Wendel Patrick’s first memory is actually a dream. It was a recurring dream that he had for years, well into adulthood. It started when he was about 2, maybe even younger. The dream had no people in it. No light. But there was a steady sound—a beat. Something about that beat made Patrick realize he wasn’t alone.

“And then at some point, the rhythm—the thing that was repeating—became more intense and rapid, and then it stopped,” Patrick says. “And there was nobody else. I knew I was by myself.”

When he could find the words, maybe he was 3 or 4 by then, he asked his mother about the dream. She burst into tears.

Years later he would find out that he had a twin who died in childbirth. The twin’s name was…Wendel Patrick Gift.

This all becomes a little less confusing when you learn that Wendel Patrick was born Kevin Gift. For the first part of his life, everyone knew him as Kevin. He studied classical piano and earned a master’s degree in piano performance from Northwestern University School of Music. But he also started experimenting with electronic music, improvisation, and hip-hop. He bought mics and drum kits and samplers.

When he released his first hip-hop album, folks who knew him only from classical music were confused. He felt a need to distinguish the two sides of his musical life. So for the hip-hop persona, he would go by Wendel Patrick, after his brother, whose presence he always intuitively felt. His classical music persona would stay Kevin Gift.

At the time, he didn’t realize how blurred those two identities might become. That he would become a famous hip-hop producer and musician. That he would bridge the two worlds by bringing hip-hop into the hallowed halls of Peabody Institute. And that it would be a very long time before he would play classical piano again.

Another one of his earliest memories involves the piano. He and his family were living in Venezuela. His father was a diplomat, so they moved around a lot. His mother wanted his older sister, Deena, to start taking piano lessons. She brought Deena and Wendel to the studio of a well-known teacher. Young Wendel, then just 4, also played for the teacher, banging on the keyboard with glee.

“I’ll teach the girl but only if I can teach the boy as well,” the teacher said.

And so his musical journey began.

Patrick, now 51, showed an enormous aptitude for classical piano and it was one of the things that grounded him as his family moved from D.C. to Venezuela to Jamaica. Whenever they would stay at a hotel, his mother would make arrangements for her two children to practice the piano in the lobby or the lounge, if they had one. It was a source of continuity and comfort in his life.

But when he was 14, he stopped playing. He was a teenager—he had other interests: sports, girls, popular music, especially hip-hop. He loved Public Enemy and Eric B. & Rakim. A friend turned him onto the reggae-tinged hip-hop of Boogie Down Productions, which he couldn’t get enough of.

“I still loved classical music,” he explains. “But I just didn’t listen to it that much.”

He went to college, undergrad at Emory University. He majored in political science, figuring he’d be a diplomat like his dad, or maybe a lawyer. One day, a girlfriend asked him to play piano. He demurred at first but finally agreed. She was impressed with his talent, but he was stunned. He sounded terrible, at least based on his own high standards. He had assumed the facility would always be there, but he now understood he needed to use it or lose it. It bothered him, more than he expected.

He began studying piano at Emory and realized that music was his true love. He went on to get that master’s in piano performance at Northwestern. But his love for hip-hop was still percolating. It was the ’90s, so you couldn’t record things on a computer. You needed physical equipment. Mics. Recorders. Turntables.

He began experimenting with different electronic and hip-hop sounds, all while studying to become a concert pianist. In 1997, he moved to Baltimore, where his mother was living (she and his father had divorced by then). He got a small, grubby apartment in Mt. Vernon—by far his biggest and most expensive piece of furniture was his Steinway piano.

Then, in 2005, he had just come home from playing a Mozart piano concerto in Bolivia when he realized that his index finger on his left hand felt strange. He figured he just needed rest. He took two weeks off from playing. When he tried again, the finger felt worse—weak, almost like he had no control over it. He went to a clinic that specialized in hand injuries. The doctors asked him to play. Afterwards, the room got very quiet.

“You’re making me nervous,” he said.

The doctors told him he had a nerve condition called focal dystonia. It was the same condition that Peabody’s most famous professor, the pianist Leon Fleisher, had suffered from. It effectively ended Fleisher’s career as a concert pianist.

