Friday, October 2, 2026
Baltimore's Vibes, 7 Days a Week
You made it, Baltimore. October opens with Vincent Price's daughter flying in for a world-premiere documentary about her father, the Fell's Point Fun Festival throwing its 60th birthday party all weekend, and Eddie Griffin headlining the Comedy Factory. Throw in Stanley Jordan at Keystone Korner, a First Friday art walk in Highlandtown, and a genuinely unhinged amount of live music, and you've got 30 verified events to pick from tonight. Let's get into it.
🎵 Music & Nightlife
Kenyatta and guests TBA @ The Ottobar
Local favorite Kenyatta headlines the Ottobar's main stage with support still TBA — the kind of bill where showing up blind is part of the fun. Doors at 8 PM, $25.
👉 CTA: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/35548683/kenyatta-and-guests-tba-baltimore-ottobar?partner_id=100
Extra Medium @ Upstairs at the Ottobar
If the main stage isn't your speed, head upstairs for Extra Medium — free, 21+, doors at 10 PM. Easiest "yes" of the night.
4-Time GRAMMY-Nominated Guitarist Stanley Jordan Trio @ Keystone Korner
Stanley Jordan's two-handed tapping technique rewired what people thought a guitar could do, and he's playing two sets at Baltimore's premier jazz supper club tonight — 6 PM and 8:30 PM. $45–$55.
Applied Knowledge and PLRLS @ Holy Frijoles
Hampden's scrappiest DIY room hosts a proper punk/hardcore bill tonight. 8 PM, $10.
Powerplant, Carrion Kids, Slot @ Metro Baltimore
Three-band metal/hardcore bill at the Charles Street mainstay. Doors 7 PM, show 8 PM, $18.
Save Your Soul @ Lithuanian Hall
Baltimore's longest-running all-vinyl soul dance party — 20-plus years of Motown, funk, and rhythm & blues spun by That Rob Macy and Baby Alcatraz at the Hollins Roundhouse. 9 PM–2 AM, $10 (or grab a $5 annual membership and save).
👉 CTA: https://ra.co/events/2544631
Rachel May & The Walker Street Bandits @ Cat's Eye Pub
Fell's Point's scrappiest live-music dive kicks off Fun Festival weekend with a live set right as the festival crowds hit the street. 5 PM.
Swing Night @ Mobtown Ballroom
Every Friday, Mobtown runs a beginner lesson at 8 PM followed by an open swing dance at 9 — no partner or experience required. $10 covers both.
Vinyl Nite @ Peabody Heights Brewery
Bring your own records or just show up and listen — the Waverly brewery's regular vinyl night runs 6–10 PM, free to get in.
Jazz Composers Forum @ An die Musik Live
Mount Vernon's listening room hosts a forum spotlighting new jazz composition. 7:30 PM, $0–$20. (Ticket link is on a platform that blocks automated checks — worth a click-check before you go.)
Karaoke @ Max's Taphouse
Fell's Point's beer-list legend runs karaoke every Friday, 9:30 PM to 1 AM. Free, 21+.
👉 CTA: https://maxs.com/events/
🎤 Comedy
Michael Longfellow @ The Port Comedy Club
SNL and late-night favorite Michael Longfellow plays two shows at Fell's Point's dedicated comedy room — 7 PM and 9:15 PM. $29–$39, 21+.
Eddie Griffin @ Baltimore Comedy Factory
The "Malcolm & Eddie" and "Undercover Brother" star brings three decades of stage-tested chaos to a two-night Comedy Factory run. Doors 9 PM, show 10 PM.
Helen Hong @ Magooby's Joke House
Stand-up, podcaster, and former Jimmy Kimmel writer Helen Hong plays two shows at Timonium's longtime comedy room. 7 PM and 9:30 PM, 18+, two-item minimum.
Baltimore Bodega: Improv Comedy @ Highwire Improv
No script, no AI, no second takes — just Highwire's house performers building a full set live from the crowd's suggestions. 8 PM at the Highlandtown comedy hub.
🎨 Arts & Culture
First Friday at the BMA
The Baltimore Museum of Art opens Ashley Minner Jones' "The place today known as Baltimore" (10 AM–2 PM, free, registration encouraged) alongside a free, no-registration Art Hive drop-in workshop (11 AM–1 PM) — bring the kids, make some art, pay nothing.
Conservation Window @ The Walters Art Museum
Watch the Walters' actual conservators at work on real objects through a viewing window into their studio — free, 10 AM–1 PM, Mount Vernon.
'Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now' @ Baltimore Center Stage
Maryland's State Theater opens a new production tonight — the kind of swing-for-the-fences season opener Center Stage built its reputation on. 7:30 PM, tickets from $40.
