Northside's Mayday hosts a killer triple bill for fans of songwriters who shape their own boundaries of tradition to forge new, singular Roots music sounds. Headlining is soulful, raw and rootsy Rock quintet Alone at 3am, which is on the cusp of gaining a lot more attention outside of their hometown base here in Cincinnati. Tonight's free show (with solid support from local acts Wonky Tonk and Arlo McKinley and The Lonesome Sound)

is the group's last local one for a while as A@3AM hits to road for tour dates on their way to Denver. The band is gearing up for its first full-length nationwide release, Midwest Mess, which is due out in April, the group's first for Denver-based Suburban Home Records.

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Groundbreaking ceremonies for Cincinnati's long-awaited streetcar project will occur next Friday, Feb. 17, in front of Memorial Hall on Elm Street in Over-the-Rhine.

Mayor Mark Mallory announced the ceremony this afternoon. It will launch the first phase of construction, which involves relocating water lines under city streets.

Opening of the streetcar line’s first phase, a 3.9-mile loop between The Banks riverfront district and Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine, is scheduled for late 2013.

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In this week's CityBeat, I made an offhand comment about how it might not feel like winter, but the Cincy Blues Society's annual Winter Blues Fest is going down this weekend regardless of temperature. The gods must've heard me (or is a big Blues fan) because currently in Cincinnati, winter has finally decided to arrive. So the Winter Blues Fest will have an appropriate climate and setting.

After several years in Northern Kentucky, the event is following the MidPoint Music Festival’s lead and hosting its 2012 event in Over-the-Rhine. More than 25 performers will entertain in four centrally located clubs — The Drinkery and venues in the former homes of Rhythm & Blues Café (dubbed "Japp's Annex" during the fest) and Harry’s Pizza (see below), as well as Below Zero Lounge. The three venues are within easy walking distance of each other — all but Below Zero are on Main Street (and Below Zero is just off of the drag). So bundle up, but don't let a few snowflakes become your excuse for not attending.

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The corporate parent of The Enquirer is offering a voluntary “early retirement” buyout proposal to rid the company of some older and more highly paid employees.

Robert J. Dickey, president of The Gannett Co.'s U.S. newspaper division, announced the buyout offer Thursday in a memorandum to employees.

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There are plenty of beer festivals year-round in Cincinnati, but Cincy Winter Beerfest is the queen mother of them all. Duke Energy Convention Center downtown transforms into a beer haven this weekend, offering more than 300 craft brews.

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Music Tonight: Covington's Madison Theater has become one of the go-to venues in the region for some of the top names from the world of Dubstep, probably the most popular "new genre" (relative term, of course) in music today. You can thank Insomniac and Next Era promo groups for that, as they put on almost all of the bigger shows in the area. Tonight, it's another biggie as London Dubstep producer/artist Caspa headlines the venue. The 9 p.m., all-ages show also features guests Krowd Khemistry, Dr. Gram and Johnny Quest. Caspa started DJing at a young age, inspired by the Drum ’n Bass sounds of the time. In ’04 he launched the first of a handful of record labels, Storming Productions, ultimately got into producing and, in ’07, began exploring Dubstep with fellow DJ/producer Rusko, resulting in several successful collaborations. (Read more here from this week's CityBeat.)

Here's a couple of groovy videos that give a good a sense of what to expect tonight.

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On Thursday evening I was that the Cincinnati Playhouse for the opening of Speaking in Tongues. If you like heady, noir-ish drama with flashes of sardonic humor, this is the show for you. Andrew Bovell’s 1996 script uses four actors to play nine characters whose lives intersect and diverge and reconnect in ways that you have to pay attention to if you want to get the story. This is not a sit-back-and-relax kind of play, but rather one you’ll be trying to follow the narratives, which are neither linear nor chronological. But they are certainly fascinating. The cast includes two of Cincinnati’s best local professional actors, Bruce Cromer and Amy Warner, and two others who have delivered memorable Playhouse performances, R. Ward Duffy and Henny Russell (who happen to be husband and wife). In fact, Warner is married to director Michael Evan Haney, so this show about deceitful relationships and the importance of trust and faith must have made for an intriguing rehearsal process. Be prepared to think hard if you go to see this one on the Shelterhouse stage. 513-421-3888.

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Do you like to be able to say "Oh, I saw one of that band's first shows!" to impress friends with your insider knowledge of the local music scene once that band builds up a nice draw? Then head to Northside Tavern tonight for a free concert headlined by slinky, sludgy local Rock & Roll machine Two Headed Dog and two brand new outfits with some familiar names and faces and a lot of potential.

First up is The Perfect Children, featuring phenomenal singer Kirsten Kreft (who said she formed the band after being inspired to write "a ton of music" after she left the J. Dorsey Blues Revival band), Mike Reeder from Blues/Rock powerhouse The Mudpies and drummer Adam Shelton, who bangs the skins for Progressive Jazz unit RX-2. (Kreft also handles guitar and keyboard duties and the band announced actress and singer Beth Harris will be sitting in with them tonight).

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A prominent Republican congressman is under investigation for insider trading. U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), who heads the House Financial Services Committee, is being probed by the Office of Congressional Ethics for making suspicious trades and buying certain stock options while helping oversee the nation’s banking and financial services industries.

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R. Ring, the acoustic duo project featuring veteran Greater Cincinnati musician/engineer Mike Montgomery (thistle, Ampline, The Light Wires) and Dayton, Ohio's Kelley Deal (The Breeders), is preparing a debut 7-inch single due for release in late spring, according to Tiberius Records (home to thistle, Ampline and many other solid acts from this area and beyond). The vinyl platter is set to be issued on the Misra Records imprint out of Dayton, which is notoriously artist-friendly (founded by artists in 1999) and has put out work by acts like Destroyer, Phosphorescent, Shearwater, Centro-matic, Jenny Toomey, Great Lake Swimmers and Southeast Engine.

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