This was obviously very depressing news—existentially depressing, in some ways. But Wendel Patrick (who was then still only known as Kevin Gift) has the kind of restless creative spirit that can’t be extinguished. He got more involved in photography, a pastime he had picked up while on tour with a band. He started experimenting more with electronic music. He made that first hip-hop album. And Wendel Patrick was born.

“I DON’T THINK HIP-HOP NEEDS ANY VALIDATION OF ANY KIND. THAT’S NOT WHAT THIS IS ABOUT FOR ME AT ALL.”

If you live in Baltimore, you might know Patrick in any number of ways. Maybe you took piano lessons from him at Music & Arts in Timonium or Ellicott City back in the day. Maybe you’ve attended one of his Boom Bap Society concerts—a series of lively, improvised hip-hop jam sessions that he started with his friend, the composer and DJ Erik Spangler, 14 years ago. Maybe you’ve watched the Maryland Public Television series he hosts, Artworks, where he interviews fascinating members of the local arts community. Maybe you’ve listened to his albums or his collaborations with the likes of spoken word artist Ursula Rucker or Baltimore’s own Eze Jackson.

Quite possibly, you know him through Out of the Blocks, the podcast he co-produced with Aaron Henkin. Patrick wrote the ineffably cool, jazzy scores that accompanied the podcast, which produced intimate audio profiles of city blocks and their people.

When Henkin approached Patrick about collaborating on Out of the Blocks, he was simply hoping to use some of Patrick’s pre-existing music. He had been a fan of the musician since he interviewed him for a WYPR show called “The Signal.” But Patrick had another idea: What if he wrote customized soundtracks for each episode, incorporating the natural soundscape—the sizzle of the deep fryer, the whir of a dry-clean machine—into the music? Henkin was blown away.

“It was like asking to borrow someone’s used pickup truck, and then them saying, actually, let me build you a brand new Maserati from scratch,” he says with a chuckle.

Patrick became a co-producer of the show. He also got in the habit of taking striking black-and-white photos of the subjects featured on the pod. He and Henkin would hand deliver a print of the photograph to the interviewee, a way of saying thanks and staying connected.

Henkin says the photos also served as an icebreaker. “Like, everyone understands what a photo portrait is, but maybe not so much an audio portrait,” he explains. “It was almost like the pictures were easier for people to wrap their mind around than the audio.”

Henkin describes his partnership with Patrick as the most “productive, satisfying collaboration” of his life.

And now, Patrick is about to embark on one of his biggest challenges yet: heading up Peabody Institute’s new hip-hop program. Peabody will become the first conservatory in the world to offer a hip-hop degree.

It’s an overcast day in November and Patrick is sitting in his two-floor apartment in the Bromo Arts District, reflecting on his career and life. Downstairs is a rather elaborate studio with all manner of microphones, video equipment, turntables, mixers, as well as that beautiful grand piano. His bedroom is upstairs. (He moved into this larger space in 2012.)

Patrick is dressed simply, in a dark gray thermal top, black jeans, and bare feet. He has an elegant way about him—a calm voice, a thoughtful stillness.

He says he’s excited about the prospect of building this hip-hop department from scratch—in what can only be described as a coup, Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer Lupe Fiasco will be joining the faculty—but he wants to make something very clear.

“I don’t think hip-hop needs any validation of any kind,” he says. “That’s not what this is about for me at all. I think Peabody and institutions of higher learning are going to learn a tremendous amount by having hip-hop. But entering into this space is not somehow a badge of honor.”

Fred Bronstein, Peabody’s dean, agrees. “Hip-hop was the logical next step for us,” he says.

He notes that Patrick had been an adjunct and then assistant professor at the conservatory since 2016—teaching hip-hop ensemble and Hip-Hop Music Production: History and Practice. And in general, the school has expanded its technology programs to prepare its students for an increasingly digitized world.

Today’s Peabody students are learning about film and video game scoring, computer music, sound design, musical engineering, and more, along with studying the established classical masters. They’ve had a jazz major since 2001. Bronstein feels that Patrick was uniquely positioned to teach at the school.

“One of the great things about Wendel is that he was trained as a classical pianist at a high level,” he says. “And he found his way into these other disciplines, most obviously hip-hop. I think he brings a breadth of knowledge and an understanding of how hip-hop fits into a wider musical context and relates to other disciplines.”

Bronstein also wants to dispel the stereotype of a Peabody student who is monomaniacally focused on classical music. They are young people who love music. And like most music-loving young people, they love hip-hop. “Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer Prize,” he points out.

