Outcalls's profile
"All hail Outcalls, the reigning queens of the Baltimore City music scene." (Baltimore Magazine)
Award-winning operatic pop duo Outcalls creates genre-defying music and is one of the most in-demand musical acts in Baltimore. Led by graduates of the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, Britt Olsen-Ecker and Melissa Wimbish have released three studio albums including Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (2022), a culmination of 10 years of songwriting. Their latest single, "Blast!" (2024) is based on Lisa Nowak's infamous roadtrip and was produced by David Rosenthal. The duo has composed music for multiple film projects, notably the major motion picture Crisis (2021) starring Evangeline Lilly, Gary Oldman, and Lily-Rose Depp.
Their interdisciplinary stage show, Release the Gowns, premiered at Baltimore’s Voxel Theater in 2022 and employed an entirely woman-led production team. With music composed by Outcalls and an original script by playwright and comedian Jessica Garrett, the production was hailed in Bmore Art as "a brilliant departure from the typical album release show formula." Lana Norris of I CARE IF YOU LISTEN attended the NYC-premiere at the 2024 ChamberQUEER Festival: "The work makes more than a splash in the fight for women’s equality ... Juxtaposing theatrical exchanges and sequined costume changes with unexpected lyrics and stellar pop harmonies, this 'radical feminism meets Vegas strip' proves that women can fucking do it all."
Olsen-Ecker and Wimbish are dedicated to building a stronger, more sustainable future for women in the music industry. These bandleaders are creative risk-takers seeking greater independence as composers, tour managers, sound designers, video producers, and directors. They will return to the Peabody Conservatory Graduate Recording Studio in 2025 to collaborate for a third time with musical director, keyboardist, producer, and composer David Rosenthal who is widely recognized for his work with the rock band Rainbow and for his legendary role as Billy Joel's music director.
Outcalls has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Camden Yards, and most recently at the brand new M&T Bank Exchange Stage as guest performers for Governor Wes Moore’s 45th birthday. They have toured throughout the United States and Canada. Their latest tour, SCORPIO TOUR, presented a series of intimate, acoustic parlor concerts. Learn more at outcallsband.com.
Press & Reviews
"Queering the Country Club" Was the Theme for This Rainy Day Wedding in Connecticut (Vogue, 2024)
University of Baltimore Students Host Baltimore Beat Fundraiser (Baltimore Beat, 2024)
NoPixAfterDark Episode 271: OUTCALLS BAND (NoPixAfterDark Podcast, 2024)
In Photos: Fans turn out for 2024 Greenwich Town Party (Greenwich Time, 2024)
ChamberQueer 2024: Constellation Takes the Music Festival to Transplendent Heights (I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, 2024)
Outcalls "Live @ The Lounge" (Sanity Lounge Podcast, 2024)
Britt Olsen-Ecker & Melissa Wimbish of Outcalls on 'Blast!' and Genre-Bending Music (Truth InThis Art Podcast, 2024)
Night Traxx Welcomes Pop Duo Outcalls, New Single, "Blast!" It Will Melt Your Ears (Night Traxx Podcast, 2024)
The Open Voice: An Interview with Outcalls, Baltimore's Electronic Opera Queens (Bmore Art, 2023)
Music Review: Outcalls' Compliation Album Showcases the Wonders of the Human Voice (Baltimore Magazine, 2022)
Outcalls Is Right On Schedule (Disrupt Magazine, 2021)
Here's what six of Baltimore's most unique musical artists have prepared for fall 2020 (Baltimore Sun, 2020)
The Big Baltimore Playlist, COVID edition (Baltimore Magazine, 2020)
A Live Version of "Frozen" Will Come to D.C. This Month. It's Not Just for Kids (Washingtonian, 2020)
Outcalls Captivate the Audience at Metro Gallery (These Subtle Sounds, 2019)
What Baltimore, D.C. (and Beyond) Sound Like: Outcalls (Corridor Cast - Episode #72, 2019)
Notable Appearances & Accolades
- Sold-out performance of Saturday Morning Tunes at Carver Center for the Arts; the highest-selling ticketed event in WTMD/WYPR history (2024 & 2025)
- New single, "Blast!" written and recorded by Outcalls, produced by David Rosenthal (2024)
- Opening act for Mumford & Sons and Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats for Greenwich Town Party (2024)
- Encore performance of Release the Gowns at ChamberQUEER Festival in NYC (2024)
- Invitation to Georgetown University to present a concert and Q&A with students for Friday Music Series (2024)
- Stage debut at The Recher opening for Say She She (2024)
- Opening act for LL Cool J, MC Lyte, and D-Nice for Governor Wes Moore's 45th birthday party at the Hippodrome Theater (2023)
- Residency at Camden Yards at Oriole Park (2023)
