LimeWire Music Blog

Chances are, you have never been to a music festival quite like Whartscape. For the past four years, the festival’s organizers, Dan Deacon’s Wham City collective, brought together a wildly diverse group of massively talented Baltimore artists — and likeminded souls from across the nation and around the world — together for a long weekend of drunken, sweat-soaked revelry. As someone who nearly passed out (from heat or too much BYO Mad Dog or whatever) in a cavernous warehouse at the 2007 festival, I heartily recommend it.

Anyway, part of the deal with Whartscape is that it gets bigger every year. But in 2009, it will be effing ginormous (despite the organizers’ stated aim of downscaling). I can’t bear to post the entire, 130-act list, even under a cut, but you can check that out here. For now, let’s just talk highlights: Of course, Charm City’s rock royalty (such as it is) will be out in full force. Aside from Deacon’s ensemble-tastic main event, you’ll want to take in sets by Thank You, Videohippos, Double Dagger, Future Islands, Ponytail, Celebration, Wye Oak, Lesser Gonzalez Alvarez and Jana Hunter. But don’t stop there. Take the opportunity to see some acts that aren’t so well-known outside Bmore but are especially well-loved in the city — such as Microkingdom, Ed Schrader, Lizz King, Smartgrowth and The Degenerettes, for starters. This year, Whartscape also boasts a well-curated experimental/avant garde/noise/whatever contingent, including Wolf Eyes, C. Spencer Yeh, So Percussion and Hair Police. Other notable out-of-towners on the schedule are New York’s Team Robespierre and Toronto’s DDMMYYYY.

Among many great aspects of Whartscape is its unbelievable cheapness. A three-day festival pass will run you only $45, while individual day tickets cost $18. But only the $45 Mega-Pass will guarantee entry to evening shows. Whartscape will go down July 10-12 at Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland Institute College of Art Studio Center Parking Lot (stay classy, Wham City!) and Load of Fun. Tickets go on sale next Monday, June 29 at noon.

image of The Death Set at Whartscape 2007 by Sean Ruch