Author: David LaMason

Live Review: Eze Jackson @ Creative Alliance Sidewalk Serenades — 7/4/20

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Eze Jackson performs as part of the Creative Alliance’s Sidewalk Serenades on July 4, 2020. (Photo by David LaMason)

On a hot afternoon recently, right outside of my house in East Baltimore, the amazing Eze Jackson gave a spirited Sidewalk Serenade.

Sidewalk Serenades is a program through the Creative Alliance in Baltimore that helps local musicians provide socially distanced performances as a way to provide a vital line from artists to audience in the age of COVID-19. But it has the added benefit of highlighting the best musical artistry in and around Baltimore. And Eze Jackson is certainly one of the best.

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Stars and Bars: Welcome to the Creative Alliance

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The Creative Alliance (Photo by David LaMason)

There is such a rich variety of music throughout both Baltimore and DC, but it’s a rare thing to find places that are so in love with the arts that the place itself becomes part of that artistic experience. 

Baltimore’s Creative Alliance, which formed back in 1995, has become a vital force in East Baltimore, expanding into the old Patterson Theater (itself over 100 years old) back in 2003 right when I, myself, moved into the neighborhood.

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Song of the Day: “Even This Is Going to Pass” by Eliot Bronson (feat. Lori McKenna)

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Eliot Bronson (Photo courtesy Missing Piece Group)

Like a blanket offered to a shivering stranger, “Even This Is Going to Pass,” by Eliot Bronson and featuring Lori McKenna, is a welcome and warm refrain in these tough times.  The song which was just released as a single is helping to raise money for Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger relief organization in the United States. 

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Stars and Bars: Welcome to Rams Head Live!

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RamsHead4Rams Head Live (Photo by David LaMason)

Rams Head Live! has been around since 2004, but it feels like it’s been around for much longer. Since the closing of Hammerjacks the first time in 1997, there have been few places in Baltimore with the capacity of Rams Head that brings in some big (and future big) names in music with acts like the Beastie Boys, Lizzo, Jay-Z, and the Black Keys.

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Stars and Bars: Welcome to the Metro Gallery

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The Metro Gallery (Photo by David LaMason)

Baltimore has been host to some legendary musicians and, I’d say, just as legendary music clubs. In addition to being a gallery space for the visual arts, the Metro Gallery, which is a mixed media space in the heart of Baltimore’s Station North Arts District, has been putting on some of the most eclectic performances by the best artists — local and international — you’ve ever heard of (or shortly will).

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Live Review: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy @ Lincoln Theatre — 3/7/20

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BonniePrinceBilly4 Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy with Emmett Kelly perform at the Lincoln Theatre on March 7, 2020. (Photo by David LaMason)

When I think of Will Oldham, whether it’s by his stage name, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, or the number of other names he’s recorded under (Palace Brothers, Palace Music), I think of a musical force that I’ve known for years but always seems to be around. What’s distinct about Will’s music is in the poetry of his words; the pastoral tones of his music; and that distinctive voice that sounds much older than its owner.

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Live Review: Sloan @ Union Stage — 2/22/20

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SloanUnion11 Sloan rocks the Union Stage on Feb. 22, 2020. (Photo by David LaMason)

Okay. So, I admit that I’m a fan, so saying that Sloan is one of the best bands around and that next to the term “power pop” in any reputable encyclopedia are the names Chris Murphy, Patrick Pentland, Jay Ferguson, and Andrew Scott is a little biased on my part. Four songwriters and musicians who have been writing and performing for nearly 30 years and right on the heals of releasing their twelfth LP, aptly titled 12, the band is in the midst of celebrating the 20th anniversary of their fourth record, “Navy Blues,” with an extensive tour.

And Saturday night at the Union Stage the quartet rocked the roof off to an awestruck audience.

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Live Review: Sammy Brue @ Lincoln Theatre — 2/12/20

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SammyBrue18bw Sammy Brue performs at the Lincoln Theatre on Feb. 12, 2020. (Photo by David LaMason)

Sammy Brue has been called an “American prodigy” by Rolling Stone and, well, that feels like an understatement. The 18-year-old Utah-based artist put out two EPs before he was 14, his first LP, I Am Nice, by 16 and is on the edge of releasing a new album on venerable New West Records, home to many artists whom he has performed with and who call themselves fans, including Justin Townes Earle.

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Live Review: Michael Kiwanuka @ Lincoln Theatre — 2/12/20

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MichaelKiwanuka23 Michael Kiwanuka performs at the Lincoln Theatre on Feb. 12, 2020. (Photo by David LaMason)

To say that the music of Michael Kiwanuka is cinematic isn’t a stretch. The British songwriter and performer has been building on his song craft since his debut LP in 2012. Often compared to Bill Withers, Kiwanuka takes pop songs and creates layers, motifs, and repetition to build mood. Listening to the popular “Cold Little Heart” or “Solid Ground” or “Hero” and it’s hard to pull yourself away.

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