Ever wanted to visit the “Sinners” juke joint without fear of being bitten by vampires? That’s exactly what John Thomas and Xiana Quinn are doing Friday Oct. 23 at a barn venue east of the city.
The ‘Cinners Juke Joint’ will feature live music, DJs, a full bar, a full soul food menu, card games, activities, a photo booth and more at The Venue on Lake Grant, at 13257 US-68 in Mount Orab. Guests are encouraged to dress in any fashion that represents their culture. 10% of all ticket and bar sales will be donated to the National Commission for Black Arts & Entertainment.
Thomas, an IT professional who works as an event organizer on the side, was inspired to host the event with Quinn after watching Ryan Coogler’s four-time Oscar-winning Gothic horror film multiple times last year.
“Xiara and I were obsessed with the movie for months. We planned to have a “Sinners” movie night in her and her husband’s backyard where we just get a projector, order some soul food, dress up like people from the movie, but we couldn’t make it work because of our schedules,” Thomas said. “But we kept talking about it. Eventually, she said, ‘Yeah, I still want to do it, but I want to rent a barn and make it a big thing,’ and that’s when my brain went into overdrive.”
In the film, the two main characters (both played by Michael B. Jordan) purchase an abandoned sawmill to turn into a juke joint — a venue with live music, food and drinking specifically designed for Black people. While it eventually goes poorly in the film thanks to the presence of vampires, the film’s most powerful scenes come from the live music performances from actors like Miles Caton and Jayme Lawson, which is what Thomas and Quinn plan to recreate at the event.
Performers at the juke joint include hip-hop artist Flame Fontayne, neo-soul folk band TheBandTaryn, DJ Queen Celine and DJ Chrispy. Food will be catered by Sunday Dinner Tribe and vegan vendor Guac Goddess.
Plenty of local businesses are showing up and showing out to support the event, too — the manga/matcha cafe CinSei is sponsoring a costume contest, and other nearby Black-owned businesses like Esoteric Brewing and Shea Candle Company will be sponsoring the event in some way, shape or form.
“I said, okay, if we’re gonna do this, the music needs to be the first priority, because a juke joint is music-focused … then we started reaching out to Black-owned businesses we love, caterers we know, even the graphic designers and videographers are people we’ve made connections with,” Thomas said. “Everything was a labor of the community, a labor of love, and it’s really taken a village to to build it. We didn’t use AI in any part of the process during promotion, either. We really wanted to lean on the community, and they showed out in droves for us.”
Quinn and Thomas loved how the film “celebrated African American culture and its intersectionality” and thinks it “created an important conversation that wouldn’t necessarily be happening without a film of that scale.”
It’s a conversation he’s hoping to continue with the event, but he especially wants to shine a light on Cincinnati’s music scene in hopes that other people will start hosting events just like this one all over the city.
“We wanted to help highlight how Cincinnati has an incredible music scene that a lot of people within the city and beyond don’t really understand. We have some of the most talented musicians in the country, and a lot of people aren’t attuned to it yet, and we’re hoping that this puts a magnifying glass on it,” he said. “We wanted to serve as an inspiration for others to hold their own events, too… Worst case scenario, we have a fun night with our friends. Best case scenario, we can make a real change in the city and give something to the community that they can look forward to.”
For more information, visit the official Instagram page for the Cinners Juke Joint.
