The rap scene is at full tilt, with fiery talents like JPEGMAFIA and Lor Choc leading the pack, and Bmore Club is back, again, blossoming outward with the help of TT The Artist and Abdu Ali. As is Future Islands, when they’re not starring on late-night television shows or gallivanting across the globe. Today, Deacon is still here, expanding his repertoire and supporting the local scene.
Now, it is a genre-blurring blend of veterans and rookies, from rappers to rock bands, who are upholding and evolving things, even finding inspiration through some of our city’s darkest hours following the Baltimore Uprising in 2015. Then, it was a bunch of ’80s kids, raised on punk rock and hip-hop, who channeled their youthful angst into art. Then, as now, it was the artists-working, creating, breaking boundaries (or never letting them get in their way in the first place)-who transformed this city into a nexus of ferocious creative energy. And even the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, with its new leader, Marin Alsop-the first female head of a major American symphony-was looking toward the future.Īll of that to say, Baltimore was the epitome of cool. Meanwhile, Baltimore Club music had made a comeback, with young producers like Blaqstarr and K-Swift carrying on the frenetic dance legacy of legends like Miss Tony and Scottie B. Local indie music was on fire, as Wye Oak inked their first record deal and Beach House finished their first world tour. When this story hits stands, it will mark exactly one decade since Rolling Stone dubbed Baltimore’s music scene the best in the country.Īt the time, in 2008, DIY spaces spread across the city like kudzu, and Dan Deacon was the rabble-rousing ringleader of the underground arts community, with his eclectic Wham City collective propagating wild festivals like Whartscape, where a fledgling Future Islands-fresh off the bus from North Carolina-performed some of their very first shows.
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