Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
May 3, 2025
May 3, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

Arts & Entertainment



COURTESY OF KATY OH
Dave Burrell opened with an incredible sequence of his original pieces. 

Jazz legends visit and perform at Peabody

This past weekend, in conjunction with the two-day jazz symposium at Hopkins, An Die Musik LIVE! presented two jazz luminaries on Saturday night who were pivotal to the free jazz scene in France at the turn of the 1970s.


COURTESY OF COLE DOUGLASS
Students from many diverse communities performed at the Culture Show.

32nd Annual Culture Show showcases student talent

The Office of Multicultural Affairs hosted the 32nd Annual Culture Show on Friday, Nov. 15. The event featured performances by 14 student groups — from the Gospel Choir’s heavenly harmonies to the Ladybirds’ sharp, graceful dance routines — all of which were centered around the event’s themes of resilience and strength, succinctly summarized by the event’s tag line: “We Rise.” 


COURTESY OF PROFESSOR SCHILLING 
Legendary avant-garde saxophonist Archie Shepp attended the symposium.

Historical figures in avant-garde jazz reunite at symposium

The University held a free two-day symposium, “Paris/Algiers 1969: Declarations of Freedom by the Black American Avant-Garde,” on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16. The Centre Louis Marin for Interdisciplinary French Studies organized the event with the support of the French Embassy in the United States, and the symposium director was none other than Hopkins Professor and Chair of German and Romance Languages and Literatures, Professor Derek Schilling. 


COURTESY OF KANAK GUPTA
DIETANIUM emerged victorious against defending champion Stormsketch.

Artists rumble at Super Art Fight 2019

As the crowd chanted “Taco Bell! Taco Bell!” five minutes into “Super Art Fight: Thanksgiving Thrashing,” I knew this night was going to be wild. This Thanksgiving edition of the strange collision between wrestling and live art, or “the greatest live art competition in the known universe,” as it calls itself, took place at Ottobar on Friday, Nov. 15. 


COURTESY OF DANYA QATO
The final event opened with a performance from the band Conjunto Bruja.

Not a Film Fest sparks conversations on resistance

This past Sunday, Nov. 10, “Not a Film Fest: Anticolonial Conversations in Baltimore” wrapped up with its third and final day. Baltimore-Palestine Solidarity (BPS) presented the event, which began on Oct. 20 at the Baltimore American Indian Center and continued its second day on Oct. 27 at the 2640 Space before concluding this Sunday at the Creative Alliance in Patterson Park. 


FKA twigs’ sophomore album Magdalene defies genre

I find myself listening to music all the time, whether it’s while working out or just sitting on my bed, but once I get hooked on one song, I will continuously play it on loop until someone begs me to stop humming the earworm-triggering tune. 


COURTESY OF ELIZA ZIMMERMAN
King Princess’ intimate show at the 9:30 Club in D.C. featured inventive makeup, props and sets.

King Princess delivers intimate performance in D.C.

Before coming to Hopkins, I had already started laying out extravagant plans for concert-viewing in D.C. The fall lineup is always ripe, no matter what part of the country you’re in, and I even had an app that scanned my Spotify music library to track who was passing through and where they were playing. 


COURTESY OF EUNICE PARK 
Sarah Aroeste performed in Ladino, the language of the Sephardim.

Multimedia performance honors Sephardic Jews

Present day commemorations, whether in the form of service, art or expression, are irreplaceable markers of historical narratives that must not be forgotten. The Greek Chamber Music Project (GCMP), is an arts presenter and record label devoted to performing the eccentric music of Greek composers. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, GCMP presented an emotionally-charged and impactful program at the Peabody Institute in memory of the Holocaust, called Remembering the Jews of Greece: A Musical Journey. 



 COURTESY OF ALEX HECKSHER GOMES
JPEGMAFIA performed at the Ottobar in Baltimore for an animated and sweat-drenched crowd.  

JPEGMAFIA concludes 2019 tour in Baltimore

JPEGMAFIA returned to Baltimore on Saturday, Nov. 9 for the final leg of his JPEGMAFIA Type Tour and played to a sold-out audience at the Ottobar. This tour follows the release of Peggy’s newest album, All My Heroes Are Cornballs. Opening for JPEG on his tour was Butch Dawson, a rapper and producer from West Baltimore. 




MATTHEW STRAUBMULLER/CC BY 2.0
The majestic Kennedy Center presented David Alden’s Otello last weekend.

Otello production retells Shakespeare’s tragedy

“I believe in a cruel God who has created me in His image.” These sacrilegious words begin Iago’s aria in composer Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello, characterizing mankind as inherently bitter and wicked. It is in Iago’s dark worldview that director David Alden seems to base his production of the opera, now showing at The Kennedy Center with the Washington National Opera and starring Russell Thomas, George Gagnidze and Leah Crocetto.


TC SQUAD JULIA/CC BY-S.A 2.0
Director and screenwriter Josh Schwartz revived Green’s novel for its television adaptation.

Looking for Alaska finds new life on television

We routinely hear the phrase, “The book was better than the movie.” It is rare that a movie adaptation meets the standards that are set by the book. Only when the movie includes as many details as it can from the book does the movie begin to reach our expectations. For the screen adaptation of John Green’s first novel, Looking For Alaska, this wasn’t a problem, since it was made into a Hulu TV series.



Courtesy of Binyamin Novetsky

Stand-up Comedy Club dresses up for Halloween

The Hopkins Stand-Up Comedy Club rocked the house this past Saturday night with their annual Halloween show, this year titled “Halloween 2: Electric Spookaloo.” The show featured nine members performing sets of five to 10 minutes. 


Courtesy of Mikayla Chua

Queer Comedy Night empowers and celebrates LGBTQ community

LGBTQ Life at Hopkins hosted a Queer Comedy Night at the LaB on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The event featured both student comedians and a professional local comedian, Elizabeth Norman. Throughout each set, the hour was full of shared giggles, shared laughs and, most importantly, the shared theme of queer stories and comedy. 



Courtesy of Eliza Zimmerman

Oddities Exposition captivates attendees

I’ve seen event fliers for months around Baltimore cafes and bookstores advertising the World Oddities Expo. Upon entering the lobby of the Lord Baltimore Hotel this past Sunday, Nov. 3, however, I saw little indication of the Expo’s existence, of tattooed viewers and strange relics on display. 


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