All the Pieces Matter

Meeting Springsteen--Is the Boss As Nice As He Seems?

John Lewis — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:26:33 +0000

With Bruce Springsteen playing the Arena tomorrow night, I've been thinking about when I met the Boss a few years ago. My wife Anne and I were going to Ireland to celebrate our anniversary, and Marc Anthony Thompson—a friend of ours, who happened to be a member of Springsteen's Seeger Sessions band—caught wind of it [...]

Yet Another Thrill Jockey Signing

John Lewis — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:27:52 +0000

The parade of Baltimore bands signing with Chicago's Thrill Jockey Records continues. According to the label, Future Islands will release a full-length CD, In Evening Air, next spring. If you're not familiar with the band's New Wave bounce, check out the above video for "The Happiness of Being Twice." See if you can spot Dan Deacon [...]

Life-Changing Art: Everett Quinton

John Lewis — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:31:18 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you? The piece of art that changed my life was seeing Charles Ludlam getting ready to be Marguerite Gautier. He was in dress rehearsal for a benefit for The Ridiculous Theatrical Company called Taboo Tableaux. It [...]

Just Another Night in Baltimore...

John Lewis — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:46:24 +0000

Tonight, David Simon, Barry Levinson, and John Waters appear together at MICA's Brown Center to benefit the Maryland Film Festival. Tickets will set you back $125 to $250. Around the corner, Jandek—the reclusive indie musician—plays a super rare concert at Load Of Fun, backed by local experimentalists Jason Willett, Dan Breen, Twig Harper, and Susan Alcorn. Down [...]

BCGS Commission Wins Latin Grammy

John Lewis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:07:50 +0000

Gabriela Lena Frank's "Inca Dances," commissioned by the Baltimore Classical Guitar Society, snagged a Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. The premiere recording of the piece appears on Manuel Barrueco and Cuarteto Latinoamericano's excellent Sounds of the Americas CD, which came out last year on Barrueco's Tonar label. Barrueco is on quite a [...]

Sesame Street Turns 40 Today

John Lewis — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:55:36 +0000

Sesame Street went on the air 40 years ago today, and here's one of my all-time favorite clips from the show. Judging by the You Tube comments, I'm not alone.

Recipients of Job Retention Grants Announced

John Lewis — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:24:07 +0000

A bit of stimulus money has trickled down to the arts. The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) has announced who'll be receiving National Endowment for the Arts/Baltimore City job retention grants, which were made possible by $250,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and matched by the city. As reported [...]

New Govans Mural Dedicated

John Lewis — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:21:33 +0000

The latest addition to Baltimore's impressive mural program was unveiled in Govans this afternoon. Community leaders and children from Govans Elementary School joined artist Lyle Kissack (left) for the dedication at the intersection of York Road and Benninghaus Avenue. Kissack's "Steelworkers" mural (a collaboration with Gerald Ross) was featured in Baltimore a few years ago. For pics [...]

Memphis, Egypt

John Lewis — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:03:09 +0000

When Deanna Bogart emailed to say she'd be performing at the Pyramids, I figured she may be referring to the Pyramid arena in downtown Memphis. Memphis is a big blues town, so it made sense. Well, it turns out Bogart was talking about the Pyramids in Egypt. Check out this Reuters photo, taken by Tarek Mostafa. I'll [...]

Life-Changing Art: Taylor Branch

John Lewis — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:22:54 +0000

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you? Ben E. King's recording of the R&B classic "Stand By Me" captured me as a high school freshman in 1961. The song was a haunting interracial partnership of artists that rose above the segregation of culture and politics in that era. It inspired me [...]