F IRSTCL A SS
TRAVEL TOOLS, GREAT GADGETS & COOL STUFF TO DO
Lady Sings the Blues
A Baltimore tradition turns 18 this year: the annual
Billie Holiday Vocal Competition, presented by Mayor
Sheila Dixon and promoted by the city’s Office of
Promotion & the Arts in honor of the jazz icon. The
competition is part of Artscape, the mid-Atlantic
region’s largest celebration of the arts, which is marking its 26th year. Ten semifinalists, chosen from applicants from Maryland, Delaware, D.C., and parts of
Virginia and Pennsylvania, will perform at this free
concert July 21 from noon to 3 p.m. in the Meyerhoff
Symphony Hall, 1212 Cathedral St. Cash prizes will be
awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners, as
well as a People’s Choice award of $500 to the contestant selected by the audience. New this year, the
winner will perform with the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra on (not Gloomy) Sunday, July 22. And they
can’t take that away. For more information about
Artscape or the Billie Holiday Vocal Competition, call
877-BALTIMORE or visit artscape.org.
With her band playing
in the background,
Billie Holiday sings
“Fine and Mellow.”
PHOTO: CORBIS
