This story originally appeared in our May 27-June 9 print edition. Check out the edition online here and find where you can get a print edition near you here.
Summer’s here and to celebrate, CityBeat has put together a special summer playlist to get things started and keep it going all summer long.
There’s something for everyone. Whether you’re a fan of bluegrass, punk, electronica or hip hop, we’ve got you covered with Cincinnati sounds from local artists across almost every genre and style, highlighting many recent releases with a few cuts from the history of Cincinnati music thrown in to celebrate the past alongside the present.
This playlist (which you can listen to here) is just a taste of what’s out there and what Cincinnati music has to offer — a gift from CityBeat to you, the readers. But really, the music that comes from this city is a gift to all of us — so get out and find it, tell a friend, and support the artists, creative communities and venues that we’re lucky enough to have right down the street. Most of all, enjoy it.
Happy summer from CityBeat.
“Red Roof” by Spoils
Spoils’ debut, “Find Later,” released a few years ago drew immediate attention, “Red Roof” off their new record “Mile Wide Inch Deep” proves they were worth watching. The band continues their knack for skillful and varied arrangements and dynamic layering of sounds. “Red Roof” is pleasantly hard to define by genre with its range of style. It’s part laidback alt pop rooted in punk, part chamber pop, part folk. Either way, it’s inspiring.
“Triple Ones” by Artificial Go
“Triple Ones” is one side of a seven-inch record that comes out this June on Carpark Records. The song is an upbeat, kinetic art punk nugget that the band says was written in frustration but is about turning anger into joy. Artificial Go are on tour in Europe now and touring the west coast after summer. Two members of the band also debuted a new project titled “Age of Peace” in recent months that’s worth a mention.
“Good Feeling” by Soledad Brothers
Garage rock legends the Soledad Brothers originally formed near Toledo, Ohio at the turn of the century, but members Brian Olive and Johnny Walker both, luckily, call Cincinnati home. Olive has released a handful of great solo releases and Walker heads up likeminded local blues influenced garage rock group All-Seeing Eyes. The band, which also features Ben Swank on drums, have had a couple of reunions over the years but will be getting together this summer for a semi-rare string of dates in Europe that will include a performance here at home for the event of the summer for Cincinnati music: the Northside Rock N’ Roll Carnival on Fourth of July weekend.
“Duvateen“ by Afghan Whigs
This poignant, reflective song is the most recent release from The Afghan Whigs, a band who came from Cincinnati and went to the world after being signed to SubPop Records in 1989, then later to major label Elektra Records, finding success on the alternative side of ’90s pop culture before splitting in 2001. The band have since reunited and long become an influential and well-established group, at-large. They’re on tour now celebrating their 40th anniversary and had a recent stop at Bogart’s at the beginning of May when the band appeared on a recent CityBeat cover. Singer Greg Dulli’s voice and the band’s drive is as immediate as ever, maintaining a rawness likely affected by the city the band came up in. The sound of Short Vine, Sudsy Malones and the Cincinnati underground of the late ’80s/early ’90s and a group of musicians trying to carve out something unique. Forty years later and they’ve done just that.
“Cincinnatian” by Billy Fortune Unit
Billy Fortune has appeared on these playlists in years past as a solo artist, but this track from the Bluegrass Unit, is a welcome first for the group. The song is a fine addition to Cincinnati music and modern bluegrass, carrying on traditions born not too far from here just south of the other side of the Ohio River. It’s also a fine addition to this playlist with its theme of traveling and making your way somewhere, mentioning travelling from city to city by train. Perfect for summer drives or train rides.
“Make Something Happen” by Smarm
This track is from one of the newest groups on this list but made up of longtime Cincinnati music contributors. The song is fronted by local legend Eric Stein (Grotesque Brooms, The Griefs, The Greenhornes) and creates a wave of immediacy with its forward moving drive and call to “make something happen” and taking things into your own hands.
“World of Trouble” by The Montvales
Longtime Knoxville friends turned duo Sally Buice and Molly Rochelson moved to Cincinnati a few years back after finding a good musical home here, and we’re lucky for it. The duo who both write and sing, often together in harmony, take on blunt subjects and modern life through the timeless touch of Americana and southern music traditions. Their previous full-length “Born Strangers” amazed from start to finish and this track off their followup, “Path of Totality,” continues the good work they’ve been doing and proves they have more to say.
