Photo: Chris Kromer
Black Signal
From Oct. 13-16, BLINK is taking over 30 blocks of downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and Covington with immersive illuminated experiences and installations.
It will certainly be a feast for the eyes, but BLINK producers also wanted to make sure the fest would be a feast for the ears.
“We like to joke internally that BLINK is secretly one of the largest music festivals in the Cincinnati area,” Justin Brookhart, executive director of BLINK, tells CityBeat.
This year, more than 75 artists are slated to play over the four-day festival, with stages located at Fountain Square, Washington Park, Ziegler Park, Court Street, The Banks, Hanna Park and in Covington.
[Find a map to the stages and all BLINK installations here]
Rob Mason, operations manager at AGAR (a BLINK executive partner), handles all of the talent booking for BLINK and has done so for both 2017’s and 2019’s events.
With co-bookers Justin Haley of Over-the-Rhine Bar Ghost Baby and Kick Lee of the Cincinnati Music Accelerator, Mason put out an open call for bands interested in playing BLINK and assembled a lineup of mostly local musicians. Bands like Carriers, Freedom Nicole Moore, Jess Lamb & The Factory, Leggy, Mol Sullivan, Multimagic, Vacation and Siri Imani are just some of the names on the lineup.
“I think that [the bands are] kind of beacons that say, hey, there’s something happening here. And it’s good to kind of guide people in different directions,” Mason says. “You might be comfortable in The Banks, but you might not be willing to walk from The Banks to Findlay Market. But if there’s different things going along the way that are kind of pulling you there, I think that can just add for a lot of different discovery and excitement and the kinds of memories that only can be made during that kind of experience.”
Here's the lineup for each stage (according to blinkcincinnati.com).
Fountain Square
Thursday- 7-8 p.m. Culture Queer
- 8-9 p.m. Noah Wotherspoon
- 9-10 p.m. Cole Baker
- 10-11 p.m. K-Drama
- 7-8 p.m. Renchler
- 9-10 p.m. Mandy Gaines
- 10-11 p.m. 3SideSayge
- 7-8 p.m. Deuces II
- 8-9 p.m. Keeps
- 9-10 p.m. Leggy
- 8-9 p.m. We Are The Walrus
- 9-10 p.m. Sound the Alarm
Washington Park
Thursday- 7-8 p.m. Olivia Meade
- 8-9 p.m. The Mistics
- 9-10 p.m. Soul Criminal
- 10-11 p.m. The Golden Theory
- 7-11 p.m. MUSE Cincinnati Women's Choir
- 7-8 p.m. Freedom Nicole Moore
- 8-9 p.m. The Harlequins
- 9-10 p.m. Vacation
- 10-11 p.m. Black Signal
- 7-8 p.m. Highway to Health
- 8-9 p.m. Tastefull
- 9-10 p.m. Dark Wave/Ready Player One Theme
Ziegler Park
Thursday- 7-9 p.m. DJ Mowgli
- 9-10 p.m. Harp by Victoria
- 10-11 p.m. Aimee Jo
- 7-8 p.m. Near Earth Objects
- 8-9 p.m. The Electric Indigo
- 9-10 p.m. Cultivate Movement Studios; Heavy Hinges
- 10-11 p.m. Siri Imani
- 7-8 p.m. Abby Vice
- 8-9 p.m. Mynah Tones
- 9-10 p.m. Mol Sullivan
- 10-11 p.m. Kendall Parke
- 7-8 p.m. Rachel Miller
- 8-9 p.m. Presto Bell Charles III
- 9-10 p.m. Jess Lamb & The Factory
Court Street
Thursday- 7-9 p.m. DJ Wavy Moe
- 9-10 p.m. The Tillers Duo
- 10-11 p.m. Gracetet
- 7-8 p.m. Lemon Sky
- 8-9 p.m. Carriers
- 10-11 p.m. Just Strange Brothers
- 8-9 p.m. National Barks
- 9-10 p.m. Bailey Miller
- 10-11 p.m. Us, Today
- 7-8 p.m. Heist
- 8-9 p.m. Chris Comer Trio
- 9-10 p.m. Go Go Buffalo
The Banks
Thursday- 8-9 p.m. Bill Donaldson
- 9-10 p.m. Maria Carrelli
- 10-11 p.m. New Royals
- 7-8 p.m. Shiny Old Soul
- 8-9 p.m. Moses
- 9-10 p.m. Devin Burgess
- 10-11 p.m. The Heavy Hours
- 7-8 p.m. Dead Humor
- 8-9 p.m. El Ritmo del Manana
- 9-10 p.m. Hydrophonics
- 10-11 p.m. Romel Sims & the 21c Strings
- 7-8 p.m. Queen City Silver Stars
- 8-9 p.m. Bershy
- 9-10 p.m. Multimagic
Hanna Park
Thursday- 7-9 p.m. Abiyah
- 9-11 p.m. Animal Crackers
- 7-9 p.m. Noah I Mean
- 8-10 p.m. Matt FX
- 10-11 p.m. Sons of Silverton
- 10:30-11 p.m. Matt FX
- 7-11 p.m. Enderrr
- 10-11 p.m. Ernie Johnson from Detroit
- 7:30-10 p.m. Colemine Records DJ
Covington
Thursday- 8-9 p.m. Sundae Drives
- 9-10 p.m. On the One
- 10-11 p.m. Elijah Baston
- 7-8 p.m. Coast Off
- 8-9 p.m. Slow Glows
- 9-10 p.m. Sungaze
- 10-11 p.m. Moonbeau
- 7-8 p.m. Sign Language; The Moon & the Stars
- 8-9 p.m. Spooky Dreamland
- 10-11 p.m. Daniel Bennett & the Dirty Shirleys
- 8-9 p.m. New Moons
- 9-10 p.m. Daniel in Stereo
Stay connected with CityBeat. Subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google News, Apple News and Reddit.
Send CityBeat a news or story tip or submit a calendar event.
