Music Tonight: Popular Detroit Psychobilly/Punkabilly/Powerbilly trio The Koffin Kats hot-rod it into Newport for a show at the Southgate House. While the band, which formed in 2003, has done the Psychobilly schtick, writing songs with Horror and Sci Fi themes, the Kats' more "real life" songs have always been around and, over the years, become more dominant in KK sets and on albums. That should be especially evident on the upcoming Our Way & The Highway, due in mid-January, which reflects what singer/bassist Zac Victor told CityBeat was a general move towards a "Bruce Springsteen approach more than a Dracula approach" and even more reflective of their broad musical influences. Read the entire interview with Victor at citybeat.com, then catch the band tonight at SGH with Dr. Bombay, The Returners, Vice Tricks and Switchblade Syndicate. Showtime is 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 ($13 for those ages 18-20). Below, check out the great, swoony track (anybody else hear some Smiths in there?) "The Bottle Called" from last year's "split album" with 12 Step Rebels called From Our Hands to Yours (it will also be on the new album).

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Bret Michaels is a one of a kind crossover superstar who has transformed himself from hard rocker to big partier to reality television star. Best known for his nearly 30 years with rockers Poison (giving us such Rock & Roll staples as “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn”, “Talk Dirty to Me” and other arena mega hits), in 2010, Michaels’ life took a dramatic turn when he was faced with multiple emergency surgeries. The first was to remove his appendix and then a sudden life threatening brain aneurysm led to brain surgery. He bounced back by winning Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice, continuing solo music tours across the country, completing a summer tour with Poison and Motley Crue and plotting more television projects.

CityBeat spoke with Michaels this week in advance of his pre-Super Bowl party concert tomorrow in Indianapolis. He performs Friday at 9:30 p.m. in Indianapolis, helping open the Super Bowl Village and get fans in the right spirit for the big game next Sunday. (Friday’s concert is free; click here for more info.)

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An avalanche of information about this year’s MidPoint Music Festival reveals the event’s growth and focus entering its 10th year. The full schedule of performances — from an eclectic assemblage of artists that includes Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Booker T. Jones, rising Australian Indie Dance champs Cut Copy and clever Pop duo Mates of State — is available now at mpmf.com. Many of the popular features from recent MPMFs are returning Sept. 22-24, but there are plenty of brand new ones being introduced, all designed to make the MidPoint experience even better.

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Music Tonight: Hailing from the same Tulsa, Okla., suburb (Broken Arrow) as singer/actress Kristin Chenoweth, Saturday Night Live comedian (and South Park writer) Bill Hader and Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Warren Spahn, singer/songwriter JD McPherson's upbringing found him youthfully exploring the music of Nirvana and The Stooges right alongside Carl Perkins and Buddy Holly, a signal of things to come. Today, McPherson (now based in the Chicago area) is making a name for himself with songs that reflect the influence of Rock & Roll's breakout period. McPherson performs tonight at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine. The free show also features an appearance by like-minded locals (although with a bit more of a Honky Tonk stride) Straw Boss. Showtime is 9 p.m. Check out this potential Northside anthem, "North Side Gal," and dig McPherson's incredibly soulful and authentic ’50s vibe:

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Music Saturday: This weeks' CityBeat cover stars The Kentucky Struts have reached the end of their yearlong recording/art project, The Year of the Horse. After releasing one track online from the album each month in 2011, as well as showcasing a corresponding, horse-themed piece of art commissioned to accompany the song, the Roots/Country/Rock band will have copies of the full release available at Saturday's release party at Newport's Southgate House. The visual artists featured on the project are a mix of local and national artists, including Joshua Black Wilkins (also an acclaimed singer/songwriter), Rob Warnick, Karen Heyl, Matthew Shleton and Julie Hill. Some proceeds from the release show (featuring openers The Sundresses), as well as profits from prints of the artwork, will be donated to the Kentucky-based horse rescue organization, Speak Up For Horses. Click here and here for more on the project (and to look at some of the amazing art pieces). Below, take a gander at the pre-launch video, which explains the ambitious venture.