So if Peabody is ready for hip-hop, the question remains, is hip-hop ready for Peabody? Eze Jackson, the local rap artist and impresario who has collaborated with Patrick on a variety of projects, welcomes this development.

“I think it’s exciting for hip-hop,” he says. “It’s exciting for Baltimore.”

He says he wishes that, back when he was a young man, a degree like this had been an option for him. “When I got out of high school, I was an emcee, but there was no place to study hip-hop. So I went in the Navy, pretty much to try to find myself,” he says. “I studied hip-hop on my own, as a student of the culture and the craft. But if I could have stayed home and gone to Peabody instead of going to the Navy, hell yeah!”

And Jackson thinks that anyone who sees this as somehow a sell-out of hip-hop culture is being painfully shortsighted.

“Hip-hop is such a limitless art form that I don’t think it gets credit for, so I think it’s dope that Peabody is taking this jump to be the first conservatory to offer it. It shows respect for a craft that we’ve always respected.”

What’s more, Jackson says Patrick is the perfect man to bring the subject to academia. “His knowledge of hip-hop is unmatched,” he says.

“IF I COULD’VE GONE TO PEABODY INSTEAD OF THE NAVY, HELL YEAH!” JACKSON SAYS.

Patrick is already receiving applications and he’s excited about the caliber of students who are applying to the major, which will officially launch in September. He envisions the program starting out small—maybe six to eight students in the first cohort—and growing from there.

“Peabody is an institution that is filled with very skilled students,” he says. “And that’s exactly what I want for this program. I want top level turntablists, MCs, beat boxers, and producers to come. And I’m excited to see what this first group of students is—it’s gonna be exciting for all of them, as well as for the new faculty.”

Meanwhile, there’s been another positive development in Patrick’s musical life. About 15 years ago, after accepting the fact that he may never play piano again, he started attending these “Out of Your Head” jazz improv sessions at the Windup Space. (Those sessions would ultimately become the inspiration for the Boom Bap Society.) He would play the electronic keyboard. And much to his surprise, he found that he could play. His index finger was still hard to control, but less so.

“That was pretty mind-altering for me,” he says. Apparently, the intuitive motion of improvisation—as opposed to the highly formal movement of classical performance—rewired his brain a bit. “And that’s when I started to approach [my focal dystonia] as more of a curiosity and a problem to be solved,” he says. “As opposed to, ‘I hope this thing just goes away.’”

Since then, it’s gotten better. Not perfect. But he’s making progress.

It’s not a coincidence that it was improv that brought on this revelation. It was the world of improv, of hip-hop, of electronica that saved him in a way, when he lost his ability to play Mozart and Chopin. He was able to thoroughly immerse himself in that music, reinvent himself—it brought him friends, fans, collaborators, incredible musical experiences across the world, all culminating in this new program at Peabody.

And now, in a perfect merging of Kevin Gift and Wendel Patrick, it had brought him back to the piano, his first love.

Art Space is a recurring element in the UpFront section of our print publication that spotlights a local artist or project making an impact in the city at large. Here’s what’s going on this month:

After a two-year hiatus, the Baltimore Boom Bap Society has found a new home in the Le Mondo arts space on Howard Street. Known for its high-octane, improvised musical sets, the beloved hip-hop collective, helmed by local producers Wendel Patrick and Erik Spangler, will now post up every final Friday of the month for a must-see performing arts ritual. Find more details, here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:3ION

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

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

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J. Pope

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Kotic Couture

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

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Lafayette Gilchrist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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TT The Artist

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

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

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Warren Wolf

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

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

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

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

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

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

Outcalls

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

Abdu Ali

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

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

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

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

Super City

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

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

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

Patrick McAvinue

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

Eze Jackson & The Backwudz Band

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

In a way, the zig-zag-printed stage at the Windup Space is symbolic of the programming that the arts venue has become known for. One night you could be there to see a local band or comedy show, and the next you could be sketching live models or screening episodes of Twin Peaks in the dark.

This week, the haven for local creatives will celebrate 11 years of offering inclusive arts showcases in Station North. But, sadly, owner Russell De Ocampo recently announced that the space won’t be around for year 12.

