot Lot, an outdoors venue in Station North, throughout the weekend: JPEGMAFIA, Jeff Carey, and Bound by the Grave on Friday; Butch Dawson, Joe Bidan, and Homosuperior on Saturday; Wume, Sneaks, and HexGirlfriends Sunday. The grassroots festival is produced by Baltimore Music Preservation, aka Joshua Christy Schuelpner, Mike Franklin, and Caroline Devereaux. 2 to 10 p.m. July 20-22 at the Ynot Lot,1904 N. Charles St.

It might seem like Stephen Towns got his lucky break this year, landing a solo exhibition of story quilts at the Baltimore Museum of Art and being named a Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize finalist. But for those who know him, this recognition was a long time coming.

The 38-year-old has made art all his life, since his childhood growing up in Lincolnville, South Carolina, the youngest of 11 kids, and he’s been at it professionally for nearly 20 years, having earned a BFA in fine arts from the University of South Carolina. With a day job with MICA’s Office of Community Engagement and a studio inside Area 405, Towns is first and foremost a painter, but he may become best known for his fiber art.

It’s a new direction and one that’s gotten him a plethora of national attention, with a shoutout from The New York Times and props from internationally known artist Mark Bradford, who says Towns has created a new genre entirely, a hybrid of figurative painting and story quilts.

How has living in Baltimore informed your work?
I grew up in the South, and I would take field trips to plantations. Everything in Charleston is sort of beautiful and idyllic. Baltimore was a wakeup call, seeing these economic and racial disparities. In the South, everybody is nice, but behind people’s niceties, there’s a hidden thing that’s not hidden here in the North. I had always made stuff about history and explored it, but not as intensely as I explored it here. I wanted to know why things are the way they are. That’s why I go back to antebellum slavery and the psychology of that time period in my work.

Talk about the Catholic iconography in your work. I’m thinking mostly of the figures with gold-leaf halos who appear to be modern-day saints.
I think the halos are a response to my growing up a Jehovah’s Witness with the idea that God is above everything and humans are sinners. I adopted Catholic iconography to say that we all are beautiful people. I wanted to focus specifically on people of color, because it’s hard to tell someone they’re a terrible person when they have this iridescent golden halo behind them. . . . My teacher at the University of South Carolina was the person who introduced me to medieval and Byzantine art. We’d have to paint reproductions of some of these paintings, and that’s not something I would’ve been able to explore as a Jehovah’s Witness because all of that stuff is looked at as stuff you should not be participating in. So college was a way for me to explore that.

What of your religious upbringing remains with you?
I am continually searching for my own inner self goodness and inner beauty. I listen to a lot of spiritual books and podcasts, and I’ve gone to a lot of different churches. I’ve gone beyond the stage of finding sanctuary in a physical space and have found a sanctuary in my own artwork. It’s just that: seeing that me being human is good enough.

Tell me about the recurring butterflies in your work.
Butterflies represent spirituality and also the idea of metamorphosis and migration. People look at them as these fragile beings that you can break with your hands, but they’re resilient in their path and making their way to their destination. I mirrored that when I think of black Americans, who have survived being captured, the transatlantic slave trade, American slavery, and the Civil Rights movement. That’s a powerful lineage.

You’ve recently moved from painting to fiber art. How has it felt, process-wise, to be quilting?
I realized how challenging it is, how meticulous it is, how physically painful it is on your hands—your fingers being stuck with needles and bleeding. It really put me in the mind of labor. Paintings are a laborious process, but making quilts are an even more laborious process. So the idea of labor goes along with slavery, cotton, and fabric—all these ideas are layered into the work.

On that note, congrats on your solo show of story quilts at the BMA—that is huge!
Thank you.

Has it been overwhelming for you at all, getting so much attention?
It’s been good because I feel like I’ve been working really hard for the past 18 years, trying to make work and have people look at it and talk about it. Now I’ve finally been afforded that opportunity. It is a bit overwhelming—the emails and navigating the art world—but if I want to continue making the work, [this is] part of the process. . . . It’s also been really exciting to see what [BMA director] Christopher Bedford has done with the BMA and seeing some of the artists he’s brought in. It feels like a totally different space. Even the idea of bringing my body of work into the American wing was a really brave decision.

As opposed to the contemporary wing?
Yeah. I am around these structures and furniture and old paintings, and the reason all of this stuff exists is because of slavery. So this story [told through his exhibit Rumination and a Reckoning] creates context for everything else that’s shown in that space.