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Cincinnati-born artist SH! started a multi-tiered fundraising project in Charleston, S.C. this holiday season. Starting with a live concert and moving on to an art sale, He's trying to raise money to buy gifts for under-privileged children.

The program, dubbed Presents From Punks, started five years ago as a benefit concert featuring a variety of musicians. But this year, SH! has moved into the visual art world by coordinating an art show that will do two things at once.

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The lineup for this summer's MidPoint Indie Summer series — every-Friday free concerts on Fountain Square — features another strong mix of solid national headliners (many are MidPoint Music Festival alumni) from as far away as Australia and Timbuktu and local favorites. Stay tuned for additions and updates.

Friday, June 1: The Bright Light Social Hour (Austin Tex.); Buffalo Killers; The Kickaways

Friday, June 8: The Dynamites (Nashville); Khaira Arby and her Band (Timbuktu, Mali, Africa); The Pinstripes

Friday, June 15: The Seedy Seeds; Wymond Miles (of The Fresh & Onlys, San Francisco); Belle Histoire

Friday, June 22: Art vs Science (Australia); You You're Awesome; Shadowraptr

Friday, June 29: psychodots (openers TBA)

Friday, July 6: Lydia Loveless (Columbus); Patrick Sweany (Nashville); The Ready Stance

Friday, July 13: Seabird; The Harlequins; Jon Drake and The Shakes (Chicago)

Friday, July 20: Ha Ha Tonka (Springfield, Mo.); Izzy and the Catastrophics (New York); The Ridges (Athens, Ohio)

Friday, July 27: Orgone (Los Angeles); The Cliftones; Eclipse

Friday, Aug. 3: Bear Hands (Brooklyn); Lightning Love (Ann Arbor, Mich.); Fort Lean (Brooklyn)

Friday, Aug. 10: Budos Band (New York); Kansas City Bible Company (Nashville); Sidewalk Chalk (Chicago)

Friday, Aug. 17: Class Actress (Brooklyn)

Friday Aug. 31: Wussy; R.Ring

The MidPoint Indie Summer concerts start at 7 p.m. each Friday this summer. Music lovers of all ages are welcome to attend.

If you're attending this evening's rally/concert Vote Early, Rock Late on Fountain Square featuring Cincy natives The National and Dayton's The Breeders, here is the schedule of events:

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory will kick things off with a few words at 5 p.m. The Breeders are scheduled to take the stage at 5:15 p.m. (maybe they should change the event's name to "Vote Early, Rock Somewhat Early As Well"). Following The Breeders will be more speeches, leading up to some thoughts from actress Natalie Portman at 7 p.m. The National is to take the stage at 7:20 p.m., and the event ends at 9 p.m. (hopefully that means a nice long set from the local boys done good). I anticipate that the band's performance of "Mr. November," their usual set-closer, will be utterly transcendent.

Check the blogs tomorrow for a full report from the show and photos.

Head to the official site for the event at vote-ohio.net for full details on the rally. Today's concert is free, but donations for the Obama campaign will happily be accepted. You can also donate through the site. And shuttles will take you to the Hamilton County Board of Elections if you want to go ahead and vote now.

Easton Corbin — on tour with Rascal Flatts and coming to Cincinnati for a show at Riverbend Music Center on Friday — is one of the hottest new acts in all of Country music. Since debuting in 2009 with his self-titled album (which reached as high as No. 4 on the Country album charts) he has been gaining great recognition. His first two singles, “A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll With It,” skyrocketed to the top of the Country charts and he has been nominated for 11 awards in his short career, taking home three of them at the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards.

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Alligator recording artists JJ Grey and Mofro perform a FREE show tonight in the grand ballroom of the Southgate House. Go here to read the unexpurgated version (including videos and interview outtakes) of our feature story on Mr. Grey and Co. and go here for more show details.

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