Jun 27 – Jul 4, 2018
Revenge of the Synth: Dismissed as “not real music” by many in the ’80s, the resurgence of Synth Pop and bands like Cincinnati’s Moonbeau are proving its endurance
Recommended Greater Cincinnati concerts for July 4-10
WEDNESDAY 04 JACOB HOFFNER PARK–Northside Rock N’ Roll Carnival. 2 p.m. Indie/Alt/Various. Free. (Click here for details) URBAN ARTIFACT–Northside Rock n’ Roll Sideshow with Go Go Buffalo, Electric Orange Peel, Dead Man String Band and more. Noon. Various. Free. THURSDAY 05 FOUNTAIN SQUARE–Salsa on the Square with Óscar Salamanca & La Fórmula. 7 p.m. Salsa/Latin/Dance.…
Cincinnati Opera is latest stop on tenor Jay Hunter Morris’ ‘blessed’ singing career
The tenor is not the featured role in Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman — and that’s OK with Jay Hunter Morris, the tenor performing in Cincinnati Opera’s production of it on Thursday and Saturday at Music Hall. Wagner’s 1843 German opera is the tale of the Dutchman, who is doomed to sail a ghost ship…
Local singer takes a lead role at Cincinnati Opera’s final performance of ‘The Coronation of Poppea’
Sunday's final, virtually sold-out Cincinnati Opera performance of the Baroque opera The Coronation of Poppea turned out to have a big surprise — and a delightful one for countertenor Daniel Moody. He took the co-leading role of the infamous Roman Emperor Nero because the originally cast singer, Anthony Roth Costanzo, was called away — to…
ALTO Pizza Kitchen + Bar to Open as First Tenant in Covington’s $19M Duveneck Square
Fans of the holy union of beer and pizza are soon going to have one more option: ALTO Pizza Kitchen + Bar celebrates the grand opening of its brick and mortar the same day it launches a food kiosk in Braxton Brewing Company's Covington taproom. (ALTO officially opened its restaurant doors on June 26.) ALTO…
Northside Rock ’N Roll Carnival (finally) releases full live music schedule for the free, two-day festival
It took a while, but the full schedule for Northside’s Rock N’ Roll Carnival has been announced, just in the nick of time. Wrapped around the popular and wonderfully eccentric Fourth of July parade on Hamilton Avenue (kicking off at noon Wednesday), the free music fest at Hoffner Park kicks off at 4 p.m. Tuesday,…
Bevin Administration Cuts Kentucky Medicaid Vision and Dental Benefits
Roughly 460,000 Kentuckians who receive Medicaid will have their dental and vision coverage cut under a new move by Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration. The cuts come after a federal judge blocked Kentucky HEALTH, the Bevin administration’s attempt to restructure the state’s healthcare system. The effort would have made Kentucky the first state in the country…
Memorial Hall’s ‘One Man Stranger Things’ may be stranger than ‘Stranger Things’
Born in 1974, Charles Ross grew up in the same (maybe not so) idyllic rose-hued suburban landscape in which the kids in the Netflix hit Stranger Things find themselves. Minus the demogorgons. So it’s fitting that the Canadian-based actor would take it upon himself to perform the entire series solo in his One Man Stranger…
One Cincinnati Family Played a Role in Creating Two Important Modern Museums
Impressively, one Cincinnati family has played a role in the creation of two progressive American art museums, one here and one in St. Louis. I recently visited the St. Louis museum, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, which few here know about at all and probably even fewer are aware of its local connection. Aesthetically, it is…
Recommended Concerts: Pixies and Weezer at Riverbend Music Center (July 6)
Though operating on different timelines, Weezer and Pixies each had a massive, crucial impact on “Alternative Rock,” helping to inspire and shape its sound for decades to come. Pixies emerged in the latter half of the ’80s and, though their eccentric and innovative music was beloved by a loyal core of fans that included David…
Listen to “Hide It In The Night,” the first single off of Cincinnati rockers Electric Citizen’s forthcoming album, ‘Helltown’
Just a couple of weeks ago Cincinnati heavy Rock crew Electric Citizen announced a nationwide tour opening for Monster Magnet. The group hinted at its anticipated new album in a Facebook post, saying it would be released on Sept. 28, the same day the tour kicks off in Toronto. Late last week, new details emerged…
This Private Local Amusement Park is Open for the Fourth of July
