Arts

James McCartney’s U.S. Tour: Here Comes the Son

By Molly Golubcow In 1969, the Beatles’ song “Here Comes the Sun” topped the charts as one of the many hits borne out of the now classic “Abbey Road” album. Forty-plus years later, here comes James McCartney, son of Sir Paul McCartney and the late Linda Eastman McCartney, performing at The Fillmore in downtown Silver Spring on June 11. As a ...

Local Stars Light Up the Literary Stratosphere: Gaithersburg’s on Cloud Nine in Year Three

"The Washington, D.C., area has long been recognized as the most literate region in the country,” says Jud Ashman, Gaithersburg Book Festival chairman and City of Gaithersburg council member. “So it’s no surprise that we boast a large number of talented authors—both nationally known and up-and-coming—who reside in our area.” On May 19 at the ...

Faithful Companions, Feathered Friends and Beaming Beasties

All Drawn Through the Artistry of Michael Auger By Pamela Schipper | Photography by Hilary Schwab With his burnished hair, aquiline nose and quicksilver energy, Gaithersburg artist Michael Auger has the air of a Medieval knight— not the Breton King Arthur, but an earlier version of this legendary figure, the one with magical ties to Annwn, the Welsh ...

Green and Gorgeous Since 1992: That’s When Debby and Joel Arem Married Their Love of Art With Technology

By Pamela Schipper | Photography by Hilary Schwab It’s the ultimate in geekery. Jewelry, home and office décor created from 1980s printed circuit boards … jewelry findings, components and imitation stones from Providence, Rhode Island (the costume jewelry capital of the world) … vintage beads from the Far and Middle East, Africa and Europe … and ...

Heaven: It’s Bryan Adams, Unplugged

By Pamela Schipper If you’re a child of the ‘80s, maybe you remember bombing along in your parents’ car with “Summer of ‘69” playing on the radio. Sure, the lyrics were a bit clichéd. But they grabbed you by the throat in their timeless angst. And let’s face it, Bryan Adams’ inimitable, raspy voice would make any song compelling. Fast ...

Giving Voice to the New, Nurturing the Timeless: Poet Lore Has Been Well-Versed for Nearly 125 Years

By Pamela Schipper Poetry is what speaks for us when we have no words. It’s the heart welling at weddings and funerals and the balm in the small hours of the night. Still. The most celebrated of verses don’t live in the limelight— not like the day’s news, lyrics to a Lady Gaga song or a John Grisham novel. Poetry seems to play out in the ...

Unplugged with Lloyd Dobler Effect

A Recipe for Holiday Harmonies By Molly Golubcow | Photo courtesy of BlackRock Center for the Arts What ingredients do you need to create a special evening of holiday entertainment with a twist? Not just a bland plate of “Jingle Bells” and the like, but a really unique version of holiday and nonholiday songs that are guaranteed to please any ...

Frank Bruno’s Small World: Captivating Wonder

By Emily Bell | Photography by Phil Fabrizio Imagine an enchanted world, one full of storybook beauty and wonder where childhood dreams seem to come to life. Crossing the doorstep into F & B Small World, this fantasy suddenly becomes reality… just on a slightly smaller scale. Frank Bruno, known to most as Kit, is the founder of F & B ...

Second Skin: The Art and Reason of Bethesda Tattoo

By Taire Van Scoy | Photography by John Keith Upscale shops and cafés line brick-paved sidewalks populated with well-dressed professionals. This is downtown Bethesda, home to glass-sided office buildings, Grecian-inspired porticos and the Bethesda Tattoo Company. The latter is a bit of a surprise in this conservative neighborhood. But since 2005, ...

School’s In! What’s Written on Your Wall?

Story and photography by Paul Roberts If you’re a kid today, you would probably consider this question rude. After all, Facebook is private, right? But writing on walls is as old as time, and in the real world, it has taken on a myriad of artistic and cultural forms. Prehistoric cavemen decorated their walls with wild animals—bison, horses, ...