Apr 4-11, 2018
Bonds Beyond Addiction: As the opioid crisis rages, a look inside one court’s attempts to repair the families left in its wake
Cincinnati Public School Board approves land swap with FC Cincinnati in West End
On April 10, the Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education voted 6-0 to enter into an agreement that will allow FC Cincinnati to build a potential soccer stadium on district land in the West End. The deal is the latest domino to fall in what once seemed like an unlikely proposition. The board batted down…
At her CAC-sponsored shows this week, Kate McIntosh literally puts art in the audiences’ hands
From her home base in Brussels, Belgium, transdisciplinary artist Kate McIntosh speaks carefully and thoughtfully in a Skype interview about her attraction to hands. “As objects, I find hands to be extraordinarily beautiful and fascinating,” she says. McIntosh will be performing the U.S. premiere of her interactive art/theater piece, In Many Hands, at the Aronoff…
‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’ at Cincy Shakes Will Claw at You
CRITIC'S PICK Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s current production of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof explores socially progressive themes and complicated family relationships over the course of one evening. Cat, which won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955, is set during the course of a family…
This Year’s Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville Was Groundbreaking
I travel to Louisville, Ky. annually to take the pulse of American theater at Actors Theatre, when it presents the Humana Festival of New American Plays. This year, it was held Feb. 28-April 8. These festivals have offered more than 300 world premieres in 42 years. There is seldom an overt theme. Instead, trends emerge,…
Artist, Wigmaker Stacey Vest Is Ready to Get Her Feet and Hair Wet at Covington’s Pique Gallery
Stacey Vest’s exhibition at Covington’s Pique gallery is titled Immerse, and she is trying to keep her head above water as Friday’s opening draws near. The wigmaker has spent the past couple months inside a studio at Pendleton Art Center wading through a veritable ocean that includes mounds of artificial hair, piles of videotape, LED…
Ohio high on list for gender wage gap; more news
Hello, all. Let’s get right to a quick news rundown, cool? Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson is in Cincinnati today talking about his call for a nationwide boycott of local grocery giant Kroger. Jackson first called for that boycott in Memphis, where Kroger has shuttered two stores in predominantly black communities. Kroger says those…
Cincinnati Folk fave Jake Speed lines up special guests for 20th-anniversary WoodyFest show
American music pioneer and activist Woody Guthrie’s enduring music has influenced countless artists in a variety of genres. His legacy is so deeply embedded in American music’s DNA, even artists who’ve never heard a note he played have been shaped by his life’s work. Twenty years ago, Cincinnati Folk singer/songwriter Jake Speed began paying tribute…
Sound Advice: Triathalon with Luke Olson and Cross Country (April 14)
If the pop-cultural zeitgeist divided itself into a few endearingly fashionable 20-somethings and wandered its way into a Brooklyn practice space with all the tools an upstart indie band needs (plus a stereo speaker pumping a “lo-fi Hip Hop radio” playlist in the background for inspiration), the sounds that would seep through the walls might…
Sound Advice: Marco Benevento (April 13)
If there was just one scrap of biographical ephemera that could possibly compel you to explore Marco Benevento’s music, it might be this one: When Benevento graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 1999, his diploma was presented to him by David Bowie, who also that year gave the commencement address. That’s a pretty…
Sound Advice: The Mountain Goats with Dead Rider (April 12)
John Darnielle is as prolific, versatile and just plain interesting as any songwriter of the last two decades, a claim that might surprise those not familiar with the California native’s long-running band The Mountain Goats, which has evolved from Darnielle’s boom-box recorded bedroom missives to full-band studio outings for Merge Records. The Mountain Goats have…
Cincinnati Punk band The Z.G.s are back rocking hometown stages after first Australian tour
Punk music often invokes images of spiked hair, denim jackets with the sleeves ripped off and sour, snarly attitudes. Punk band The Z.G.s have the first two down pat, but they also happen to be some of the nicest people in Cincinnati. Their shows are fast-paced with a respectable amount of moshing from fans. And…
How Bauer Farm Kitchen turns a sous-vide pig’s head into an inviting evening of family-style dining
In an Intro to Poetry class I once took in college, I wrote a poem titled “Good Shared Over Fire.” In it, I lingered like smoke, going from one shared fire moment to the next: campfires, grills, cigarettes, sparklers… the point being that there can be a sense of community when a spark is ignited.…
Minimum Gauge: Reboot-mania leads to ‘Empire Records’ on Broadway and a Disney ‘High Fidelity’
HOT: Reboot-Mania ContinuesTwo cult favorite films in which music played a huge role are currently in the "reboot” phase. Mediocre 1995 movie Empire Records somehow found its cult audience via home video, so now Deadline is reporting that it is being adapted for Broadway, with an eye on a 2020 debut. The slightly better movie…
Sound Advice: Ministry (April 10)
Al Jourgensen is still alive, which comes as a surprise to many, probably including himself. The notorious frontman for Industrial Rock trailblazers Ministry has imbibed enough drug, drink and who knows what else to down a family of elephants, yet here he is delivering the band’s 14th studio album, AmeriKKKant, some 37 years after Ministry’s formation.…
Jesse Jackson to visit Cincinnati as he calls for Kroger boycott
Rev. Jesse Jackson will appear in Cincinnati tomorrow as part of a nationwide call to boycott Kroger over closures of grocery stores in African-American neighborhoods. While he's here, he is also expected to weigh in on the controversy surrounding Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black — whom Mayor John Cranley has asked to resign — as…
Cincinnati Zoo, ArtWorks Want You to Help Them Paint Fiona
Is helping to paint the new Fiona mural in downtown Cincinnati worth $250 to you? In announcing today that it and the Cincinnati Zoo are teaming up to sponsor a mural honoring the already legendary 1-year-old hippo, ArtWorks says it is introducing a new public art concept — and to raise money for the nonprofit…