Your most recent pieces, some of which will be shown in the Sondheim Artscape finalist exhibit at the BMA, are the first to incorporate both painting and quilting. Are you working with a theme?
This series is based on my reading and listening to books about slave ships. The figures with the quilt attached to the painting are in the shape of a slave ship. In my head, some of these people have survived and some have not survived the Middle Passage. In each of the works, you see a [quilted] reflection in the water representative of how people’s futures were uncertain. There were rumors like the white men were going to eat them. People were being taken to a new place, having to learn a new language . . . things I hadn’t taken into consideration.

Is it important to you to bring these stories forth through your work? Does it matter whether viewers know the history?
I realize that some people just have to look at artwork and appreciate it as a pretty picture. For me as the artist, I know what they’re about. When my work is in the right context, then people understand it. Without that, people make up their own stories—which is why, I think, the work was taken down at Goucher [College in 2017]. The work [paintings depicting people with nooses around their necks] meant something else to somebody else . . . and it took on a whole different life. But in the end, there were conversations with students, staff, and faculty; there was an artist talk; and it was refreshing to hear people speak up. So really, the work did its work, being taken down in the space.

Weren’t those pieces later shown in a group exhibit of censored work at the Motor House?
Yeah, Leslie King Hammond wanted to put together different artists whose work has been censored, and I was a part of that.

That’s like a rite of passage, right?
Yes [laughs].

Visual Art

MICA ArtWalk
Maryland Institute College of Art undergrad class of 2018 will showcase their work in the three-hour ArtWalk extravaganza on May 11. Expect to see art in all genres and mediums: painting, sculpture, illustration, ceramics, graphic design, film, animation screenings, and more. New this year, the event is free to the public, complete with food trucks to give the event a festival feel. “The entire campus becomes one huge art gallery,” says Erin Baynham, social media manager at MICA. This is a great way to see what these talented kids are up to, with the added bonus of meeting them face to face and buying work to take home. 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 11 throughout the MICA campus. Work will remain on view through May 14. 

Music

The Björk Songbook
The Evolution Contemporary Series will conclude its season on May 8 with a concert of songs by Björk, taken from her newly released 34 Scores for Piano/Organ/Harpsichord & Celeste. Baltimore artists including Outcalls, Joy Postell, and The Witches will play renditions of songs by the legendary Icelandic pop star. Judah Adashi, founder of the series, is known for breathing new life into symphonic music, and this concert is sure to be no exception. 8 p.m May 8 at An die Musik, 409 N. Charles St.

Through the Eyes of a Child
The Through the Eyes of a Child performance is inspired by the work of Clara Han, associate professor of anthropology and co-director of the Program on Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship at Johns Hopkins University, who is exploring in a new book how violence is passed down through generations of families. The concert will be presented as part of Music of Reality, a series that brings musicians and scientists/researchers together and intersperses lectures with music. Music will include pieces by Leonard Bernstein as well as contemporary composers. 7 p.m. May 4 at 1025 S. Potomac St.

Theater

Life or Theatre?
With Baltimore Annex Theater’s production of Life or Theatre?, Charlotte Salomon may very well become a household name alongside Anne Frank. The play is written and directed by Carly J. Bales (founding producing artistic director of EMP Collective) and based on the life and art of Salomon, a German-Jewish woman in Nazi-era Berlin who completed nearly 1,300 autobiographical paintings (the largest singular body of work by a Jew during the Holocaust), gave them to a friend, and was murdered shortly thereafter in Auschwitz. The play combines her intimate prose and expressionist painting with music to bring to life her story, 100 years after her birth. This is Bales’ first full-length play. Thursdays through Sundays May 24 to June 17 at Annex Theater, 219 Park Ave.

Follow No Strangers To The Fun Places
The Acme Corporation will dissect the process of art making (specifically theater) in their new play Follow No Strangers To The Fun Places, by Lola B. Pierson (creator of Baltimore’s Ten Minute Play Festival). It’s loosely based on Italo Calvino’s novel If on a winter’s night a traveler, though we’ve been told not to get too excited about that point, as the play bears little resemblance to the book. May 3 to 19 at The Great Hall at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 1900 St. Paul St.

SOUL The Stax Musical
Go back to the birth of soul music at Baltimore Center Stage’s production of SOUL The Stax Musical, which revives the songs of Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Singers, and other classic R&B stars during its world premiere. The musical tells the story of the Memphis-based Stax Records and music’s power to unite us, then and now. May 3 through June 10 at Baltimore Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St.

Dance

Moving Walls: A Performance of Body & Sculpture
Baltimore Independent Dance Artists examines human experience in relation to architecture in its new, experimental show at The Peale Center. Dance combines with a large sculptural installation and animation for the experience, though the set alone, created by Noa Heyne, is worth a visit to the museum. 8 p.m. May 3 and 5 at The Peale Center, 225 Holliday St.