BSO: Jonathon Heyward conducts Stravinsky & Prokofiev @ Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
Music director Jonathon Heyward leads the Baltimore Symphony with pianist Bruce Liu through Glinka, Prokofiev, Jonathan Leshnoff, and Stravinsky. 8 PM, tickets from $47.
Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk
A free, self-guided crawl through Highlandtown's galleries and studios — some spaces open before 5 PM, others stay lit past 9. No ticket required, just good shoes.
Ben Burgis and Mike Beggs: "The Blueprint" @ Red Emma's
The worker-owned bookstore/café hosts a free talk on the authors' new book making the case for a democratic-socialist alternative to both capitalism and central planning. 7 PM.
👉 CTA: https://redemmas.org/events
4th Annual Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival @ Creative Alliance
Highlandtown's arts hub kicks off a two-night burlesque and variety festival — real production values, real local performers, genuinely one of the best annual nights the city throws. 8 PM, $51/night or $92 for both.
🎬 Screen Time
Poe Fest Movie Nite: World Premiere of "Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive" @ M&T Bank Exchange Theatre
See Our Bonus Pick below.
New/Next Film Festival @ The Charles Theatre
Station North's own festival is in its fourth year, 160-plus films across five screens. Today opens at 1 PM on Screen 2 with "The Ground Beneath Our Feet," running programs straight through the evening.
Double Feature: "Forgotten Island" & "Avengers Endgame: Encore" @ Bengies Drive-In
Maryland's last drive-in runs a two-film Friday bill under the stars out in Middle River. Gates for the 7:15 PM showtime.
Daily showtimes @ The Senator Theatre
Baltimore's art-deco movie palace runs a packed Friday slate — "Verity," "Resident Evil," "Coyote vs. Acme," "If I Go Will They Miss Me," and more, with showtimes from 12:40 PM on. Ask about Open Caption showings around the 1 PM hour.
⚾ Sports & Outdoors
Tonight's honest answer: nothing. The Orioles' 2026 season ended with the regular-season finale and the O's were eliminated from postseason contention — no games left to check. The Ravens don't play again until Sunday against the Titans. Laurel Park has live racing this weekend, but it's about 20 miles down the road in Laurel — outside our 15-mile Inner Harbor radius, so it doesn't run here. If you need to move your body tonight, see Comedy and Arts & Culture above, or just walk into Fell's Point — the Fun Festival's got six blocks of it.
🦀 Community, Food & Family
60th Annual Fell's Point Fun Festival
Baltimore's oldest and biggest neighborhood street festival turns 60 this year and kicks off tonight at 5 PM, running through Sunday evening across six blocks of Thames Street and Broadway Square. Free, family-friendly, and the whole neighborhood turns out — see Cat's Eye Pub above for tonight's live-music tie-in.
👉 CTA: https://fellspointfest.com/
ZooBOO! @ The Maryland Zoo
The Zoo's annual Halloween takeover opens tonight and runs through Oct. 31 — trick-or-treat stations, Halloween-themed enrichment for the animals, included with regular Zoo admission.
Half-Price Friday Night @ National Aquarium
Every Friday night, the Aquarium drops to half-price admission for the evening hours — one of the better deals in town for a weeknight family outing.
Morning Mindfulness: Yoga with Golden Road Healing @ Enoch Pratt Free Library (Central)
Start the day with a free yoga session in the Central branch's Creative Arts Center. 10 AM, registration encouraged.
👉 CTA: https://calendar.prattlibrary.org/event/morning-mindfulness-yoga-with-golden-road-healing-10-2-2026
⭐ Our Bonus Pick
Poe Fest Movie Nite: World Premiere of "Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive" @ M&T Bank Exchange Theatre
6 PM–9:30 PM · M&T Bank Exchange Theatre at the France-Merrick PAC, 401 W. Fayette St. · $29 general / $59 VIP Raven Reception
This is the one. Victoria Price — Vincent Price's daughter — flies in as guest of honor for the world premiere of "Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive," a new documentary on her father's legacy, followed by a live conversation about the man behind the voice that scared generations of horror fans. The night also folds in Poe performances and a ballet preview, and proceeds go straight to preserving the actual Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. One night only, a genuine Baltimore-meets-Hollywood crossover, and it benefits a piece of the city's literary history. Spring for the VIP reception if you can swing it.
That's a Wrap!
30 verified events to close out the week — a world premiere, a 60th-birthday street festival, and a stacked comedy and music slate, with sports sitting this one out entirely. Saturday's edition will have the rest of Fun Festival weekend plus a full slate of Poe Fest programming across the city. Until then: yodel it from the rooftops. 🗣️⛰️