“Green” by KNOTTS
Released at the beginning of May, “Green” is another piece of poignant pop by Cincinnati based singer-songwriter KNOTTS who has appeared on several CityBeat playlists over the last couple years and for good reason, singer-songwriter Adalia Powell-Boehne has a knack for powerful vocal delivery, catchy hooks and pitch perfect production choices. Off the upcoming album “Together is a Feast” out in July, “Green” is on the more subtle side of her output but the chorus, boosted by the track’s production and her vocal, soars skyward towards, seemingly conquering any of life’s trials.
“Temptations” by Devin Burgess feat. Turich Benjy
Devin Burgess, also known as KEI$HA, is a prolific figure in Cincinnati hip hop collaborating with other artists and hosting live events in addition to his own output. “Temptations” released on HEAUX (OST) is an electronica fever dream about rising above. The track also features another local heavy hitter, Turich Benjy, delivering a verse of defiance. Perfect for late-night drives across the city. “Drink Responsibly (DARK SHADOWS FREESTYLE)”, released earlier this year, is also worth adding to your summer playlist.
“First Pitch Strikes” by Mavis Guitar
Mavis Guitar is a project from local pedal steel and guitar player Travis Talbert who backs heavy hitters like Wussy and Maura Weaver. Talbert released a collection of mood inducing, cinematic instrumentals titled “Pedal Steel Trio” in April as part of his own project, Mavis Guitar featuring Wil Talbert on drums and Nick Vogelpohl on bass backing Talbert on pedal steel. “First Pitch Strikes” is the opening track on the record and sets the mood featuring elements of ambient music with contemplative melody backed by a near funk drum and bass groove.
“Wham!” by Lonnie Mack
Influential guitar player Lonnie Mack recorded his debut “Memphis” in 1963 for local record label Fraternity with a few minutes of remaining studio time while working as a backing musician. The song went to No. 4 on the Billboard R&B chart and was his biggest hit, but “Wham!,” released that same year, is a freewheeling explosion of energy with wild and expressive style and the unhinged, innovative guitar work that Mack is known for. Perfect for any summer playlist or your next beach party, hootenanny, blow-out or shindig. The Fraternity label also put out another local classic worthy of summer playlist listening, The Casinos’ 1967 No. 6 Billboard hit “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye”.
“thriftstorecandles” by GrandAce
GrandAce is another CityBeat playlist veteran. With his otherworldly production and laid back vocal delivery, his work is perfect for the playlist because it takes the listener in new and unexpected directions. The production on “thriftstorecandles” is so dense and varied it almost seems like it shouldn’t work but the patchwork of sounds blends just right like a collage or a collection of thrift store finds arranged in strange harmony.
“Circles” by Victoria Lekson
Harpist Victoria Lekson has been a utility player, of sorts, in the music scene over the last few years working with local artists like Annie D and Jess Lamb, among others, along with touring artists. Lekson is able to make varied use of her instrument, from the inherent ethereal quality of the harp to more dissonant and abrasive sounds and expressive touches. This recording covering a Mac Miller song is a contemplative meditation on the original. Lekson will get a chance to perform at this year’s Nelsonville Music Festival backed by local saxophone player Ziaire Trinidad Sherman and drummer Nate Trammel.
“Cincinnati, Ohio” by Connie Smith
This 1967 classic by country singer Connie Smith covering Bill Anderson is a Cincinnati playlist essential. The song’s synonymous with the city for obvious reasons but also because it’s sung at Cincinnati Reds games, America’s pastime and a summer favorite.
“Lessons (Ladders of Light)” by Ascension Day
This sweeping piece of psychedelic, synth pop transcends the standard pop song form. It starts off as a sweeping, contemplative wall of sound before expanding into something else, like a piece of music akin to ambient composers like Brian Eno or Terry Riley. It becomes a meditative exploration clocking in at over 14 minutes.
This article appears in May 27 – June 9, 2026.