On June 1, area Blues singer/pianist/multi-instrumentalist Jimmy D. Rogers won the Cincy Blues Challenge competition for solo artists and duos after competing against several other performers at downtown club/restaurant Arnold’s. This Sunday, the Blues Challenge presents the band competition.
The Cincy Blues Society organizes the annual challenges, and the winners earn not only slots at the summertime Cincy Blues Fest (returning to Sawyer Point Park Aug. 1-2), but also a chance to compete against artists from across the globe at the International Blues Challenge held in Memphis early next year.
Sunday’s band contest again takes place at Germania Park (3529 W. Kemper Road, Dunlap), kicking off at 1 p.m. The event runs until 9 p.m. and admission is $15.
Slated to compete in the Blues Challenge this year are the Blue Birds Big Band, Jay Jesse Johnson, Tickled Pink, Rio & the Ramblers, The SoulFixers, Pett Crow, Tempted Souls Band, The Core, Johnny Fink and the Intrusion, Harvey-Roberts Band, Vivid Vibes, The Whiskey Shambles, The Doug Hart Band, Fuzzy Catfish, Jay’s Xperience, Chuck Brisbin & the Tuna Project, Blue Sacrifice, Noah Wotherspoon Band, Sonny Moorman Group, The Leroy Ellington Blues Band, Six Strings Down and Ralph and the Rhythm Hounds.
For more info, visit cincyblues.org.
More Local Notes
• This Saturday at Covington’s Madison Theater (madisontheateronline.com), Cincinnati foursome See You in the Funnies will celebrate the release of its debut album. The band has been a consistent presence on the local scene for the past few years, building a fanbase with its groovy AltPop/Rock, which features elements of Hip Hop (leading the band to self-describe its sound as “Grunge Hop”). Saturday’s album release show kicks off at 8 p.m. and is open to music lovers of all ages. The Newbees, Sundae Drives, City of Violence and Beloved Youth also perform. Admission is $10. For more on See You in the Funnies, visit seeyouinthefunnies.com.
• As singer/songwriter/guitarist Coran Stetter’s great Come on Caboose project grew more into a full-band endeavor, he decided to rechristen the group Multimagic. The quartet (rounded out by Trent Russelburg, Chris Cox and Brian Davis) solidified earlier this year and recently released its debut single, the warm, infectious Indie Pop gem “Let Go,” on iTunes and Spotify (it’s also available for free for a limited time at multimagic.bandcamp.com). Multimagic plays its very first show this Friday at Over-the-Rhine’s MOTR Pub (motrpub.com), joining local greats The Yugos for the free affair.
• Since being released nationally in early May, Wussy’s amazing latest album Attica! has been scoring an insane amount of neon-glowing reviews from many high profile outlets. Pitchfork, Pop Matters and Spin, among many others, have all given the album high praise (Spin also recently named it one of the Top 50 releases of the year so far, alongside albums by Beck, Pharrell and The Afghan Whigs). The band is playing its only local show until at least this fall on Friday, as the group keeps busy on the road throughout the summer, crisscrossing the country in support of Attica! Wussy joins The Tigerlilies, Honey & Houston and students from the School of Rock Mason for a free show Friday on Fountain Square as part of the MidPoint Indie Summer series. Keep up with the latest Wussy happenings at wussy.org.
• For the second year, Northern Kentucky’s Diocesan Catholic Children’s Home — which helps children and families in the areas of foster care, adoption, therapy and much more — will host a family-friendly musical fundraiser, the DCCH Music and Arts Festival, showcasing numerous local acts. The fest takes place Friday (starting at 6 p.m.) and Saturday (starting at 4 p.m.) at the DCCH Center (75 Orphanage Road, Ft. Mitchell, Ky.). Artists scheduled to appear include The Mitchells, Hickory Robot, Ben Knight & the Welldiggers, Jody Stapleton, The Cincy Brass, The Ready Stance, Jamison Road, The Carter New Band, Jeremy Pinnell & the 55’s and more. Admission is just a $5 donation per vehicle. Visit dcchcenter.org for more info on the festival and the cause.
• The 2014 Second Sunday on Main season kicks off this week along Main Street in Over-the-Rhine, between 13th and Liberty streets. Now in their ninth year, the events (running, in case you can’t figure it out, the second Sunday of each month through October) offer a wide range of activities and performances, including plenty of local musical acts. This week’s “Main Street Block Party” will feature a slew of local vendors, food trucks, a dog parade, a community yard sale and much more. Music-wise, you can catch performances by Serenity Fisher and Michael G. Ronstadt, Whitfield Crocker, Mark Utley, Jack Burton Overdrive, Josh Eagle, The Hot Magnolias, The Ranglinaires and many others. The free event runs noon-5 p.m. More details can be found at secondsundayonmain.org.
CONTACT mike breen: [email protected] or @CityBeatMusic
