Urban Contemporary

Devon Howard grew up soaking in the sort of music featured each year at the Stone Soul Picnic, the annual celebration of funk, soul and R&B music that has been a staple of the Baltimore music scene since 1991. But Howard, a Baltimore-born singer with a smoothly passionate voice and an emerging hit single, has never been to the festival, which has routinely drawn more than 100,000 fans while featuring national acts such as Toni Braxton, the Ohio Players and Dru Hill. "I'm just not a crowd person," says Howard, a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts whose newest song, "The Other Side of the Bed" -- a tear-jerker about the end of a relationship -- has been getting prime airplay on urban contemporary stations around the nation.

In "You're All I Need To Get By," one of the top rhythm and blues singles of the 1960s, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell pledged that they would love each other forever and ever and ever.Maybe that sentiment is too sappy for today's youth. But I prefer Marvin and Tammi's syrup to the vulgar lyrics of an updated version by Method Man and M.J. Bilge.Their song, "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" was the top rap single in the nation last week, and No. 3 on the R&B charts, according to Billboard magazine.

With the holiday entertaining season in full swing, you may find yourself lacking a dedicated space for mixing up and serving the latest cocktail. For some, a box of spirits and a six-pack in the fridge might be enough, but for large-scale entertaining, a home bar may be the answer — particularly if you are trying to get your guests out of the kitchen. Bar styles and options are as varied as those for sofas. Victorian, deco, urban contemporary, rustic, wood, metal, glass — whatever look you're trying to achieve, a custom cabinetry specialist can build you a bar to the dimensions and specifications you desire.

About a half hour into "Wicked Ways" at the Lyric Opera House last night it was "deja vu all over again," as Yogi Bera said.It has all been shown before: the evil drug dealer, the prodigal children, the God-fearing parents who pray that their children will stop running with the wrong crowd, return to school or church and make something of their lives.While the story line may be getting a little worn around the edges, "Wicked Ways" is probably the strongest in the string of nationally touring urban contemporary musicals that have played the Lyric in the past couple of years.

Larry Hall, whose broadcast voice was heard by radio and television audiences for nearly 30 years, died Sunday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, at his Ruxton home. He was 57. He was the morning drive-time announcer on AM radio stations WCBM and WCAO in the 1970s, and later recorded scores of commercials for automobile dealerships, jewelers, furniture stores and schools. "His voice was like the friendly guy next door," said ad executive Nick Griffin of Towson.

Move over Michael Jackson. Garth Brooks, the heartthrob of country music, is replacing the King of Pop at Annapolis' only black radio station.In another sign of the growing popularity of country music, WANN is dropping its mix of gospel, rhythm and blues, and public affairs programming for a mainstream country format Nov. 2.The AM station is adopting a new slogan, "Bay Country 1190," to attract more listeners with the chart-climbing country songs that have...

Cheryl Evans immediately noticed something was wrong when she turned on her radio two weeks ago.The pounding beat and body-shaking rhythms she relied on to help rouse her every morning weren't there."

One has gone up in a hot air balloon. Another has hopped a ride on a jet ski. Still others have manned a fast-food drive-in window waiting for the reappearance of Elvis, given away lottery tickets in the rain -- even ambushed new fathers outside a hospital delivery room.Thrill-seekers? Voyeurs? Just plain crazies?In fact, they are none of the above -- or maybe all three. They're Baltimore radio disc jockeys, taking their shows out of the studio and onto the road, on the seas or into the air.In radio parlance, the shows are "remotes" -- made possible by sophisticated portable transmitting equipment and the zany imaginations of promotion-minded executives and air personalities.

Local radio stations continue to be involved in efforts to provide American troops in Saudi Arabia with some of the sounds of home.For example, more than 5,000 audio cassette tapes predominantly featuring the "urban contemporary" sound of WXYV-FM 102.7 were to be delivered today to the U.S. Deployment Center in Mechanicsburg, Pa., for forwarding to troops in the Middle East.V-103's "Operation Desert Sound" was arranged through the efforts of U.S. Rep. Kwesei Mfume, and the tapes came largely from promoters and distributors, according to the station's Jean Ross.

Country music may be hot, but in Baltimore radio baseball is sizzling.That's the conclusion to be drawn from the spring Arbitron radio ratings released yesterday.News/talk WBAL-AM (1090), the flagship station for Baltimore Oriole radio broadcasts, soared to the No. 1 spot in the ratings with a 9.5 audience share, up dramatically from a 7.2 share in the winter.WBAL's showing bumped country station WPOC-FM -- which finished atop the ratings for the first time in its 18-year history in the winter book -- back to second place.