Ruut Gets Ready to Tell “UnTold Stories”

Monday, March 7th, 2016 by WLOY Staff

Local Baltimore artist, Ruut, has awed the world with her raw storytelling through music. Ruut’s voice is baroque, rife with emotion and honesty. Her original work is deeply human combining transcendent vocals with truthful narratives. Her phenomenal style and emotional intelligence transforms well known songs. Ruut has covered many songs from across all genres, from Taylor Swift’s Style to Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun. Ruut’s cover of Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” interprets this incredibly profound song and captures its devastating subject matter with poignancy and delicacy.

Her music has been influenced by her numerous travels from her native Finland, to Budapest, Nashville, NY, LA and now Baltimore, each new location informing her overall sound. Her cover of Sia’s Chandeliers pust her native tongue on display. Ruut translated Chandeliers into Finnish and performed her own arrangement of Sia’s iconic ballad.

Ruut will be performing here at Loyola on March. 10th. The following day, on March. 11th, Ruut will release her new album, Untold Stories. Untold Stories is currently available for pre-order on her website.

http://www.ruutmusic.com/untoldstories.html

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Mark Hopkins is Back with “Ball & Chain” and “The Man You Could’ve Loved”

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016 by WLOY Staff

Kathryn O’Brien

Mark Hopkins is Back with “Ball & Chain” and “The Man You Could’ve Loved”

Local singer songwriter, Mark Hopkins, has wowed us with previous albums like Room Service and Evidence. His unique style is old school fun and will always put you in a good mood, which is why the release of his two new singles, “Ball & Chain” and “The Man You Could’ve Loved” is such fantastic news!

“Ball & Chain” is classic Mark Hopkins. It’s old time blues feel combined with humorous lyrics about the pleasures of domesticity make this single a must listen. “The Man You Could’ve Loved” is a bit of a departure from Mark Hopkins’ signature style. This single is classic Americana with a tune perfect for lounging around a bonfire. The release of these two different singles demonstrates Mark Hopkins’ refreshing and startling ability to adapt to different music genres. He excels at blending various aspects of American culture into a sound that is uniquely Mark Hopkins.

Check out all his new singles here! 

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Why Bosley Is Winning the Music Video Scene in Baltimore

Wednesday, February 24th, 2016 by WLOY Staff

Kathryn O’Brien

As we all know, Baltimore is a city filled with great music. Baltimore is known for its diversity of music genres from our strong punk scene to our excellent and renowned hip hop world. One Baltimore soul artist, Bosley, is slaying the music video scene with innovative and fun videos.

You can find all of Bosley’s music videos on his website, http://www.bosleymusic.net/media-adversary/. Each of Bosley’s music videos is a like a small film onto itself. Each have their own aesthetic and style yet all are captivating and wildly fun. The video for his song, Jungles, is 100% animated and black and white. The video is all a chase scene. The aesthetic of the video can best be described as Looney Tunes meets Hitchcock.

Drastically different, but equally as fun, is the music video for Temptation.The aesthetic is a sort of “funk noir” combining the style of 1920’s films with ’60s soul, a blend of styles and decades that I never knew I craved until I saw it and now I can’t get enough.

Bosley is just as fun to watch live as on video. The nine piece band that is Bosley are all wildly talented, each bringing something unique to the table. The “Boslettes” aka the lovely singers that accompany Bosley have choreographed dance moves for each song and are known for their fabulous outfits. Of course, the man himself, Bosley, is a visual feast, reveling in outfits that would make the greats like Chuck Berry and James Brown proud.

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Caleb Stine and the Brakemen: Time I Let It Go

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016 by WLOY Staff

Kathleen McKeveny

Caleb Stine and the Brakemen, Time I Let It Go

A fundamental constituent of the Baltimore folk scene, Caleb Stine is the everyman’s shaman. Sharp-jawed and six-foot-something, topped by a trucker hat and a voice akin to James Taylor, Stine’s spiritual cowboy is lonely, but decidedly hopeful. His lyrical cadence is effortless and his delivery sincere. Time I Let It Go is hardly a departure from this signature style and message. It’s his most well developed record to date.
Stand out track, Edge of the Riverside, laments only momentarily: “I’ve got a little time ‘til I fly away, I gotta choose the words that I wanna say.” This is the movement of the songs on this album – from disillusionment to determination. When Stine delivers “When your entire comes down to chance you don’t have the right to run” it’s received as an emphatic mystic revelation through the sitar drone.
The Brakemen bring harmony and companionship– singing backup on songs like title track Time I Let It Go. The album is thoroughly collaborative- there is even a documentary to prove it. Sorrowfully, Stine moans ”Broken glass all over the seat, cut on my hand, wrapped in a sheet” – he’s hurting but not bleeding out. It’s under control…sort of. Far from the brooding type – “Butter in my belly is the butter I like most” –Stine runs the gamut from the Beyond to biscuits on this album. It’s a playful and unpretentious project, full of life and well-constructed tunes.
Time I Let It Go is a gainful venture into the hearts of everyday people – after all, Stine is one of us. Take a listen at one of his live local shows, or on his website, calebstine.com.

Recommended tracks: Spirit, Edge of Riverside, Time I Let It Go

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