Film

Maryland Film Fest
There is much to be excited about when it comes to this year’s Maryland Film Fest in Station North. There’s Matt Porterfield’s latest, Sollers Point, starring McCaul Lombardi; 10 blocks of shorts; a screening of the film I, Olga Hepnarova, selected and introduced by John Waters; an after party in the Ynot Lot and Windup Space; and much in between. Get ready to laugh, cry, and contemplate life every which way with more than 40 feature films across all genres and cultures. Learn more about it here and here and here. May 2-6 at the Parkway Theatre and MICA.

Miscellanea

Baltimore Portrait: Artists in Conversation
As part of the VOICES speaker series at The Church of the Redeemer, Baltimore artists Amy Sherald and Stephen Towns will be in conversation with Baltimore Museum of Art director Christopher Bedford this month. Both have become Baltimore celebrities recently after receiving national attention for their work—Sherald with the unveiling of her official portrait of former first lady Michelle Obama at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Towns with his first museum exhibition (currently on view at the BMA). 7 to 8:30 p.m. May 30 at The Church of the Redeemer, 5603 N. Charles St.

Last August, visual artist Stephen Towns traveled to his home state of South Carolina and joined millions of Americans when he stood in the path of totality and witnessed a total solar eclipse.

“It is something that is indescribable,” he tells a crowd gathered to see his exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art. “You know there is something bigger than you.”

The same celestial forces played prominently in the story of Nat Turner, who led a rebellion of slaves and free black people in 1831, a story that the Baltimore-based Towns had been studying and using as the impetus for his latest body of work, a series of quilts that explore how slavery has impacted modern life. After seeing a solar eclipse in his time, Turner, a minister and deeply spiritual man, believed it was a sign from God to move forward with his revolt against slave owners, which he did, though it would ultimately bring him to his death when he was convicted.

“And about this time I had a vision—and I saw white spirits and black spirits engaged in battle, and the sun was darkened,” he writes in the book The Confessions of Nat Turner. 

The glowing moon and beaming sun against shimmering, starry skies play prominently throughout Towns’ pieces, which are are on exhibit in the solo show Rumination and a Reckoning at the BMA from March 7 through Sept. 2. The work is in the textile gallery space of the American wing of the museum and marks Towns’ first museum show.

Towns and internationally renowned artist Mark Bradford will be in conversation with BMA director Christopher Bedford on March 7 to discuss their work and chosen mediums. The event is free to the public and begins at 7 p.m.

Towns is trained as a painter but moved to fiber arts in 2014 when he made the large-scale quilt “Birth of Nation,” a Madonna and Child of sorts, depicting a black woman wet-nursing a white baby, set against the historical 13-star American flag.

“I tried through painting, I tried through drawing, but it wasn’t working,” he says about starting the. When he turned to fiber arts to convey Turner’s story, “something about the materiality of the fabric” lent itself to the work. The self-taught seamstress says he learned a lot watching YouTube tutorials—which is fascinating, given the meticulous detail of the pieces that combine metallic thread, glass beads, buttons, tulle, and, in some cases, acrylic paint.

The quilts aren’t particularly large, averaging about 30 to 35 inches. Towns says that’s partly because he’s a creature of habit—and this size is similar to the canvases he once painted. He also says, “They’re like windows into that past time period.”

He brought to quilting his knowledge of, and interest in, sacred art, portraiture, and 19th-century photography.

In addition to his “Birth of a Nation” piece, seven smaller story quilts tell Turner’s story—from a child learning to read, through his work as a minister, and finally to his hanging as a martyr for enslaved people. Turner as prophet is depicted with a yellow, beaming sun around his head in some pieces, reminiscent of Towns’ older series of paintings, inspired by medieval altarpieces, that showed modern-day men and women with metallic golden halos. Two quilted portraits of Nat and Cherry Turner, believed to be his wife, complete the show.

Aside from those two portraits, the figures in Towns’ series are intentionally faceless, appearing as black cutouts, silhouettes. He wants them to be representative of all of us, he says.

He also chose to not show blatantly violent images, in part because he’s heard from friends that they’re tired of seeing films about slavery that contain graphic depictions of the old South. Instead, Towns focused on the positive frames of the story, and much is told abstractly through symbolism. A red scarf-like ribbon, for example, runs through several pieces, representing the blood and sacrifice of slaves. The heavens, too, serve as a metaphor, “a place beyond that is always there,” as Towns put it, “that you don’t always have the wherewithal to get to.”