“We’ve had the pleasure of sharing our love for the strange and beautiful things that Baltimore has to offer with our own special blend of programming,” De Ocampo said in a statement announcing a closing date of June 1. “We hope you found the things you were looking for and discovered some new things that you will never forget.”

Discovery was a huge aspect of the Windup ethos. Whether packed in shoulder to shoulder for a show or mingling freely at a gallery exhibition, regulars appreciated the versatility of the venue (which Baltimore named a “Best Bar” in 2010), and its ability to open their eyes to obscure art forms.

“Since Russell was so willing to bring in just about anything that people could get down to, we really leaned on the space for availability,” says Derek Vaughan Brown, a local singer and actor who performs at Windup monthly with the groups like the Baltimore Rock Opera Society and psychedelic punk trio Patterson Trash. “It wasn’t necessarily about monetizing for him, but about drawing all of those people in and letting them express themselves and use their voices.”

Veteran rapper Eze Jackson says that De Ocampo has been welcoming him “with open arms” for nearly a decade. Back when his band Soul Cannon was just starting out, Jackson struggled to find performance spaces in the area.

“At that time, it was hard for us to get booked and even harder for us to put together our own bills,” he says. “Other venues had trouble understanding us being on bills with punk bands or rock bands, and Russell was one of the first people to be open to any ideas that we thought were cool.”

In the years since, Jackson has appeared in front of the iconic red curtains countless times. Among the many Windup memories that stick out in his mind is a show that he curated with J. Pope and the late Derrick “OOH” Jones of hip-hop and reggae group Brown Fish in 2010.

Jackson has also performed there with the Baltimore Boom Bap Society, whose founders Wendel Patrick and Erik Spangler first met at one of the venue’s many free improv events. The duo later established a home for their live collaborative hip-hop showcases on the Windup stage.

“We just had one on Saturday and didn’t know that it was our last one,” Patrick says. “We’ve done individual shows at many places many times, but Windup has been our home for almost eight years and we’ve been proud to call it our home. I can’t really think of a space that I’ve been sad to see close like that.”

Brown sees the closure as yet another hit to the DIY arts scene, especially after the loss of The Bell Foundry, whose tenants were evicted in 2016, and Single Carrot Theatre—which recently vacated its Remington home.

“Those experiences are starting to vanish a little bit,” he says. “Something that Russell was always keen to support was this idea that you don’t need to figure out how to make money off of a project, as long as you’re not spending money to make it. For art kids in Baltimore, that’s perfect. There is something really beautiful about a small theater performing something in an inexpensive space.”

Now faced with the impending closure at the end of the month, regulars are beginning to contemplate what the local landscape will look like without the North Avenue gathering spot.

“There will never be another Windup Space,” Jackson says. “After you’ve been on the scene for so many years, you start to realize that’s the reality. Venues come and go, but I hope whoever gets that space understands its history and at least tries to keep up what it brought to the scene.”

De Ocampo’s Station North neighbor and close friend Sarah Werner, who owns Metro Gallery around the corner, took to Facebook to share her thoughts on the void that Windup will leave behind: “I can’t really imagine Station North without Russell,” she said. “Every bit of the Windup Space was an outpouring of his love for the artists and people of Baltimore.”

Even still, artists remain hopeful that Windup has paved the way for other spaces throughout the city to welcome works of all genres.

“I’d obviously love for other places and venues to maybe try to follow suit, but I don’t think it’s really a model that one would necessarily follow—it was just Russell,” Patrick says. “He had this place that he really wanted and he’s just such a caring and thoughtful individual. It really came out in the space.”

To give the club a proper send off, the next two weeks will be jam-packed with the diverse entertainment that Windup has become known for. Specifically, the final 4 Hours of Funk will happen this Friday, the Baltimore Record Bazaar is scheduled for May 19, one last “Whose Roll Is It Anyway” performance will happen on May 26, and Brown’s band Patterson Trash will host a “Living Wake” (complete with blacklight table tennis) on May 29. Locals are making plans to stop by in the coming weeks to have one last drink and honor the community that the Windup Space has built.

“I grew up watching Cheers,” Jackson shares. “And when Windup first opened, I actually lived right around the corner on Maryland and LaFayette, so I used to joke and say that Windup was my Cheers. I was Norm, and I would be over there every night. I’m sad to see it go.”