Starscape

Regarding your article about Baltimore City's decision to end the Starscape festival, I and two of my "senior girlfriends" attended this year, and we had a wonderful time ("City ends Starscape's 14 years at Ft. Armistead," July 25). Why were we there? Because my son is one of the promoters, and I have never missed an event. Do I condone the use of illicit drugs? Of course not. Do young people do drugs? Unfortunately, yes - and not only at Starscape but at sporting events, most music venues, etc. Yet no one has ever died attending a Starscape event, so I fail to see how the fire marshal can claim that "if not for intervention of our EMTs, kids would have died.

The promoter of last year's Starscape Festival says a new event he's marketing that targets a similar audience won't have the safety problems associated with last year's June concert. Promoter Evan Weinstein says he wants to disassociate the new Moonrise Festival from the issues of Starscape last year. City officials said Starscape, the long-running electronic dance event at Fort Armistead Park, could not return because of issues at last year's concert, including overcrowding and drug overdoses.

Artscape, Whartscape, Scapescape — there's been so many -scapes lately, it's hard to keep track. But it's almost impossible confuse any them with Starscape, the overnight electronic and dance music festival that's now in its 13th year. Celebrated annually at Fort Armistead Park, Starscape begins at 2 p.m. Saturday and ends at 6 a.m. Sunday. Major headliners of the genre will perform, among them, Bassnectar, Zeds Dead, Uncle Jesse and Daedelus. DJ Steve Aoki will also be there.

Regarding your article about Baltimore City's decision to end the Starscape festival, I and two of my "senior girlfriends" attended this year, and we had a wonderful time ("City ends Starscape's 14 years at Ft. Armistead," July 25). Why were we there? Because my son is one of the promoters, and I have never missed an event. Do I condone the use of illicit drugs? Of course not. Do young people do drugs? Unfortunately, yes - and not only at Starscape but at sporting events, most music venues, etc. Yet no one has ever died attending a Starscape event, so I fail to see how the fire marshal can claim that "if not for intervention of our EMTs, kids would have died.

As thousands of late-night revelers partied to thumping electronic dance music in the graffiti-marked remains of an old fort in Baltimore last month, some overdosed on drugs or became overwhelmed by the heat, according to a report by the city fire marshal. While the overnight Starscape festival at Fort Armistead Park stretched into the early-morning hours, emergency medical crews from the city and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties struggled to keep up with calls for help from the venue, responding to the park "continuously" for 12 hours, the report says.

There aren't many chances to watch the sun rise over the Key Bridge after taking part in an all-night dance party on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. But that's what more than 4,000 electronica fans will be doing Saturday -- and Sunday morning -- at the 10th anniversary of the Starscape music festival. "The whole vibe of it was just incredible," said Clay Parnell of New York-based dance band Biodiesel about playing in last year's show. "Starscape is just one of those festivals where I was still there when the last notes were playing at 6:15 and still partying, even though I had been there for like 14 hours.

When young fans of the electro-funk duo Chromeo earnestly call their sound "fresh" and "original," keyboardist P-Thugg can't help but smile. "If they don't have a big brother or older family member that's into that type of music, it's new to them," said the 31-year-old Montreal-based artist, who should be commended for helping to expose young ears to the '80s funk and soul sounds that captivated him when he moved to Canada from Lebanon at age 8. ...

Starscape headliner Skrillex will return to Baltimore this Fall. Skrillex, who started out as the frontman of a California emo band, has become one of the most recognized names in dubstep. He's been making the festival rounds this year, appearing at both Ultra in Miami and Starscape earlier this year. Steez Promo, the Starscape promoters, booked him to perform at Rams Head Live October 5. Nadastrom - Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom's DC collective - are also on the bill.  Tickets, at $25, go on sale Monday.

Let's first get this out of the way: I'm no dance-music expert. My appreciation is genuine but would be considered cursory by DFA-heads: I've seen an A-Trak set, love LCD Soundsystem and know how to hit a dance floor without making a complete fool out of myself. (Friends might question that last tidbit.) But when I saw the IDentity Festival , a celebration of forward-thinking electronic music, was today at Jiffy Lube Live, I had to blog about it. The Skullcandy main stage has the Grade A headliners: Kaskade, Afrojack and Disco Biscuits to name a few, but I'm more intrigued by the Rockstar Dim Mak Stage.

Merriweather Post Pavilion has two of the biggest shows of the week - Steely Dan and Death Cab for Cutie. Meanwhile, the Verizon Center in D.C. has Taylor Swift for two nights starting today. We will have reviews of both Swift and Steely Dan later this week. Elsewhere: the great Jonny Blaze will be at Peer Pressure, which deserves a congratulations for reaching it's tenth edition. Also: Boys Noize, James Nasty, Gilded Gilly, and Posh Cavern, and Save Your Soul at Lith Hall. On Tuesday , Steely Dan performs at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy.

As thousands of late-night revelers partied to thumping electronic dance music in the graffiti-marked remains of an old fort in Baltimore last month, some overdosed on drugs or became overwhelmed by the heat, according to a report by the city fire marshal. While the overnight Starscape festival at Fort Armistead Park stretched into the early-morning hours, emergency medical crews from the city and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties struggled to keep up with calls for help from the venue, responding to the park "continuously" for 12 hours, the report says.