- Commissioned by UrbanArias to compose and record an original holiday song, "Holiday Ex-Lover" (2022)
- Sold-out performances of Release the Gowns: An Album Release Show written by Outcalls and playwright Jessica Garrett, directed by Genevieve de Mahy (2022)
- Released third studio album, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, with brand new songs "Love To Fight," "Everything," "Thots & Prayers," "Call Sometime," "Vitamin D" featuring Kotic Couture, and "Gatekeeper" (2022)
- Invitation to Colorado Mesa College in Grand Junction, CO to present a master class to CMU students and a public recital for CMU Music Recital Series (2021)
- "Get To You," written and recorded by Outcalls featured in CRISIS, a film starring Gary Oldman, Evangeline Lilly, and Lily-Rose Depp (2021)
- "No King" (acoustic) featured on No Stagediving, a digital compilation album to benefit the Ottobar (2020)
- Stage debut at Ram's Head Live, Baltimore (2020)
- Stage debut at Miracle Theater DC (2020)
- Single "Mother" reviewed in Baltimore Magazine (2020)
- Performed in "Stop Making Sense" to benefit the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coaltion (2019)
- "Keep Falling Over" voted #1 on WTMD's Top 89 Songs of 2018 by station listeners (2018)
- For WTMD's Saturday Morning Tunes series, Outcalls wrote an abridged script and performed music from Disney's Frozen at Baltimore School for the Arts to two sold-out audiences. Their encore performances at Towson University in 2018 and 2019 also sold out. (2018)
- "No King" listed in The Baltimore Sun's "30 songs that defined 2017" and landed on Baltimore Magazine's "Best Music of 2017" (2017)
Touring
Outcalls has maintained a dynamic performance calendar. They have provided opening support for several major touring acts such as Esperanza Spalding, Mumford & Sons, Kimbra, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Khruangbin, Dessa, Wolf Parade, Chicano Batman, and San Fermin. Their self-produced tours (SCORPIO TOUR, Expand the Fam Tour, The Breakfast Tour, Goin' Down South Tour, and Nothing Will Go Wrong Tour) reached 21 cities in the Northeast, Southeast, and West Coast U.S. regions. Other festival highlights include Greenwich Town Party, Brilliant Baltimore, WTMD's 20th Anniversary Bash, Artscape, Baltimore Book Festival, Federal Hill Block Party, Baltimore Magazine Music Festival, and the Ladybug Festival.
2025 Performances
01.10.25 at Comet Ping Pong (DC)
01.25.25 at Carver Center for the Arts, WYPR & WTMD present Saturday Morning Tunes with Outcalls
02.13.25 at Stoop Storytelling Series
03.08.25 at Headlining at Ottobar for International Women’s Day
2024 Performances
01.27.24 at Carver Center for the Arts, WTMD presents Saturday Morning Tunes with Outcalls
02.08.24 at Stoop Storytelling Series
03.09.24 at The Creative Alliance
05.25.24 at Greenwich Town Party with Mumford & Sons + Nathaniel Rateliff (CT)
06.15.24 at NYC-premiere of Release the Gowns at ChamberQUEER Festival (NYC)
9.21.24 at The Recher with Say She She
10.18.24 at Georgetown University, Friday Music Series (DC)
10.19.24 at Baltimore Improv Group
10.27.24 at LeadingAge National Conference (Nashville, TN)
2023 Performances
01.15.23 at St. David's Roland Park, Recital & Evensong for the Feast of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
01.18.23 at The Woodshed at Nate's Place
03.04.23 at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, WTMD presents Saturday Morning Tunes with Outcalls
03.25.23 at Power Plant Live! presented by Transcendent Events
06.10.23 at the B&O Railroad Museum for WTMD’s 20th Anniversary Bash
09.15.23 & 10.07.23 Residency at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
10.12.23 at the M&T Bank Exchange for Governor Wes Moore’s 45th Birthday Celebration
2022 Performances
12.09.22 at Holiday Spectacular in Center Plaza (Downtown Partnership of Baltimore)
12.2.22 World-premiere of "Holiday Ex-Lover" for DOC the Halls, a digital holiday songbook by Decameron Opera Coalition
11.17.22 at Ottobar with Dessa
05.13.22-05.14.22 World-premiere of Release the Gowns: A Theatrical Album Release by Outcalls and playwright Jessica Garrett at The Voxel
2021 Performances
06.18.21 at Ottobar
07.2.21 at Center Plaza for Downtown Partnership of Baltimore
09.2.21 at Summer in the Squares for Mount Vernon Historical Society
09.27.21 at Baltimore CenterStage Butterfly Sessions
10.15.21 at The Magic Rat (Fort Collins, CO)
10.12.21-10.14.21 at Colorado Mesa College, Artist Residency (Grand Junction, CO)
2020 Performances
11.06.20 at The Creative Alliance, It's Pandemonium! Virtual Gala
10.24.20 at Music at 4500
09.03.20 at Canton Waterfront Park, WTMD Virtual First Thursday
02.21.20 debut at Ram's Head Live!
02.22.20 at the Miracle Theater, WTMD presents Saturday Morning Tunes with Outcalls
