We woke up this morning in a world where Elton John can be heard passionately belting the lyrics of a Baltimore hard rock band.
“You left me folded in the dark,” he sings on “Seein’ Stars,” the 79-year-old pop maestro’s reimagined take on the Turnstile single.
On Friday, Turnstile, Baltimore’s biggest band of the moment, released “Never Enough: Versions,” a star-studded reinterpretation of their breakthrough album, “Never Enough.” Released in June 2025, the record earned the quintet’s first Grammy Awards in February.
“Never Enough: Versions” spans generations and genres, boasting features from John, Hayley Williams (“Ceiling”), Slayyyter (“Birds”) and other big-name collaborators.
Turnstile, who declined to comment on this story, also worked with several musicians with ties to Baltimore and Maryland — a fitting decision for a band that wears its Charm City pride on its sleeve.
With the 22-track album out now, these are the local connections to listen for.
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Brandon Woody
West Baltimore trumpeter and composer Brandon Woody was supposed to play with Turnstile last year for the band’s epic NPR Tiny Desk Concert.
Woody ultimately couldn’t make it, so he was happy for another chance to work on a Turnstile project.
He and his Baltimore band reworked “Dreaming” at Remington’s Wright Way Studios. Their version is a slower instrumental, guided by Woody’s trumpet, that swells and swings with emotion — or, as he said, it’s like “looking at the same city or the same map but with a different pair of glasses on.”
“They looked at it one way, and the way I’m looking at it is completely different,” Woody said. “It’s really an honor.”
Woody, who released his debut album “For the Love of It All” last year on the storied jazz label Blue Note Records, will headline Current Space’s Garden Bar on Sept. 11.
Rod Lee
A “Never Enough” remix album wouldn’t feel complete without Baltimore club — the type of song you could picture dancing to at 2 a.m. at the Paradox.
Rod Lee, a legend of the city’s influential and ecstatic house subgenre, proves he still has his fastball by transforming the title track into a kinetic, rap-filled floor-stomper built on the foundation of a trademark club drum break.
The song includes the delightful everyman humor that makes Lee’s classics like “Dance My Pain Away” feel timeless.
“Working 9 to 5, then I will look at my pay,” Lee raps before Turnstile’s Brendan Yates’ sampled vocal punctuates the line: It’s “Never enough!”
Dan Deacon
Turnstile had only one instruction to veteran electronic musician and composer Dan Deacon: Put your voice on the song — particularly after they heard Deacon’s memorable rendition of the national anthem at a July 2025 Orioles game.
“So I leaned into the heavy vocoder and vocal treatment I used at Camden Yards,” Deacon said of his version of “Dreaming.”
In recent years, Deacon has made his name in Hollywood, scoring movies and TV series like “Little Brother,” “Venom: The Last Dance” and “Task.” So he was excited to make his first song since 2020.
It starts like a reverie before exploding into a huge burst of digital confetti. The song is reminiscent of the jubilant sound that made Deacon a pick of indie tastemakers at the turn of the 2010s.
“I was going to keep the track mostly airy and ethereal, but a few peers encouraged me to take it to a place a lot of my solo albums go to, and I’m glad I did,” Deacon said via email.
Known for his interactive live show, Deacon will perform two intimate Baltimore shows at the soon-to-reopen 8x10 in Federal Hill on Nov. 14-15.
Angel Du$t
Angel Du$t’s big 2026 continues with “Sunshower,” the Baltimore hard rock band’s largely faithful cover of “Never Enough’s” breakneck-paced standout punk track.
The song also continues the bands’ long connection: Turnstile’s Yates, drummer Daniel Fang and guitarist Pat McCrory previously played in Angel Du$t, while Yates also played drums in Angel Du$t frontman Justice Tripp’s hardcore band, Trapped Under ice.
Angel Du$t, who released their album “Cold 2 the Touch” in February, will open for Turnstile at Pittsburgh’s Stage AE amphitheater on Sept. 15. They’re also hitting the road with Agnostic Front; the closest show to Baltimore is Oct. 9 in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Nourished by Time
Baltimore native Marcus Brown, better known as the R&B artist Nourished by Time, also took on “Sunshower.” He keeps the intense energy and pace while adding his haunting vocals and a bright organ.
Fans have a chance to see Nourished by Time — who dropped his critically acclaimed album “The Passionate Ones” a year ago — nearby: He opens for Robyn on Sept. 8-9 at the Anthem in Washington, D.C.
Dying Fetus
Let’s get heavy.
The album’s most brutal and crushing cover comes from Dying Fetus, the veteran Greater Upper Marlboro death metal trio.
Their version of “Birds” — with growling vocals, technical guitar solos and relentless drumming — ups the ante on the already heavy song, a single so catchy and adrenaline-inducing that O’s slugger Pete Alonso made it his walk-up song.
Dying Fetus, whose last album, “Make Them Beg for Death,” came out in 2023, headlines the Fillmore Silver Spring with Sanguisugabogg on Sept. 18.
Panda Bear
Animal Collective member Panda Bear, a.k.a. Roland Park native Noah Lennox, and Turnstile — it’s a dream pairing of Baltimore musicians we didn’t know we needed, but makes all too much sense when you hear it.
Panda Bear’s “Magic Man” remakes the album’s emotional closer into a hazy, warm trip on the dancefloor, thanks to the addition of a sturdy breakbeat.
Last month, Panda Bear released “A ? of WHEN,” his second album with Sonic Boom, a.k.a. Spacemen 3 founder Peter Kember.
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