Stricker’s Grove is closed to the public for most of the year, save for a few special days in the summer and fall. The Fourth of July is one of those days. This family-owned, 25-acre old-fashioned amusement park is home to tons of nostalgic games and classic rides. Play mini-golf and arcade games or take…
Washington Park Screens ‘Independence Day’ for Fourth of July
Welcome to Earth — and welcome to Washington Park for the Fourth of July screening of the 1996 sci-fi blockbuster Independence Day. After a worldwide alien attack on human civilization, a rag-tag group of people including Jeff Goldblum, Randy Quaid and Will Smith launch a counter-attack on the extraterrestrials on the Fourth of July. Bring…
Red, White & Blue Ash Brings Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo to Summit Park
Celebrating the Fourth of July follows a certain schedule. The mornings are for parades, barbecues last into the evening and the night is for one thing and one thing only: fireworks. Once all the hamburgers have been eaten and the grills are cold, head up I-71 to Red, White & Blue Ash for the biggest…
Community leaders discuss impact of opiate epidemic on black communities; more news
Hello, all. Hope you had a good weekend and are gearing up for a great Fourth of July. Here’s a quick news roundup to get your week going. More than a thousand people turned out at Washington Park Saturday to protest immigration enforcement policies recently enacted by the Trump administration. You can see photos from the…
Dunkin’ Donuts Introduces New Donut Fries
Starting today, Dunkin Donuts will offer up a hybrid you never really knew you needed. Do Donuts + Fries = a reasonable breakfast? You can get ‘em for $2, laced in sugary, dough-y wonder. Made with a buttery croissant-esque batter, the dudes are then tossed in cinnamon sugar and served toasty warm. Earlier this year,…
2018 Cincy Blues Challenge winners Johnny Fink and the Intrusion set for the Cincy Blues Fest main stage and will rep the Queen City at Memphis’ International Blues Challenge
On June 3, the Cincy Blues Society hosted its 19th-annual Cincy Blues Challenge, an all-day live “play-off” competition at Germania Park that featured more than 20 area Blues acts. The event determines who will perform at the Cincy Blues Fest, with the top winners going on to rep the Cincy Blues Society at the International…
Cincinnati band Tooth Lures a Fang’s new album, ‘Sharon is Karen,’ is a glorious display of Indie Pop Rock’s ever-changing moods
On the heels of releasing its second full-length, Sharon is Karen, Cincinnati Indie Pop/Rock duo Tooth Lures a Fang headlines MOTR Pub this Friday. The free show begins at 10 p.m. Tooth Lures a Fang’s music revolves around the singing and songwriting of guitarist Zach Starkie and bassist Nic Pater (Jordan VonWahlde has provided drums…
Recommended Concerts: Janelle Monáe at Taft Theatre (July 10)
Janelle Monáe has become a high-profile star over the course of 10 years. But the type of stardom the singer/songwriter has achieved is unlike the kind associated with most of her peers who have achieved great career heights and gained a high level of popularity. That’s not to say those peers got to where they…
Recommended Concerts: Carbon Leaf at Ludlow Garage (July 6)
Multi-instrumentalist Carter Gravatt once identified Carbon Leaf’s genre as Brazilian Polka Metal. He was joking, obviously, but the Virginia quintet’s longstanding and successful melting pot of Indie Rock, Bluegrass, Celtic, Folk and Americana isn’t impossibly far from Gravatt’s fictional description. The band has been attracting an ever-widening circle of slavish fans for over a quarter…
Recommended Concerts: Chuck Prophet & the Mission Express at Southgate House Revival (July 5)
If Chuck Prophet’s impressive credentials translated to actual fame and wealth, Bono would be ringing him up for advice on how to better market his band. Prophet’s career and influence dates back to the early ’80s and the roll call of musical figures he has worked with over the past four decades could fill a…
Blackbird Eatery — from the Owners of Green Dog Cafe/Buz — is an Undiscovered Dining Destination in O’Bryonville
After my two visits to the new Blackbird Eatery in O’Bryonville, it seems that the place hasn’t been discovered yet. In business for about two months, Blackbird was sparsely populated during both a Friday lunch and a weekend dinner. It sits around the corner from busy Madison Road between two other well-known dining destinations —…
The Fourth of July marks the 130th-anniversary of Cincinnati’s 1888 ‘World’s Fair’
