News-Letter

No one should ever get bored in Baltimore. There are more than
enough outlets for entertainment in the city if you are willing to look
hard enough. But this year especially, the city offered up even more
opportunities for full auditory pleasure.

This summer's Artscape Festival, now in its sixth year,
was hugely successful. The event shut down Mount Royal Avenue to
showcase hundreds of local artists. Everyone from Squidfire to
Centerstage to the U.S. Army was there to represent and hawk their
wares (or recruit, you know it's all in the name of art). Artscape
managed four stage s that featured incredible lineups with acts
including Common, G Love and The Special Sauce, Brazilian Girls, Cut
Chemist and Peanut Butter Wolf. The eclectic mix of musicians drew a
diverse crowd that interacted fluidly. It was a truly fantastic event
to see all different walks of people coming together to celebrate
Baltimore arts. Not even the presence of torrential rain could stop the
festival. Thousands of Baltimoreans braved the weather for the most
successful Artscape to date. Hopefully this will spur an even bigger,
badder Artscape next year.

Sir Richard Branson blessed Baltimore this year when he decided to host the first ever Virgin Music Festival
in the U.S. Already wildly popular in the United Kingdom, VFest brought
big names like The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Who, Gnarles Barkley and
The Killers. Two smaller stages featured The Flaming Lips, The New
Pornographers and a DJ tent that hosted too many DJs. Vfest was held on
a beautiful day in September at Pimlico Racetrack and resulted in many
a drunken, sunburned Facebook album. Although the outdoor
festival has become the bane of musical existence (due in most part to
corporate control), Virign Music Festival managed to bring the kind of
press you can't pay for. It put Baltimore on the map as more than just
the second most dangerous city in America.

On a smaller level the best festival in Baltimore for the past decade has been Hampdenfest.
Almost everyone who went agreed that Hampdenfest was the best day of
their life since last year's Hampdenfest. With local acts like the ever
spectacular Dan Deacon and the Oranges Band and Liars Academy, the
festival was an orgy of local culture. There is no better way to
celebrate Baltimore than to get drunk in the city's most colorful
neighborhood. Hampden embraces the old-timey, friendly Baltimore that
many have forgotten, and Hampdenfest embodies that.

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