Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
January 19, 2026
January 19, 2026 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

arts




Q&A with Gary Larsen of alternative rock band Royal Teeth

Up and coming band Royal Teeth creates music that can delight anybody. The band consists of four members, Gary Larsen, Nora Patterson, Thomas Onebane and Josh Hefner, all from Louisiana. They are currently touring with alt-rock band Rooney in anticipation of their Nov. 18 release of their new EP, Amateurs, from Round Hill Records. The News-Letter’s Hayley Bronner was able to sit down for a phone interview with singer Gary before their Baltimore concert. Here is what he had to say about touring, New Orleans and their new EP.


 MARK C. AUSTIN/CC-By-Nc-2.0
Rapper Tory Lanez features on Meek Mill’s DC4 with a strong verse on a track titled “Litty Again.”

Meek Mill strikes back with Dreamchasers 4

Meek Mill is coming off a horrific year. He was stuck in jail for months over a parole violation. He started a legitimate fight with Drake over a ghostwriting allegation that he backed up with hard evidence and still lost. He’s beefing with both Game and Beanie Sigel who released some vicious diss tracks (update: Game and Meek have squashed the beef) and the release date of his project was postponed by a stipulation in his probation that prohibited the release of new music.





 Courtesy of The Barnstormers
Freshman Sebastian Durfee stars in the Barnstormers’ Rumors.

The Barnstormers reach new high with Rumors

The Barnstormers present Rumors, a farce by Neil Simon, this weekend in Mattin Center’s Swirnow Theater. Rumors centers on five hysterical couples whose lives intersect on one absurd night at a swanky New York residence. The News-Letter attended a dress rehearsal of the show on Tuesday night. The show was produced by junior Gillian Lelchuk and directed by guest-director Jeffrey M. Cordell.


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Artist Lauren Wilmshurst inked this spooky haunted house as part of the annual Inktober challenge.

Inktober helps artists draw outside the box

In recent years, an art challenge known as Inktober has become a global phenomenon within the online art community. The premise is simple: On each day for the month of October, artists create one ink drawing and post it on social media.


New Black Mirror season explores relationships

Science-fiction/horror series Black Mirror made a splash with its debut five years ago, and recently its newest season premiered on Netflix as part of a new distribution deal. The third season excels in more ways than it falls short, but the real highlight of the season (and perhaps the 2015-2016 fall television season) is the fourth episode “San Junipero.”


 KENNYSUN/CC-BY-SA-3.0
Death Grips’ MC Ride is known for his visceral live performances.

Hip-hop Halloween: tricks, treats and 808s

It’s that time of year again. While college guys deliberate which skin tight costume most prominently shows their pecs, and rackety old men prepare their pile of toothbrushes for distribution, some of us look for albums and tracks to fill our Halloween playlists.


 COURTESY OF LEON SANTHAKUMAR
The Buttered Niblets competed against UMBC as part of the improv comedy show titled Quickdraw.

Buttered Niblets compete at Quickdraw show

The Buttered Niblets, the University’s only improvisational comedy group, recently performed as a part of Quickdraw, an improv competition with other local colleges sponsored by the Baltimore Improv Group. For the performance last Thursday night, the Buttered Niblets faced off against University of Maryland Baltimore County’s (UMBC) Dog-Collar Comedy Troupe. The two groups played to an enthusiastic crowd at the Baltimore Improv Group’s space at Single Carrot Theatre in Remington.


Let the Right One In revives horror genre

Let’s face it, vampire movies have become overrated. After the release of the Twilight Saga movie series the vampire genre has taken a turn from classic horror to cheap entertainment. Now, it is hard to take a vampire movie seriously unless it is meant to be laughed at (i.e. What We Do in the Shadows). Thankfully, we still have one vampire movie that can satisfy our thirst for something that’s chilling, creepy yet artistically profound: Let the Right One In.


 COURTESY OF KATHERINE LOGAN
The 7th annual Scary Stories Night showcased a Baltimore tradition.

Windup Space hosts annual night of scary stories

I walked into The Windup Space on Monday night to see a huge screen, several sparsely populated tables with Halloween-themed décor and little baskets of candy, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at the 7th Annual Scary Stories Night. I felt like a foreigner among the crowd, who were talking and laughing amongst each other that  I got the sense that the majority of them had definitely been there before.


 COURTESY OF CATHERINE KEHOE
Catherine Kehoe tackles a number of themes in her work, which include techniques such as still life.

Painter Catherine Kehoe will speak at Hopkins

Next Thursday, Oct. 27, the Hopkins’ Center for Visual Arts will co-sponsor a talk by representational painter Catherine Kehoe about her work. The talk is free and open to all students, as well as the general public.



 Amheil/CC-BY-ND-2.0
Producer Knxwledge lays down the drum tracks for NxWorries.

Paak and Knxwledge strike beautiful gold

Smooth and sexy: These two words completely describe singer Anderson .Paak and quirky music producer Knxwledge’s collaborative project, Yes Lawd!, named for .Paak’s trademark adlib. Released a week early on Oct. 14, 2016, this project burst onto Apple Music unexpectedly. Working under the moniker NxWorries, the pair created a nearly perfect project with smooth, layered instrumentals, beautiful vocal performances and a thick layer of silky, confident charisma.


GAGE SKIDMORE/CC-BY-SA-2.0
Acclaimed actress Lupita Nyong’o, who portrays Phiona’s mother, spoke at the 2016 San Diego ComicCon.

Queen of Katwe refreshes familiar narrative

Queen of Katwe (2016) is a recent film based on the life of Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga), a young chess champion from Uganda who was raised in the slums of Kampala. The film features critically lauded actors Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo and boasts a winning performance from newcomer Madina Nalwanga.


COURTESY OF ALYSSA WOODEN
The Pigtown festival spanned several blocks of Washington Boulevard and offered pig and non-pig foods.

Festival flaunts the best of historic Pigtown

Although it rained almost all afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 8, crowds filled the streets from noon to 7 p.m. at the 15th annual Pigtown Festival. Spanning several blocks of Washington Boulevard, the festival featured live music, booths set up by local businesses and artists and a smorgasbord of street food, both pig and non-pig related.


 COURTESY OF JACOB TOOK
 Participants of Alloverstreet gather at Gallery CA to view Bobby English, Jr.’s I AM You ARE installation.

Alloverstreet event highlights Baltimore’s art

Last Friday evening, Baltimore’s monthly artist-run art marathon, Alloverstreet, offered a wide range of exhibitions, galleries and artist talks in Station North to satiate art lovers and intrigue artistic novices.


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