The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore on Monday announced details about its Baltimore by Baltimore festival series, which is returning for its second year in June with MCB Real Estate, the new developer of Harborplace, as a lead sponsor.
After a successful launch last year, the waterfront music and maker series will be held on the first Saturday of each month for the next six months, from June 3 to Nov. 4, at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater at Pratt and Light streets.
“There is so much talent in Baltimore, and we’re thrilled to bring this series back and continue to amplify both the veteran and up-and-coming artists, community leaders and makers that celebrate Baltimore’s rich arts and culture community,” said Laurie Schwartz, president of Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, in a statement.
Similar to last year, Baltimore by Baltimore will be a series of six all-day festivals, from noon to 8 p.m., that serve as a platform for Baltimore’s leading artists, makers and creatives to showcase the City’s diverse and creative community.
Each festival will feature a different emerging or local professional producer who selects the best representation of artists and makers in their network to fill the Inner Harbor with locally produced goods, music, art and food, and amplify the vibrant and inspiring arts and culture community in Baltimore.
For the June 3 festival kicking off the season, producer Larry “Whaddup” Caudle will bring “The Evolution of Baltimore Club,” in celebration of 50 years of hip-hop in Baltimore with a spotlight on Baltimore club music.
Caudle and his network are the founding fathers of Baltimore club music, ensuring the first festival will be a reflection on Baltimore’s own influential genre from the “forefathers and mothers” themselves, according to the Waterfront Partnership’s announcement.
Acts will include Tim Trees, Rob Lee, Paula Campbell, Rye Rye, Unruly Records and more. The theme dovetails with a current exhibit that will be at the Baltimore Museum of Art until July16, entitled “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century.”
“We’re coming out with a bang for the first event, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to bring a Baltimore Club music focus to the Inner Harbor for the first time ever,” Caudle said in a statement. “This is a big deal for me and all the other people who contributed to the birth of Baltimore Club music. We have big names and artists and plenty of beats to practice your two-step or to hear something new to you.”
The other five festivals have also been designed as “personally-curated experiences,” featuring the following emerging and professional producers:
- The July 1 festival will be produced by Devin Wilkins, founder of Meeting Where You Are (MWYA). Called “The Black Baltimore Renaissance,” it will feature youth voices from Baltimore Youth Arts, B360 and others.
- The Aug. 5 festival will be produced by Yesenia Mejia Herrera, an interdisciplinary artist, activist and educator who is from Oaxaca, Mexico, and has been based in Baltimore since 2008. Herrera plans a day full of Latin heritage and creative activation through art, music, food, dance and more.”
- The festival on Sept. 2, Labor Day weekend, will be produced by Tia Goodson. Called “HeART & Soul,” it will focus on “wellness, love and art.”
- The Oct. 7 festival, produced by Todd Marcus, will focus on Baltimore Jazz.
- The producer and theme for the Nov. 4 festival has not been announced.
In addition to MCB Real Estate, support for the festival series is coming from the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks; the Baltimore Tourism Improvement District; Block by Block; Brown Advisory; Downtown Partnership of Baltimore; Ellin & Tucker; M&T Bank; PNC Bank; T. Rowe Price and Visit Baltimore. MCB Real Estate had previously stated on its website that it is planning events to encourage people to come to Baltimore’s waterfront.
More information about the series is available on the Waterfront Partnership website, waterfrontpartnership.org/BxB, which will be updated throughout the season with additional details about each festival.
