BALTIMORE MD. — A Baltimore music studio and creative space that nearly shut down last month is staying open after community support helped secure its future.
Lineup Room in Baltimore nearly closed, but the community kept the music alive
The Lineup Room, a community resource in downtown Baltimore for the past 15 years, gives young artists a place to perform, record, and take classes.
"It's been tough for a while just keeping things moving as it is with many businesses right now. I got really lucky at the last minute; we were shutting down last month," Owner Brandon Lackey said.
Maryland Art Place, which houses the studio on W Saratoga Street, stepped in to help, and Lackey partnered with artists to ensure the space could continue its work.
"Extremely blown away by it because of the amount of support that came with it and the amount of impact that we've had, so I consider myself really lucky in this economy to be supported so much by the community because they want us to keep going," Lackey said.
The Lineup Room is known for its Beat Club events, where producers and artists collaborate in real time.
"We put producers and MCs together at random, and they make a song on the spot," Lackey said.
The space also offers studio time and classes, and Lackey said it serves as a lifeline for young people who want to be creative.
"We work with a lot of students that would be out potentially in trouble; they get to come in here and record what they want. People you can trust, and that's what's really driven my mission a lot here is just pointing artists in the right direction," Lackey said.
For artist Kevin "Icon" Ben, The Lineup Room is where his music career began.
"Coming from Baltimore, we don't have a space to speak. I know personally for myself, I started doing music because I wasn't allowed to say a lot of things," Ben said.
Ben said the community was not willing to let the space disappear.
"We wasn't having it. We tried to figure out everything we could to keep it. It's like losing your house. There's too many people under this roof to let this place go, it's too important," Ben said.
Ben described the space as more than a studio.
"It's an outlet first, but then it's also a family," Ben said. "It's good to know that we got a place where you can hone your skills and become whatever you want to be."
The Lineup Room will celebrate its continued operation at the next Beat Club event on June 26. For more information, click here.
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