Ohio Dem gubernatorial candidates square off tomorrow; more news
Hello, Cincinnati. I hope your weekend was good. I spent some of mine at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference, which was fascinating. If you didn’t get a chance to go, you missed out on a ton of great panels and interesting tours. Though Cincinnati isn’t technically in Appalachia, folks from the region have made an indelible mark on…
New Mural Honoring Fiona Coming to Downtown Cincinnati
We interrupt your start of the work week — and of Monday morning — to bring you this breaking news about Cincinnati's most famous resident — Fiona the hippo, who defied odds last year by being born prematurely and not only surviving but thriving under the glare of worldwide media attention. Today at 3 p.m.…
The Pub wins Best Fish and Chips in America
The Pub was recognized as having the best fish and chips in America by representatives of Greene King, the UK's largest pub retailer and brewery, and Old Speckled Hen brewery — aka people from England who know their fish and chips. After evaluating the tavern classic at more than 100 spots across the country, the…
Despite opposition, FC Cincinnati and city council zero in on West End
Cincinnati City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld today held a news conference in the West End to announce a deal that seems likely to bring FC Cincinnati's privately financed $200 million stadium to the neighborhood. The deal comes despite months of opposition to the stadium from many community groups in and near the West End, including a…
Northside Yacht Club Launches Late-Night Japanese Gastropub Pop-Up
After the success of this winter’s ramen night pop-up, chef Hideki Harada is back at the Northside Yacht Club with a new weekly concept: the Monday Midnight Diner Series, running 8:30 p.m. until midnight (or later) each Monday in April. Harada, former co-owner and chef at Kaze OTR, and his wife Yuko are slated to…
Pedal Wagon Expands into Covington
Party people and seated-biking enthusiasts, rejoice: Pedal Wagon is expanding operations across the river into Covington. That means you and 14 of your closest friends (or complete strangers) can bike your way around MainStrasse while enjoying discounted alcoholic beverages at Pedal Wagon-partner stops. The flagship Covington Cruiser will venture across MainStrasse, downtown Covington and Roebling…
Experts: Cincinnati police reforms still need high-level work
A report issued in February by Cincinnati Police officials in response to criticism sheds some new light on ways in which the department is implementing key tenets of the city’s 2002 police reforms, says a panel of experts convened by the city, but it still leaves big areas for concern. While CPD more clearly articulated its…
Cincinnati Playhouse Announces World Premiere of a Play About Tiny Houses
The Cincinnati Playhouse has filled in the “TBA” in its 2018-2019 schedule with yet another world premiere play by an up-and-coming female: Chelsea Marcantel’s comedy Tiny Houses will conclude the Shelterhouse season (May 4-June 2, 2019), which will feature all female playwrights. It’s the story of four young adults who are determined to build a…
Meet Cincinnati’s newest historic district
A corner of Over-the-Rhine that contains a couple iconic neighborhood structures became Cincinnati’s newest local historic district on April 4. Cincinnati City Council approved legislation that names a short sweep of West McMicken Avenue and surrounding streets centered around Hamburg Street the Sohn-Mohawk Historic District. Representatives from the Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation, which…
Bellwether Music Festival adds Echo & the Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, Erika Wennerstrom and more
In March, the Bellwether Music Festival was announced for Aug. 10-11 at the home of the Ohio Renaissance Fair in Waynesville, Ohio, about 40 miles north of Cincinnati. Today, organizers released the full lineup for the camping-friendly festival. Joining The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Dr. Dog, Whitney and Local Natives for the inaugural Bellwether fest will…
Over the Rhine-curated music and arts festival Nowhere Else returns for third year
The Cincinnati natives in The National moved to Brooklyn to launch their hugely popular Indie Rock group, but will return to the Queen City later this month for the two-day festival they curated dubbed Homecoming. A couple of other Cincinnati musicians — Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler — also moved out of the city, but…
Cincinnati Soundbox’s Spring Series of Five Classical New Music Concerts Gets Underway
The innovative Cincinnati Soundbox begins its spring series of five New Music concerts tonight (Thursday, April 5) at Chase Public, which is itself celebrating its new home at 2868 Colerain Ave. in Camp Washington. Cincinnati Soundbox lists its goals as: • Presenting new works by living composers not confined by style, and reflecting a wide…
Cincinnati City Council approves internal investigation of City Manager Harry Black
Council members David Mann and Tamaya Dennard, both Democrats, will undertake fact-finding interviews in an investigation into the behavior of City Manager Harry Black, according to a plan council approved 9-0 April 4. That plan differs from an earlier proposal that would have brought in an independent counsel to investigate the dueling allegations between Mayor…
Cincinnati musicians make a strong showing in NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest
Late last month, after the deadline had passed for musicians to submit videos to NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, NPR Music posted a blog featuring a few of the entries that had caught their eye. One of the seven video entries noted was a unique one from Cincinnati's Knotts, the compelling Indie/Art Pop project led by singer/musician…
BLINK Festival Returning to Cincinnati in October 2019
The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce this morning announced that there will be a second BLINK festival, occurring Oct. 10-13, 2019, once again centered in downtown and Over-the-Rhine. Last October's first edition of the outdoor event, which featured large-scale projection mapping, murals by international artists, interactive light sculptures and other entertainment (including an already-legendary…
Cincinnati Metro to test free WiFi on select buses
Don’t you hate it when Instagram times out on your morning commute and you can’t post that weird selfie you took with the person snoozing in the seat next to you? (That might be a true story, btw). Metro has you covered, at least if you’re lucky enough to be on one of the 59…
