And so it begins. The next few weeks are loaded with "special" shows by local performers. Many have a holiday theme (that's right, I said "holiday," you intolerant Christmas warrior), but there are also plenty of gigs celebrating things other than the season (that'll end with the following three weeks of non-stop holiday madness). Let's check them out.  

There was a time when David Rhodes Brown was one of the hottest guitarists in town. He began as a teenager, playing in a string of garage bands ("I was singing 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction' before I even knew what it was," he says), which led to a succession of Alternative Rock/Punk outfits, including the Warsaw Falcons. Amazingly, he's just now releasing his first solo album, 'Browngrass & Wildflowers,' which he says was inspired by public radio station WNKU's 25th anniversary.   

In a scene filled with nice guys, Ryan Malott might be their king. He's young, massively talented, tirelessly inspired and self-deprecating to a fault, as evidenced by the title of his latest foray with his astonishingly versatile outfit, 500 Miles to Memphis.  

Two years ago, young singer/songwriter Nathan Holscher released his second album, 'Even the Hills,' a moody, mesmerizing slab of ethereal, transcendent Americana that helped make the relatively new Cincinnati resident a much buzzed-about local artist. Holscher has improved on that work with the new release, 'Hit the Ground,' and this time he's not alone, using the name Nathan Holscher & the Ohio 5 to give props to his current back-up band of ace local players.