Third Annual Baltimore Rap Round Robin

What better way to start celebrating your country's independence than being bombarded by the entirety of Baltimore's most interesting rap acts.

The third annual All Rap Round Robin goes down this Friday at Load of Fun. The event features nine acts of the most unique left field blends of hip hop our fair city has to offer. This year's lineup, which will come at you rapid-fire round robin style, includes:

Food For Animals
Height
AK Slaughter
King Rhythym
Jones
Mickey Free
The Plural MC
PT Burn 'Em
Rap Dragons

Jones just dropped his debut solo full length, titled Jones Jones Jones. You can snag the MP3s for free right here, or go grab the limited vinyl copy that boasts custom spray paint art unique to each sleeve. Jone's slow delivered flow and minimalistic psych-soaked beats can also be caught at this year's Whartscape.

Tickets for the round robin this friday at LOF are only 5 bucks, show starts at 10.

With much thanks to Jeff, take a gander at the audio from 2007's event below!

Photos: Cotton Jones, The Christmas Lights, The Owls Go

Photos by Chrissy

Disclaimer: I ruptured my ear drum Friday night, and still do not have proper hearing ability. This was my first show back in action. My thoughts are right ear biased.

A decent turnout arrived for Monday night's lineup at the Ottobar which boasted Cotton Jones, The Christmas Lights, and The Owls Go. I missed most of the openers, but showed up in time to catch the lead singer of Owls Go singing through a phone headset. Certainly caught my attention, and seemed worth arriving in a more timely fashion.

The Christmas Lights were more than likely the first band I've ever seen coming out of the Frostburg music scene. Not entirely sure there is enough action to constitute a scene in Frostburg, but dudes did a nice job representing either way. High energy key synths paired with some solid beats made a quality pairing to the lead singer's restrained yet often eratic bursts of energy.

Also hailing from the far western hills of Maryland, Cotton Jones provided the evening's nightcap. Bringing their wide array of psychadelic country to display for us city folk, their live sound was indeed pleasant. Maybe not full of as much southern comfort as Paranoid Cocoon, but entertaining and enjoyable nonetheless. Paul McCartney covers and all, a quality performance all around.

Tonight: Cotton Jones

A more than pleasing soundtrack to your Monday evening, Cotton Jones plays Baltimore tonight. The group returns to their native state of Maryland, bringing their ever evolving sounds of folk, pop, alt-country, and woodsy psychedelia.

Originally Michael Nau's side project to Page France, Cotton Jones recently dropped their debut under this moniker via Suicide Squeeze. Paranoid Cocoon is a pretty solid affair, and floats along like a stroll through the forest to grandmother's house.

The band swoons the Ottobar tonight, with support deriving from the Owls Go and the Christmas Lights.

Cotton Jones: Paranoid Cocoon

Cotton Jones, formerly the Cotton Jones Basket Ride, just dropped their second full length. Paranoid Cocoon will provide you with hazy psych pop that does a body good.

This is the Cumberland, MD natives' first via Suicide Squeeze. The LP sounds something like if the Papercuts went back in time and recorded some psychadelic country tunes with Rodriguez. Overall, the album is a spacious and cohesive affair that won't disapoint.

Grab some free MP3's of a live Daytrotter session posted a few weeks ago right here. The session inlcudes three cuts from the album including my personal favorite "Up a Tree", and an unreleased track. The group is currently touring the country and will be at the Black Cat March 23rd and the Ottobar on March 30th.