Band

If the Bellevederes isn't Baltimore's best soul/R&B band - and it just might be - it's certainly the biggest. There are 10 people in all, including a horn section and a hype man known as Velvet Johnson (aka Justin Metzger). Technically, they're a cover band - but unless you're a music nerd, you'd probably never know it. Members of the Bellevederes spend hours digging up obscure songs from the '60s and '70s to play at their shows. They're a live band through and through; they've recorded an album, but aren't sure if it makes sense to release it. Two women - Kelly Butcher and Denny Finnerin - share the lead vocals on songs traditionally sung by men. Occasionally, they don't update the lyrics to reflect that, which makes for some head-turning moments at their shows.

If you need a moment to chill amid all the holiday pressure, I've got some music to help -- "O Little Town of Bethlehem," in a soft-jazzy arrangement by the top-notch US Army Field Band with Sergeant First Class Brian Sacawa as soprano sax soloist (Kenny G, eat your heart out). Around Baltimore, Sacawa is better known for his work curating and often performing with Mobtown Modern, an imaginative new music ensemble that has gone on hiatus this season (seeing it bounce back would make a great Christmas gift)

Here in Baltimore for the first time in the better part of two decades on what's ostensibly a promotional tour for their latest release, "Away From the World," the Dave Matthews Band played a set sprinkled with only a handful of obligatory tracks from the album last night at 1st Mariner Arena. The rest of the nearly three-hour concert was a reach into the band's early discography that left the crowd cheering till it was hoarse. Matthews came out before the show to introduce The Lumineers ("not that they need it," he remarked)

James Haddow "Reds" Orpin, a retired salesman and former Overlea resident, died Monday of a heart attack at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. He was 70. Mr. Orpin was born in Newark, N.J., and moved with his family at an early age to Meise Drive in Northeast Baltimore. He was a graduate of Parkville High School and served in the Army in Alaska from 1964 to 1966, when he was discharged with the rank of private. A musician who played guitar and bass, Mr. Orpin was a founder in the early 1960s of Danny and the Elegants, which for a time was the house band at Hollywood Park in Essex.

After seven albums and nearly 15 years of leading the Baltimore alt-country act June Star, lead singer and songwriter Andrew Grimm finally sounds at ease about his band's place in the city's scene. The six-piece has a small but loyal following, and can play its favorite venues regularly. Still, he will forever identify June Star as a group of "underdogs," a label he lists - with a wink - on the band's Facebook page. "Saying we were 'under the radar' was self-deprecating, like a way to cope, but then it became a philosophy," Grimm said.

Patti Smith has a soft spot for Baltimore, dating back to the early '80s, when she and her husband would visit the city for soft-shell crabs and beer. These days, she "hardly ever" gets to play in Charm City, so when her current tour gave her a day off in the area, she booked a performance here - on Saturday at Rams Head Live . "I always liked Baltimore," Smith said. "I've always loved [Edgar Allan] Poe, too. The end of Poe's life is so mysterious - I like to contemplate that.

The Westfield Marching Band Parents Association would like to extend our warmest thanks to the staff, parents and students of Atholton High School in Columbia. The recent hurricane and snowstorm in New Jersey kept the WHS Band from practicing in the lead-up to their most crucial performances of the season, the National Championship in Annapolis and the New Jersey State Championship. By opening their facilities, striping the field, providing water, snacks and coffee for the band and parents and staff, the school provided a huge boost to the band.

A small group gathered Saturday at Baltimore Cemetery for the unveiling of a headstone for Norman "Chubby" Chaney, a child star in "The Little Rascals" whose grave had gone unmarked for 76 years. The small constellation of fans was brought together by Detroit-area rock musician Mikal C.G., who led an online fundraising drive to buy stones for Chaney and his mother. He led the low-key ceremony Saturday, giving a short speech and pulling a white sheet off markers, to coos of "beautiful!"

Appropriately rising from punk graves in late October, Baltimore quintet Sick Weapons -- which disbanded after a Golden West Café performance in late December 2010 -- has reunited, and will finally release its debut album, "Birthday Gift," early next month. The album will come out as a joint release from two Baltimore labels, Reptilian Records and the formerly defunct McCarthyism Records (run by Josh Sisk , a frequent photographer for The Baltimore Sun). The maroon-vinyl record will first be available at Day 1 of Unregistered Nurse Booking's U+Nfest at Metro Gallery on Nov. 9, which Sick Weapons will headline.

Marching bands from Towson, Dulaney and Loch Raven high schools, as well as several others from Baltimore County, will perform in the Baltimore County Public Schools' 24th annual Marching Band Showcase, to be held Sunday, Oct. 28, beginning at 4 p.m., at Mustang Stadium, Stevenson University, 11003 Owings Mills Blvd., Owings Mills. Those schools, as well as Franklin, Milford Mill, Patapsco, Perry Hall, Sparrows Point, Woodlawn and New Town high schools, will join for a mass band performance to conclude the event.