Visual Art

Devin Allen’s A Beautiful Ghetto exhibit
Baltimore street photographer Devin Allen became known across the nation for his work after one of his images of the 2015 Baltimore protests was featured as the cover of Time magazine. Three years later, and in honor of that anniversary, the Institute for Integrative Health will exhibit a series of his black-and-white photos documenting the riots in A Beautiful Ghetto. Maybe more importantly, the show will serve as a launchpad for community-wide discussions. This kicks off with an artist talk during the opening reception, where his 2017 book by the same title will be available, and it continues with various events with a focus on healing, such as the April 13 dialogue with artists, writers, and leaders about creating healing spaces for their communities. The Institute for Integrative Health, 1407 Fleet St. Opening reception: 6 to 8:30 p.m. March 15.

Adam Davies: Reroutings
Creative Alliance resident artist Adam Davies will transform the space there to bring us Reroutings, an exhibit of his large-format film photographs of outdoor structures that have served as unofficial public forums (think graffiti-strewn bridges and unexpected street art found during a stroll). The gallery space will be completely darkened and the walls painted black and replaced with his huge (56- by 70-inch) photographic images, which will be lit from behind. Alex Zhang Hungtai of Dirty Beaches will perform his lo-fi electronica soundscapes—which were an influence on the photography series—during an opening reception on March 10, and more events will follow. Opens March 10 at the Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Stephen Towns: Rumination and a Reckoning
Story quilts are an African-American tradition dating back at least some 200 years. Some historians believe that secret codes were sewn into quilts, providing maps for navigating the Underground Railroad. Baltimore artist Stephen Towns continues in this tradition, exploring themes of slavery and perspectives of women and people of color through his large-scale fabric and bead-work pieces, often featuring faceless black figures that appear as silhouettes. The Baltimore Museum of Art will exhibit 10 of his quilts in Rumination and a Reckoning beginning this month, seven of which depict the story of Nat Turner and his 1831 rebellion. As if that weren’t enough, the museum will host Towns in conversation with internationally renowned artist Mark Bradford. March 7 through Sept. 2 at the Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive.

Music

Baltimore Plays The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 20th Anniversary
Hard as it may be to believe, it’s been 20 years since the release of the seminal album The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. In a homage to the work, several artists—Jasmine Pope (J Pope and the HearNow), Christen B, Joy Postell, Karin Sings Evans, Marc Avon Evans, Jamaal Black Root Collier—will gather at the Creative Alliance to perform its tracks in their own style. March 18 at the Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave.

Theater

Humbug: The Great P.T. Barnum Séance
Magician David London will attempt to summon the spirit of The Great P.T. Barnum via—what else?—séance in his new show Humbug at The Peale Center. While we can’t guarantee audiences will make contact with the legendary showman, we do guarantee the exhibition of genuine Barnum artifacts (honestly, that might be a hoax, too—in the spirit of P.T. Barnum, of course). March 8 to 25 at The Peale Center, 225 N. Holliday St.

Film

Everything is Terrible!’s The Great Satan
Imagine being able to get a taste of more than more than 2,000 horror, satanic, and religious films in under two hours. You don’t have to imagine anymore. Everything is Terrible! has done the work for you, creating a narrative from scraps of material to make the kitschy, trippy new film The Great Satan. In their own words: “Since the dawn of time, man has searched for answers . . . and failed. But the fog of existence has finally cleared thanks to the eternal fruits of your favorite found footage collective.” The makers will be at the theater to present their film as part of their cross-country tour. Guests are encouraged to bring offerings of VHS tapes of Jerry Maguire. March 7 at SNF Parkway Theatre, 5 W. North Ave.

Kékszakállú

Baltimore’s Matt Porterfield, best known for his films Hamilton and Putty Hill, will host and do a Q&A at two screenings of the gorgeous Argentine film Kékszakállú, co-written and co-produced by him and directed by Gastón Solnicki. The coming-of-age film’s title and inspiration comes from the opera Bluebeard’s Castle and follows a group of upper-class girls as they enter the world outside of their privileged lives. March 2 to 8 at SNF Parkway Theatre, 5 W. North Ave.

Literary Arts

An Evening with Laura Lippman at Federal Hill Prep School
Baltimore’s literary darling and New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman will be at Federal Hill Prep School as part of a book tour for her latest release, Sunburn. The novel tells the story of Polly, a runaway wife who’s ready to start a new life but wasn’t quite ready to fall in love in the process. March 24 at Federal Hill Preparatory School, 1040 William St.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.