They called it the “World’s Fair of Cincinnati.” When the Centennial Exposition of the Ohio Valley and Central States first began to enthrall onlookers 130 years ago, way back in 1888, it was nominally slated to celebrate the anniversary of the City of Cincinnati’s founding. More to the truth, this incredibly lavish year-long exposition gave…
Northern Kentucky AltSoul singer/songwriter JSPH releases smoldering new single, “Reasons”
Over the past couple of years, Joseph Nevels — the Northern Kentucky native who records and performs as JSPH — has released a succession of amazing singles, each one begging same the question: “How is this guy not a star yet?” Perhaps major-labels have instituted a new “no ears” policy for all employees that I’m…
Ohio Issues First Medicinal Marijuana Grow License
Weed cultivators, start your grow lamps. Well, hold up, actually, unless you're FN Group Holdings — the first applicant to receive a certificate of operations to grow medicinal marijuana from the state of Ohio. The company will grow the crop under the name Wellspring Fields in Ravenna, a town in Portage County southeast of Cleveland.…
Pureval campaign gets help from ‘West Wing’ star Martin Sheen; more news
Hello all. Here’s a quick news rundown to take us into the weekend. FC Cincinnati announced the team that will design and construct its $200 million stadium in the West End today. You can read more about the firms involved in our story here. FCC says it hopes to break ground on the stadium by…
Minimum Gauge: Snopes helps debunk viral music news rumor about that tortuous “Electric Slide” song being about a sex toy
HOT: Vibrating Music Rumor Debunked With all of the recent lunatic conspiracies emerging from the far-rightwing cesspool of emboldened racists and gullible idiots, you can practically hear the long, incredulous sighs behind the impossibly patient writing on rumor-debunking website Snopes. One of the latest pieces to ooze exasperation isn’t political, though. A theory on social…
REVIEW: One of Kentucky’s most bizarre heists is now the subject of a good movie
Truth, no matter how much we disagree, has always been about perception. Two people view the same incident, but from their different vantage points (even if the two people happen to be standing side-by-side), can we truly say they are seeing the same event, the same elements taking place at that exact moment? This question is…
New Over-the-Rhine art installation allows you to honor someone with a ceramic floral arrangement
This is the opening weekend for the Make Someone's Day installation by Bethany Pelle, a People's Liberty Globe Grant winner. It's at People's Liberty's Over-the-Rhine/Findlay Market Globefront, 1805 Elm St. She has set up a collaborative ceramics workshop where visitors can honor someone local by nominating them for a ceramic flower arrangement, create their own…
Cincinnati Fourth of July Fireworks and Festivities
TUESDAY 03 LaRosa’s Balloon Glow — Watch the sky illuminate with more than 30 hot air balloons of every color before a demonstration of Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks explode over the banks of Lake Como during the 19th-annual LaRosa’s Balloon Glow at Coney Island. Make Balloon Glow an all-day experience for the whole family by enjoying…
Ansel Adams, one of photography’s greatest names, is subject of new Taft Museum exhibit
Ansel Adams is considered one of America’s most famous and influential photographers because of his luminous black-and-white images of the west, especially the U.S.'s national parks like Yosemite. An exhibition currently at Downtown Cincinnati's Taft Museum of Art through Sept.16.The primary exhibition of 42 gelatin silver prints comes from the collection Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberger,…
Greater Cincinnati musicians honor the late Dolores O’Riordan with Cranberries tribute concert
When singer Dolores O’Riordan of the popular AltRock group The Cranberries (which had hits with songs like “Linger” and “Zombie”) died in January, Cincinnati musician Margaret Darling (formerly of local Indie Pop greats The Seedy Seeds) thought it would be cool to go to a Cranberries tribute show and pay her respects. When she looked…
FC Cincinnati Selects Firms for Design, Construction of West End Stadium
FC Cincinnati today announced the team that will design and construct its roughly $200 million soccer stadium in the West End. The stadium’s lead architect will be MEIS, a New York and Los Angeles-based firm that also designed Paul Brown Stadium. The firm has also designed a number of other Major League Soccer stadiums, including…
