Issue 83

As Baltimore’s Pride festival grows, residents and city officials grapple with who gets to manage it

For Pride participants, the question of the future of Baltimore Pride’s autonomy remains urgent, especially while the Trump administration has attempted to remove LGBTQ+ symbols like the Stonewall National Monument’s rainbow flag from the public eye.

by Amari-Grey Johnson

‘I’m going to be living in your brain’: The legacy of Miss Tony in Baltimore

Baltimore has developed a more mainstream approach to hip-hop inspired by club music, with queer artists like myself (Kotic Couture), TT The Artist, abdu mongo ali, and Dapper Dan Midas carrying Miss Tony’s torch in our own ways.

by Kylynn Couture

If fear is a question, courage is Stephen Towns’ answer

The painter and fiber artist divulges that he developed his art practice as he grappled with his relationship to religious shame, learning to reject it as he discovered his own sexuality.

by MacKenzie River Foy

Baltimore Beat’s 2025 Impact Report

An accounting of the kinds of stories we’re telling, the people who are telling them, and the way they are changing our city for the better.

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News

Photostory: Four years of Donnell’s Day

Since Donnell Rochester was killed by police in 2022, his mother, Danielle Brown, and a group of supporters called the Donnell Justice Fighters have been fighting for justice for her son.

by Valerie Paulsgrove June 2, 2026June 2, 2026

Almost a year after the police killing of Pytorcarcha Brooks, her family still hasn’t seen change or accountability

Bishop Jaron Spriggs, Pytorcarcha Brooks’ brother, says the city failed his sister.

by Madeleine O’Neill May 22, 2026May 22, 2026

From clown drag shows to literary readings to hiking groups, Baltimore has an ever-growing queer programming ecosystem

So much of what makes Baltimore’s queer community richly multifaceted is our desire to make something where we see nothing, to occupy a space ourselves because we wanted to see someone occupy it.

by nat raum June 2, 2026June 2, 2026

Music education can make a difference for young people, if Baltimore City schools invest in it

Of the district’s 93 middle schools, only 10 of them offer orchestra or band programs. For many of these students, exposure to fine arts is limited due to the graduation requirements and the demand for standardized testing results.

by Zackery Rogers May 19, 2026May 19, 2026

Arts & Culture

‘I Love Boosters’ is the collective action movie we need right now

Rapper turned filmmaker Boots Riley’s sophomore feature effort finds him leveling up from his debut.

by Dominic Griffin June 2, 2026June 2, 2026

What’s Poppin’ Issue #083

Baltimore Art. Alive, thriving, and waiting for you.

by Baynard Woods June 2, 2026June 2, 2026

Bry Reed: Learning about the ghosts and grief of the queer neighbors Baltimore lost during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

There’s no public memorial or neighborhood shrine for the dead. Part of that is because HIV and AIDS are still mired in stigma. The other part because those who survived lost too many and too much to talk about, let alone put their grief on display.

by Bry Reed June 2, 2026June 2, 2026

Best Beats Issue #083

Best Beats highlights some of the best local music that has caught the attention of Baltimore Beat’s staff.

by Rhea Ramakrishnan, Didi Cook-Creek and Baynard Woods June 2, 2026June 2, 2026

Night Lights

April showed exactly why the Baltimore music scene punches so far above its weight, balancing massive milestones with a dedicated DIY community that anchors everything. Photographers Sam Levin and Kyle Meyers were in the middle of these rooms, capturing a month of live music that felt intimate, supportive, and distinctly Baltimore.