Sameer Rao
Sameer Rao is an arts and entertainment reporter on The Baltimore Sun's features desk. He joined The Sun in 2019 after nearly four years reporting for Colorlines, a racial justice-focused daily news site. In addition to arts topics, he has covered education, telecommunications policy, sports, politics, police and immigration. His freelance work includes stories for The Guardian, Stereogum, VICE's Noisey and The Washington Post Express. Sameer began his career in Philadelphia, where he wrote for Philadelphia City Paper, WXPN's The Key and the Public School Notebook. He previously served on the Asian American Journalists Association's advisory and governing boards. Sameer grew up around Hartford, Connecticut and is a graduate of Haverford College.
Recent Articles
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HoCo Brew Hive buzzes into former T-Bonz site in Ellicott City this July
Howard County beer fans who mourned the closing of T-Bonz Grille & Pub last November can now celebrate the planned arrival of HoCo Brew Hive in the same building this summer. Operating owner Joshua Butts told The Baltimore Sun that he came aboard after being approached by Scott Sciandra, his partner...
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Mining Baltimore's past and present, Abdu Ali releases album of "Fiyah!!!"
Abdu Ali is many things: rapper, producer, Baltimorean, black, queer, curator and agnostic “baby Buddhist,” are some. But “activist” isn’t one of them. To be sure, Ali, who uses “they” and “them” pronouns, makes art that stands against racism, homophobia, transphobia and other injustices. They...
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Hi-De-No? Planned demolition of Cab Calloway's former Baltimore home stirs conservation critiques
On first glance, the three-floor home at 2216 Druid Hill Ave. looks much like others on its block: vacant, weathered, boarded up and marked with white Xes on red square signs that confirm it is, indeed, structurally unsound. Patches of blue-green paint have peeled off its facade, revealing the...
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After 15 years, Baltimore's Beach House stays riding creative waves
“7,” the fittingly-titled seventh and latest album by Baltimore-based duo Beach House, perfectly scores a mid-afternoon northbound drive to Sherwood Gardens. That’s where members and multi-instrumentalists Victoria Legrand, who sings lead, and Alex Scally suggested we meet on the last day of May....
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Why an overdue honor for Chinese American World War II veterans, in Baltimore and beyond, took so long
In 1976, The Sun’s John Dorsey opened a review of the China Doll restaurant by writing: “There are certain little restaurants tucked away here and there that you walk by all your life and never think about.” Dorsey praised the food, highlighting the “excellent” wonton soup and diced chicken, in...
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Randallstown dance school team catches Beyoncé's notice with viral video
Before she founded a dance school in Randallstown, Adrienne Watson Carver was herself a student at Hampton University, one of the United States’ best-known historically Black institutions. In 1990, she became the captain of Ebony Fire, the official dance team of the school’s marching band, The...
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Le Mondo envisions a new future for Baltimore arts. Critics say it still hasn't reckoned with the past.
In many ways, Le Mondo represents the Baltimore arts world’s grandest aspirations. Its website describes a multipronged “artist-owned performance venue, live/work studio space, and community-focused cafe and bar.” A list of guiding principles encourages experimental art in various media, giving...
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Preakness 2019: Diplo, Logic, 'Old Town Road' rock InfieldFest with pulsating hip-hop and house
High temperatures, occasional sunburn-inducing rays and a relative lack of water options didn’t stop thousands of InfieldFest attendees from vibing out all day as horses raced around them. The roster struck a balance between house, EDM and hip-hop, all threaded together with a steady four-on-the-floor...