By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer,
Report for America Corps Member,
msayles@afro.com
The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore’s Baltimore by Baltimore festival returns Sunday for its October series at the Inner Harbor amphitheater. This time, the music and makers event will be produced by international spoken word artist, activist and educator Lady Brion, a Baltimore native.
Brion titled this festival edition, “Black Girl Magic,” and she has curated a lineup of the city’s accomplished and emerging Black women musicians and artisans.
“As a Black woman artist myself, I think it’s always important that anytime I have the opportunity and the platform to create meaningful programming or activities in the city, Black women are the folks that I’m always looking toward because there were so many Black women who created a path for me to be able to be a full-time artist and to have a number of opportunities,” said Brion.
She also recognized that most industries across the United States are male-driven and male-focused, and she wanted to uplift and amplify the stories of talented Black women.
Brion has been performing spoken word poetry for the last 15 years. Her interest in the art form sparked while watching Def Poetry Jam in middle school.
She’s represented Baltimore in numerous national spoken word competitions, including the Individual World Poetry Slam and the Women of the World Poetry Slam.
Brion is also a board member and manager of 10 teaching artists for Dew More Baltimore, an art-center nonprofit that uses spoken word to foster civic engagement, and the cultural curator for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, a local think-tank that advances the public policy interest of Black people in Baltimore.
Although she said there has historically been division between Downtown Baltimore’s business district and the local creative community, she’s excited to see the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore make an intentional effort to support and engage artists across the city with the Baltimore by Baltimore festival.
This weekend, the festival lineup will feature MC D.Lo, DJ Ducky Dynamo, soul and R&B singer-songwriter Black Assets, multi-disciplinary artist Akilah Divine, rapper Martina Lynch Da One, singer Lita Lachey and more. The makers for the event include Illicit Rag Vintage, For My Kidz, Ayoni Wellness, Black Girls Vote and Selita’s Creative Faces.
Flair Cuisine and Soul Smoked BBQ will be providing the food and beverages for the event.
The Baltimore by Baltimore festival series kicked off back in June and has continued to take over the Inner Harbor every first Saturday of the month. The festival will hold its last series in November.
“It’s just going to be a really good time with some local talent putting on for the city down at the waterfront, so people can expect to have a really homegrown, great experience in the city,” said Brion.
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