“Queen of Percussion” Sheila E. and The Original Wailers are two of the headliners for Baltimore’s Artscape festival, scheduled for August 2 to 4, 2024.
This will be the 40th edition of the free arts festival, produced by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) in collaboration with the City of Baltimore.
The event has drawn upwards of 350,000 people over a three-day weekend in the past. It began in 1982 but missed three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After experimenting with September dates last year, BOPA and the Mayor’s Office decided to hold Artscape in early August for 2024. The footprint will be roughly the same as it was last year — the Mount Royal Cultural District and the Station North Arts District.
“It’s Baltimore in August, so yes it’s going to be hot,” Mayor Brandon Scott said at a news conference on Friday about the headliners and the scope of activities. “But we’re going to have a good, fun, hot Artscape time…We have some amazing talent lined up for this year.”
With 56 days to go before the festival starts, Scott and BOPA CEO Rachel Graham announced that Sheila E. will take the Mount Royal Station Main Stage on Saturday, August 3, at 8:45 p.m.
Graham noted that 40 years have passed since the debut of her first album, “The Glamourous Life,” and organizers thought it would be fitting to have her in Baltimore for Artscape’s 40th edition. Other acts on the Main Stage earlier in the day include: Joi Carter; Live from the Paradox and WhoCamille.
Performing on the Main Stage on Sunday will be Navasha Daya and the Trinidad & Tobago Steel Drum Band. Closing out the festival at 3 p. m. on Sunday will be The Original Wailers featuring Al Anderson, who was lead guitarist for Bob Marley & The Wailers.
The group continues the musical legacy of Bob Marley & The Wailers and also includes musicians Chet Samuel, Omar Lopez, Paapa Nyarkoh and Adrian AK Cisneros.
The headliner for Friday night will be announced at a later date.
The year’s festival is presented by Whiting Turner and the Maryland State Arts Council. Media partners include WJZ-TV and Baltimore magazine.
Graham said Artscape 2024 will see the return of many popular features from past years, including the Project Artscape fashion shows, Kidscape, Teenscape, Gamescape and, most likely, The Blinkatorium. One new feature will be a beer garden near Penn Station.
In addition to the traditional Sondheim Semifinalists Exhibition and the return of B_24 art exhibit, BOPA is producing an exhibit in the Pinkard Gallery on the Maryland Institute College of Art campus featuring the work of distinguished local artists.
Graham said BOPA will be part of a two-day arts festival that will be held in west Baltimore, outside the Artscape footprint, the week before Artscape. One of the purposes of that event, she said, is to get ideas from the community for ways to redevelop the area known as The Highway to Nowhere.
Graham also said that BOPA is collecting memories, photos and videos from the public in celebration of Artscape’s 40th edition. More information about the festival is available on social media (@promoandarts) or by visiting www.artscape.org.
