We meet at the Waffle House. Behold the brown and orange seats, the slippery booths, the jukebox, the clock sporting the name of the place. Yeah, we’re on Waffle House time. Moriah Haven Lawson, founder of modern Bluegrass trio Sassy Molasses, chose the meeting place. “We country folk feel at home there,” she says.  

The biannual Clifton Heights Music Festival returns this weekend for its fourth edition, taking over seven venues around the University of Cincinnati for two days of diverse, quality local music. Launched a year and half ago, the fest has become the best all-local musical showcase in town, growing from 35 acts to this year’s 80-plus.