Yo La Tengo is a group that embodies a unique essence—their music is romantically heartfelt yet slightly whimsical, hiding a touch of noise within its melodic beauty.

Last month Jake Xerxes Fussell brought luminous, heartwarming guitar and deeply sentimental singing to Metro Gallery for his Baltimore debut. 

"If I were genuinely paralyzed by my own criticism, I probably wouldn't be able to do anything. I would stop myself. But there is always a moment when I forget about everything else, I forget about time, and I put down whatever I have in my mind. That is music for me."

For Australians Meredith McHugh and Christian Best who comprise the band Smoke Bellow— along with American drummer and vocalist Jen Kirby from the Stranger Time People band—music is the language through which they migrated to Baltimore.