Wednesday night is the perfect time for the uninitiated to go check out some of the fantastic musical acts from Greater Cincinnati’s especially strong music scene. The New Year’s Eve shows below feature artists nominated for Cincinnati Entertainment Awards this year, so you can check out some of the nominees live before you vote. (You can vote now for the CEAs at citybeat.com.)
• To call local rockers Wussy’s 2014 a breakthrough year would be a major understatement. Though beloved locally for over a decade, the band’s fifth studio album, Attica!, led to international attention, the band’s network TV debut, glowing press reviews from high-profile outlets and sold-out shows across the country (Attica! has also made numerous “Best of 2014” lists recently).
Wussy will close out its momentous year with a show on New Year’s Eve at The Woodward Theater (1404 Main St., Over-the-Rhine, facebook.com/thewoodwardtheater). Tickets are available in advance for $10 through cincyticket.com (they’re $15 at the door day of show). Doors open at 8 p.m. and Bobby Bare Jr. is the opening act. (wussy.org)
• Cincy “Trash Pop” trio Tweens also had a remarkable 2014 that helped widen the international spotlight on them. The band’s debut full-length for the esteemed Frenchkiss Records scored many rave reviews and it (as well as singles from the record) made “Best of the Year” lists from brooklynveagan.com, The Washington Post and many other outlets. The band also toured extensively behind the album, playing more than 120 shows in eight countries.
Tweens will cap off the year Wednesday with a free, 9 p.m. show at The Comet (4579 Hamilton Ave., Northside, cometbar.com). The Harlequins open. (tweensband.com)
• Two of Greater Cincinnati’s finest Rock bands, 500 Miles to Memphis and Mad Anthony, are teaming up to co-headline the Sanctuary room at the Southgate House Revival (111 East Sixth St., Newport, southgatehouse.com) on New Year’s Eve. Each band released the albums of their careers in 2014 — 500 Miles put out Stand There and Bleed, while Mad Anthony issued Sank for Days through the local label Phratry. Maine duo When Particles Collide open and, for a special treat, the recently reconstituted Warsaw Falcons (the most well-known band of multi-instrumentalist David Rhodes Brown, who also plays lap steel with 500 Miles to Memphis) will also play a set. Since reforming recently at a celebration of Brown’s 50th anniversary in music, the Falcons have announced they’re back and ready for more shows.
Showtime is 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 or $12 at the door. (500mtm.com; madanthonyband.com)
• Popular, long-running Jamgrass/“Trashgrass” ensemble Rumpke Mountain Boys already have a couple of months’ worth of tour dates lined up for 2015 (don’t worry, their every-Tuesday gigs at Stanley’s Pub will largely be unaffected). To close out 2014, the group is hosting their “Grateful New Year’s Eve Bash” at the Thompson House (24 East Third St., Newport, thompsonhousenewport.com). Joining the band for the Dead-themed party are David Gans (celebrated musician and noted Grateful Dead author/DJ/expert), plus Lexington, Ky., bands Born Cross Eyed (a Dead tribute band) and Restless Leg String Band.
Wednesday’s show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $25. (facebook.com/rumpkemountainboys)
• A pair of vastly different Cincinnati Entertainment Award nominees join forces on New Year’s Eve for a show at 20th Century Theater (3021 Madison Road, Oakley, the20thcenturytheatre.com).
The funky, rockin’ Almighty Get Down (nominated for CEAs in the R&B/Funk/Soul, Best Live Act and Album of the Year categories) will join the sublime Americana ensemble Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle (up for the Folk/Americana CEA) at the 8 p.m. concert. DJs and local Rock/Reggae/Jam group Jamwave open the show.
The concert begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are $20 or $25 day of show. (thealmightygetdown.com; pricehillhustle.com)
Artists Unite for Annapalooza
A diverse collection of local musical acts will band together on Saturday at Newport’s Southgate House Revival for a special cause. “Annapalooza” was organized by friends as a benefit for Anna Mouch, a local nurse who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of
non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma this year. The money raised from ticket sales (as well as various raffles and auctions) will help Mouch, who has a 1-year-old son with Sean Geil of local Folk faves The Tillers, pay for medical bills that have arisen from the intensive treatment she has been receiving.
Scheduled to perform at Saturday’s benefit concert: Chris Mouch, Josh Eagle, Jake Book, Lenny Hall, Casey Campbell, Wilder, Dead Man String Band, Rattlesnakin’ Daddies, Mamadrones, BiBs & BaReFeeT, Shiny and the Spoon, Animal Circles, Perfect Norm, The Blue Rock Boys, Frontier Folk Nebraska, The Guitars and The Almighty Get Down.
Annapalooza kicks off at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 (through ticketfly.com) or $20 at the door.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: [email protected]
