Last night at the Charles Theater, Baltimore kicked off what is reportedly the last run of Wham City and Dan Deacon’s five-year-old baby – the annual, experimental summer music extravaganza, WHARTSCAPE.

Rock, pop, rap, noise, silence, red lipstick, electric bangs and Judge Judy stars – The 100-plus line-up of local and non-local acts literally has something for everyone. The one thing all the musicians seem to have in common is a unique spirit that, if it could manifest itself vocally, would scream something along the lines of, “I DO WHAT I WANT!”

In honor of the volunteer-run festival’s special, outspoken brand of creativity, here’s a roundup of some of the 2010 acts that caught our eye, news footage from last year’s festival, and how to get your hands on free mixtapes for some of this year’s coolest artists.

Get Em Mamis – “I’m icy; they like me!” Saucy with quick and clever lyrics, the female rap duo Get Em Mamis were not only featured on the WIRE, they are also just plain awesome.

Existencils – Basically, we like anything that revolves around the concept of “electric bangs.”

Ponytail – Sassy pop music with an edge.

Video Hippos – The inclusion of this video on our list is largely based on the synthesis between sound and visuals, which is some kind of cross between an acid trip, a Discovery Channel special on narwhals, and an early 90s teen sitcom.

Footage of 2009 WHARTSCAPE

Download free WHARTSCAPE mix tapes from LTD Comp, here.

Have favorite WHARSTCAPE artists of your own? Write us a comment and tell us who!