Singer-songwriter Raphael Saadiq and rapper Rapsody will be the music headliners for Baltimore’s Artscape festival next year.
The free festival will once again take place in the city’s downtown area on May 29 and 30, 2027. It will run from noon to 9 p.m. that Saturday and Sunday. Artscape After Dark events will run until midnight.
Announcing the headliners, Mayor Brandon Scott called Rapsody “one of my favorite rappers of this new generation.”
Artscape generated $4 million worth of economic output in 2026, up 41% from 2025, according to Linzy Jackson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture, & Entertainment.
“Arts and culture is an economic driver,” Jackson said. “When you invest in a creative economy, we’re investing in our businesses, our workforce, and our city.”
City leaders expect the event to grow even larger next year.
“Artscape just keeps getting bigger and better every year,” Scott said.
Part of that expansion will be addition of new activities, including a comedy roast of the mayor as part of Artscape After Dark.
Scott warned he can dish the jokes as well as he can take them.
“Just know, the mayor is also a comedian and I get the microphone last,” he said. “We cannot wait.”
Other new activiations include a sensory-friendly art space called Wonderscape and a Teenscape area specifically tailored to teenagers, “which will create even more ways for people of all ages to experience the festival,” said Create Baltimore CEO Robyn Murphy.
The festival will also welcome back Kidscape, the In Conversation series, Beyond the Reel film programming, and the SCOUT Art Fair, which Murphy called the “centerpiece of Artscape’s visual arts programming.”
Held inside the War Memorial Building, the fair will showcase artwork available for purchase from local artists.
SCOUT is a must-visit attraction, according to Scott.
“You will see art that are coming from our artists that I would put up against any in the world, and we love that they’ll be able to sell it and sell a lot of it,” he said.
Scott also announced he plans to sign an executive order establishing the week before Artscape as Arts and Culture Week in Baltimore City. The city will have arts programming all week long leading up to the festival.
Those interested in being a vendor, performer, or other participant at Artscape must apply by Jan. 15.
