The Contemporary is one of Baltimore’s most unique arts institutions and perhaps its most innovative museum. It does not collect art, nor does it have a central location for displaying works. Instead, it is a nomadic museum, commissioning works to transform specific Baltimore spaces into nouveau-galleries.
The world celebrated the ninth annual Record Store Day on Saturday, April 16. The festivities, which occur on the third Saturday of April, honor independent record stores. This year, The News-Letter decided to mark the occasion by reaching out to Celebrated Summer Records, a local store, for an interview and some insight into independent music culture. Owner Tony Pence spoke about the store and his relationship with music.
The man behind some of the most innovative sounds in American pop music passed away on April 21. The death of Prince Rogers Nelson, better known as just Prince, marks a 2016 that has already featured the deaths of many visionaries, including fellow musical genius, David Bowie.
Beyoncé released her latest album, Lemonade, on Saturday. Her sixth album and second visual album, Lemonade was a surprise, shrouded in hushed whispers, as no one knew its nature before release date.
Not your typical indie band, Beirut mixes heady blends of lush, brass melodies with electronic and acoustic sensibilities. Drawing from Balkan-inspired folk and postmodern pop, their sound has yet to be replicated by anyone in the indie scene.
The Split This Rock Poetry Festival took place for the fifth time over the weekend from Thursday, April 14 to Sunday, April 17 in Washington, D.C. The festival, which has been held at the nation’s capital every other year since 2008, centers around poetry of provocation and witness.
Last Thursday, emo pop-punk band Citizen played at the Ottobar in one of the last stops on their six-week tour. They were supported by a bevy of similar bands, including Sorority Noise, Turnover and Milk Teeth.
As part of the annual Spring Fair concert, The Chainsmokers performed along with Marian Hill and Shwayze. The outdoor concert was held on the Hopkins campus at the practice field on Friday, April 15. 2,500 tickets were sold for the event.
Artists used to drop albums the same way every time: They would announce a new album in the works, promote it and release it on a set date. Yet, since album releases at their essence are all about marketing and lining up as many people as possible to buy the album, artists and their labels have been getting more and more creative in terms of how they present and release new work.
In light of ongoing attacks on cultural landmarks and artifacts in the Middle East, the Program in Museums and Society, with support from the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum and the department of Near Eastern Studies, presented a lecture titled “Disaster and Response: The Conservator’s Role in Saving Global Heritage” on Tuesday. Throughout the event, they stressed that conservation of a society’s culture is a matter of human rights.
Last Sunday, Son Lux headlined a show at the Ottobar. Son Lux is a genre-bending American musician whose work might be described as experimental electronic, pop or just “indie.” Ryan Lott, the man behind the act, has released four albums, including Bones, We Are Rising and Lanterns, as well as two EPs under Son Lux.
Hopkins hosted “The Power of Words,” an event featuring spoken word artists, poets and activists, on April 8 in Hodson Hall. Many of the 12 performers were from the Baltimore community, and others were Hopkins students.
Netflix unveiled a brand new season of the Canadian mockumentary show Trailer Park Boys on March 28. The show, which is now in its 10th season, debuted on the Showcase network in 2001 and came to a close in 2007 at the end of the seventh season. The series was then revived in 2014, and Netflix started streaming it the same year. The show’s three leading actors, John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells and Mike Smith along with their production company, Swearnet Pictures, were responsible for the reboot.
Indie experimental noise band Yo La Tengo played two sets at the Baltimore Soundstage last Tuesday. The performance was billed as “An Evening with Yo La Tengo” and promised both an intimate set of the band’s quieter songs and the frantic, kinetic sounds for which they have come to be known.
Unnaturally Happy: The Language of the Bumblebees premiered at Arellano Theater last Friday night at 8 p.m. The drama, which focuses on the delicate intricacies of relationships and mental illness, was directed, produced and written by senior Tatiana Nya Ford. It featured performances by Ford, junior Saraniya Tharmarajah, senior Utkarsh Rajawat and senior Matt Moores.
From April 1 to 10, the Barnstormer’s production of Legally Blonde the Musical takes over the Swirnow Theater at the Mattin Center. Fans of the movie, musical aficionados and fun seekers alike can all revel in this upbeat and stylistic retelling of the popular film.
With the numerous foreign language literature departments and the impressive English and Writing Seminars departments, it’s a well-known fact that Hopkins students enjoy literature. It’s a lesser known fact that many of these same Hopkins students are also fantastic bakers and artists as well.
Light City Baltimore bathed the city in lights last week with its inaugural combination of music, lights and innovation that brought together many of the city’s neighborhoods. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it was that the event spread throughout the city, with many attractions in different neighborhoods.