Blue Ash’s Summit Park Opens 150-foot Observation Tower
Though not the most notable ascent around town, the commute up Interstate 71 from Cincinnati is a gradual incline toward one of the highest points in Hamilton County: Blue Ash. And it’s now gotten a lot higher. The city has topped its 850-foot natural elevation by more than 150 feet with the installation of an…
Cincinnati artist Carol Tyler launches her new Beatles-related graphic memoir tonight at Shake It
At 7 p.m. tonight (Friday, June 29), artist/cartoonist Carol Tyler will be at Northside's Shake It Records to launch the signing of her new graphic memoir, Fab4 Mania! An illustrated facsimile of the diary she kept in1965, when she was 13. It recalls the influence the British band had on a teenage girl's life. Her…
Cincinnati-tested marijuana-based epilepsy drug first to get FDA approval; more news
Hello all! The dust is finally settled. Budget season is over. And as Cincinnati Council members pack their bags to go wherever it is they go on their council recess, I’m here with a news update. First off, what ended up in council’s final budget? You can read our story breaking it all down here…
Vetoes, deficits, and Drake quotes. Cincinnati’s budget process was a wild ride — here’s what you need to know.
It only took about a dozen hours of meetings last week, two mayoral vetoes and tangles over the name of a council member’s puppy, but Cincinnati City Council June 27 approved the city’s final fiscal year 2019 budget. The $407 million spending plan on the city's operating budget side boosts funds for human services organizations…
Your Kroger Groceries May Soon Be Delivered By a Robot Car
Over the past several years, Kroger and other supermarkets have started offering programs like Kroger's "ClickList," a system in which you can order your groceries online and pick them up when they're ready, or WholeFoods/Amazon's two-hour grocery delivery. These handy services eliminate the oftentimes stressful trip through the grocery store and help you avoid an…
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is Bringing Free Shakespeare to a Park Near You
The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will travel to a park near you to put on some of Shakespeare’s most memorable works this summer, including Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet and, this week, A Midsummer’s Night Dream. “Oh, what fools these mortals be,” amiright? The beloved play, among others, will run through Sept. 1. Lean back in…
Chocolate is the Star at this New Cincinnati Museum Center Exhibit
Discover the story behind chocolate, from its beginnings as a Mayan royal drink and favorite of the Aztec god Quetzacoatl to the first time it was mixed with sugar, which transformed it into the mass-produced and widely available guilty pleasure it is today. Learn about the cacao bean and “follow the history of chocolate culture…
Trans bill not Cincinnati lawmaker’s first controversial legislative move
State Rep. Tom Brinkman, a Republican representing Mount Lookout, stirred up ire from LGBTQ advocates recently when he proposed legislation that would require teachers and other “government agents” to notify parents when their students appear to be showing preferences for different gender identities. That law would also make administering gender dysphoria therapy to minors a…
Young Heirlooms and Sylmar represent Cincinnati at upcoming Ohio music showcase Adventures Fest
Fans of Ohio music and the great outdoors can get their kicks at a new music festival debuting July 21 on the riverfront of the Great Miami River. Adventures Fest features Indie Americana, Rock and Pop musical acts from throughout Ohio and offers opportunities for camping, kayaking, hiking and more activities on the river and…
LaRosa’s Balloon Glow Returns to Coney Island
Watch the sky illuminate with more than 30 hot air balloons of every color before a demonstration of Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks explode over the banks of Lake Como during the 19th-annual LaRosa’s Balloon Glow at Coney Island. Make Balloon Glow an all-day experience for the whole family by enjoying Coney’s rides, entertainment and Sunlite Water…
Jungle Jim’s Eastgate Hosts ‘Big Lebowski’ Blast
Dude man, the Coen Bros really know how to make a film, huh? Well Jungle Jim’s knows how to throw one mean Big Lebowski-themed party, complete with a screening of the cult classic movie — quoting is encouraged. Jungle Jim’s head chef will serve themed finger foods — Donny’s In N Out Sliders, Walter’s Show Dog…
