John Tyler is persuaded that Baltimore is loaded with passionate, young, proficient artists and musicians. He established the once-a-year Really like Groove Festival to create a area for collaborations to happen between musicians, artists, and doing artists. In addition to performances and reveals, the pageant also features academic workshops and networking alternatives to permit artists to improve skillfully and study from one one more.
Tyler begun Enjoy Groove in 2017 when a student at the Baltimore Design and style Faculty. He felt that there were not ample options for youthful Baltimoreans to showcase their get the job done and also that musicians normally remain inside of their own genres and cliques, fairly than collaborating and mixing with other forms of musicians.
“I began exploring the city in higher faculty and I was into punk and rock new music, held at skate parks, and jazz activities on stoops,” Tyler remembers. “I was also into hiphop, normally in someone’s grandma’s basement, or underground EDM in the Copycat, and I commenced traveling close to amongst areas.”
“At each and every [concert] party I went to, I puzzled, why are all these persons on a ‘real’ stage and with upscale output but these individuals are not? And also, why is everyone so disconnected? I would in no way see the skate youngsters with the jazz or the hiphop crowd.” Tyler resolved to build a bridge to audio venues for emerging artists and to include every single genre of sound. “I was so in love with all the things, and it seemed like a good way to bring diverse communities jointly,” he explains. This was the format for the foundation of Love Groove.
Just after finishing the sixth competition in August 2022, hosted at Centre Stage, Tyler options to proceed Enjoy Groove’s mission to empower youthful artists. It has advanced and expanded from strictly a new music festival to also showcasing Baltimore’s visual artists and film producers in displays, screenings, and live conversations.
The festival’s name arrived from two distinctive sources. “In 2017 I set out an album named Accurate Love,” says Tyler. “And at the very same time, Kendrick Lamar was on tour with the King Kunta Groove Sessions… So I took the word like from my album and combined it with groove from his tour. I liked that word, groove, how it feels, and how it can symbolize all genres of songs.”
Over the earlier 6 many years, Enjoy Groove has featured dwell and virtual tunes live shows and also released an all-women’s showcase highlighting gifted gals artists in Baltimore at venues this sort of as Motor Property, the 8 x 10, The Perform, and NomüNomü, exactly where they created elaborate established style like a dwell Television set general performance. In 2021, Adore Groove formed a partnership with Baltimore Centre Stage which has served as a household foundation for the competition for the earlier two many years, with point out-of-the-artwork efficiency abilities, artwork gallery, and staging location.
A singer who plays guitar, bass, and piano, Tyler is presently mastering the saxophone, individually incorporating all of his musical skills and pursuits. While his working day position is composing tunes for commercials and movie, he is targeted on the potential for Appreciate Groove to maintain developing. To day, the festival has highlighted around 200 youthful Baltimore artists, and Tyler states he desires to increase its mission and presence nationally and also include things like large faculty students as volunteers.
The application for opens in December to anybody who needs to take part, which includes musicians, filmmakers, performing artists, and visible artists, as nicely as people today who want to support current market the festival as a result of commissioned flyers, pictures, video clip, and animation. Tyler wishes you to know that all are welcome.
Pictures by Jill Fannon of collaborating artists, outdoor at Cylburn Arbouretum and also live all through the 6th Annual Really like Groove Festival at Centre Phase Baltimore.