At least seven people were arrested at the annual Starscape Festival at Fort Armistead Park last week on drug charges, Anne Arundel police announced Thursday. The June 9-10 event, in Baltimore near the Arundel line, consisted of an outdoor music festival and laser light show and attracted thousands of young revelers and dancers. The following seven people were arrested in the vicinity of the park by Anne Arundel police or Maryland Transportation Authority Police, who were working together on drug enforcement: Two men, James Donald Ruffin, 26, of Sandy Spring, Ga., and Jacob Asa Windeagle Ridgeway, 20, of Silver Spring, were each arrested and charged with possession, possession with intent to distribute and distributing LSD, police said.

This year's Starscape Festival will feature performances from Flux Pavilion, Ghostland Observatory, Wolfgang Gartner and more on its main stage, according to a press release. Going on its 14th year, Baltimore's electronic dance music festival will once again take place at Fort Armistead Park on June 9. Here's a full list of the performers by stage: MAIN STAGE     Wolfgang Gartner Chase & Status  Flux Pavilion Sphongle Soundsystem Ghostland Observatory Modestep M Machine Phuture Primitive   BASS DROP DANCE TENT   Dada Life Zedd Kill the Noise Donald Glaude Lucky Date Tittsworth Charles Feelgood Lock Danon   THE SUNRISE STAGE   Conspirator Beats Antique Mimosa Papadosio Adventure Club Paper Diamond Ill Esha Alpha Data    DUB NATION BEACH STAGE   Noisia Camo & Krooked Dillon Francis Funtcase Zomboy Figure Skism Terravita J Rabbit Schoolboy SPECIAL B2B SET Dieselboy & Bare The Starscape Festival: The Garden of Eden is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and last until 6 a.m., or until you're really, really exhausted.

The country band Little Big Town and the British rock band The Darkness will perform at the Preakness Stakes Infield this year, the Maryland Jockey Club is set to announce this morning.  The bands are the last piece of the live entertainment roster at the Infield. Maroon and Wiz Khalifa were announced as the headliners on the main stage two weeks ago.  Little Big Town and The Darkness, alongside Mid-Atlantic natives Mt. Greengenes, will perform in the so-called Jagermeister stage.  All the bands typically have overlapping set-times . ( Update below )

Except for the protesters at the Occupy Baltimore rally in the Inner Harbor, there won't be many people staying up late this week, which seems pretty subdued. There are a couple of dance parties celebrating their anniversaries - Deep in the Game and Peer Pressure - and what's sure to be a great show at Metro Gallery by Celebration, but those won't happen until the weekend. By far the biggest nightlife event of the week is the third annual Baltimore Beer Week, which starts on Thursday.

Let's first get this out of the way: I'm no dance-music expert. My appreciation is genuine but would be considered cursory by DFA-heads: I've seen an A-Trak set, love LCD Soundsystem and know how to hit a dance floor without making a complete fool out of myself. (Friends might question that last tidbit.) But when I saw the IDentity Festival , a celebration of forward-thinking electronic music, was today at Jiffy Lube Live, I had to blog about it. The Skullcandy main stage has the Grade A headliners: Kaskade, Afrojack and Disco Biscuits to name a few, but I'm more intrigued by the Rockstar Dim Mak Stage.

The country band Little Big Town and the British rock band The Darkness will perform at the Preakness Stakes Infield this year, the Maryland Jockey Club is set to announce this morning.  The bands are the last piece of the live entertainment roster at the Infield. Maroon and Wiz Khalifa were announced as the headliners on the main stage two weeks ago.  Little Big Town and The Darkness, alongside Mid-Atlantic natives Mt. Greengenes, will perform in the so-called Jagermeister stage.  All the bands typically have overlapping set-times . ( Update below )

Except for the protesters at the Occupy Baltimore rally in the Inner Harbor, there won't be many people staying up late this week, which seems pretty subdued. There are a couple of dance parties celebrating their anniversaries - Deep in the Game and Peer Pressure - and what's sure to be a great show at Metro Gallery by Celebration, but those won't happen until the weekend. By far the biggest nightlife event of the week is the third annual Baltimore Beer Week, which starts on Thursday.

Merriweather Post Pavilion has two of the biggest shows of the week - Steely Dan and Death Cab for Cutie. Meanwhile, the Verizon Center in D.C. has Taylor Swift for two nights starting today. We will have reviews of both Swift and Steely Dan later this week. Elsewhere: the great Jonny Blaze will be at Peer Pressure, which deserves a congratulations for reaching it's tenth edition. Also: Boys Noize, James Nasty, Gilded Gilly, and Posh Cavern, and Save Your Soul at Lith Hall. On Tuesday , Steely Dan performs at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy.

Starscape headliner Skrillex will return to Baltimore this Fall. Skrillex, who started out as the frontman of a California emo band, has become one of the most recognized names in dubstep. He's been making the festival rounds this year, appearing at both Ultra in Miami and Starscape earlier this year. Steez Promo, the Starscape promoters, booked him to perform at Rams Head Live October 5. Nadastrom - Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom's DC collective - are also on the bill.  Tickets, at $25, go on sale Monday.