Arts reporter

Mary Carole McCauley

Mary Carole McCauley is an arts reporter specializing in theater, books, classical music and visual arts. A native Chicagoan, Mary joined The Baltimore Sun in 2000. Her writing has been honored with a National Headliner Award and nine awards from the Society for Features Journalism.

The fourth annual Charm City Live returns to Baltimore in September with headliners

Jeffrey Osborne, The-Dream and Lucky Daye to headline Charm City Live

July 8, 2025 at 6:55 p.m.

Charm City Live, Baltimore’s third city-sponsored, annual summer music festival, will have three headliners this year.

Only God Can Judge Me, a book on the many lives of Tupac Shakur by Jeff Pearlman. (Handout)

‘Definitive’ Tupac Shakur biography will be released this fall

July 6, 2025 at 1:03 p.m.

Four months before Tupac Shakur's accused killer goes to trial, a biography will explore the legacy of the former Baltimorean and rap legend.

A letter written by Thomas Jefferson sold on July 4, 2025 for $90,000.

Letter written by Thomas Jefferson while in Annapolis sells for $90,000

July 4, 2025 at 4:24 p.m.

An original letter written byThomas Jefferson sold for the $90,000 asking price and will return to Maryland, the state where it was written.

James Langhorne, who spent 27 years behind bars for a murder he didn't commit, was awarded $2,85 million on July 2, 2025 by the Maryland Board of Public Works.

Wrongly convicted of murder, Baltimore man receives $2.85M and an apology

July 4, 2025 at 2:40 p.m.

A man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit has been awarded $2.85 million — and a heartfelt apology — by state officials.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra will perform the "1812 Overture" three times this week. Here, they perform during the Star-Spangled Spectacular last year. The annual concert is hosted by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at Oregon Ridge. (FILE/Staff)

The ‘1812 Overture,’ an Independence Day staple, is prominently featured in U.S. popular culture

July 3, 2025 at 1:53 p.m.

Over the past 145 years, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” has been used to sell cereal and to astound movie audiences.

How a Russian orchestral work became the soundtrack to America’s 4th of July

July 4, 2025 at 10:32 a.m.

Tchaikovsky was neither American, nor a founding father, but his "1812 Overture" has become the soundtrack to our Independence Day, as integral as fireworks and the flag.

The Maryland Lottery is holding a contest for local artists. The winners' work will appear on scratch-off ticke

Maryland Lottery launches art contest to feature local talent on scratch-off tickets

July 1, 2025 at 1:32 p.m.

The Maryland Lottery launched an contest Tuesday for local artists. Three winning artworks will be reproduced on scratch-off tickets.

The Library of Congress has acquired the papers of the late American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.

Library of Congress acquires Stephen Sondheim papers

June 30, 2025 at 5:02 p.m.

Sondheim is the much-lauded composer and lyricist who won eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, a Pulitzer Prize and Kennedy Center Honors before he passed away in 2021 at age...

Sprinters Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (third from right) gives the Black Power Salute at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Carlos will receive the American Visionary Art Museum's Grand Visionary Award on June 28, 2025.

Legendary sports activist John Carlos to accept AVAM’s Grand Visionary Award

June 27, 2025 at 7:18 p.m.

On Saturday, Carlos will be in Baltimore to accept another accolade, the American Visionary Art Museum's Grand Visionary Award.

19th century drawing by a preteen Flemish boy named Carel shows him sitting under a broken and dying tree, beset by a winged skeleton thrusting two arrows at his chest. Two grown men stand nearby, and one is pointing directly at the youth. The illustration is titled "Mors" or "death."

Arsenic in books? Baltimore’s Walters exhibit shows that some pages can kill.

June 25, 2025 at 11:11 a.m.

A Walters Art Museum exhibit looks at deadly minerals used to make illuminated books.

All Stories