Artist Grace Hartigan left paintings valued at more than $1 million to MICA and MAP, according to officials from both institutions. Hartigan, who passed away last November, reportedly left 12 canvasses to MICA and five to MAP, and her gifts will likely be used to fund scholarships and future projects. More details can be found [...]

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At the end of my interview with The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne last Tuesday—I'll post it closer to the release of the band's new disc next month—I mentioned how much my children, Posie and Levi, love the Lips' music. I also told him we had tickets to Friday's show, and my kids wanted to know [...]

In all the Woodstock coverage, you might have spotted this photo of a VW bus (painted by Baltimore's Bob Hieronimus) at the festival. I asked Hieronimus about it, and here's his response...
No, I'm not in that picture.  Those are my friends, Trudy Morgal and Ricky Peters, sitting on top of the bus.  I'm just the [...]

Since it was reported that Bob Dylan was stopped and questioned by the police last month, the blogosphere has been abuzz about why the music legend was wandering around a suburban New Jersey neighborhood in the pouring rain. One theory has it that he was looking for the house where Bruce Springsteen wrote the material [...]

Bob Dylan and Jim Dickinson, who passed away yesterday, were kindred spirits. When Dylan won his Grammy for Time Out of Mind, he thanked “Jim Dickinson, my brother from Mississippi” in his acceptance speech. In Chronicles, Dylan wrote that he found himself “thinking about Jim Dickinson” while recording Oh Mercy in New Orleans and noted [...]

Becoming Billie Holiday, by Baltimore's Carole Boston-Weatherford, has won the American Library Association's Coretta Scott King Award. According to the ALA website, the award is "given to an African American author for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution. The books promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the [...]

William P. Tandy's excellent Smile, Hon, You're in Baltimore! has been nominated for a 2009 Utne Independent Press Award in the "Best Zine" category. It's a much deserved nod to a publication that consistently presents entertaining stories that are more likely to be told on barstools than via mainstream media outlets. Tandy's zine is essential [...]

I emailed local pianist Joel Holmes earlier this week to ask about his new CD, African Skies. Holmes, as it turns out, was in Brazil touring with trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Hargrove's version of Weldon Irvine's "Mr. Clean" was a jazz highlight of 2008, and Holmes reports that the band is playing it every night. If  [...]

What piece of art changed your life? How did it affect you?
I don't think there's one thing, because it's been a slow evolution, not a sudden change. Mostly, it's been my relationships with family and friends. And the Bible. I was raised in a Pentecostal family and did street ministry with my godparents and family. [...]

I recently returned to Baltimore after a short, 16-year detour and have been anxious to immerse myself in as much of the city's arts and culture offerings as possible. Last weekend, I heard Amy Goodman, host of sydicated radio show Democracy Now!, give an inspiring talk at Morgan State, and saw Cornell West and Walter [...]