This weekend at The Southgate House Revival (111 E. Sixth St., Newport, southgatehouse.com), numerous Cincinnati musical acts will pay tribute to Northern Kentucky radio station WNKU (89.7 FM; wnku.org). It’s fitting and not the first time local artists have teamed up to raise money for the station, one of the very few radio outlets in the region to consistently play local music (even putting many area artists into its regular rotation).
“Show Your Love: A Benefit for WNKU” was organized by the people behind the fall’s Good People Festival and will take over the Southgate Friday and Saturday, with music running on all three of the venues stages. According to WNKU’s website, the event was originally intended to be a one-day affair, but the response was so great, it expanded to two nights and now features 30 acts, a nod to the station’s 30 years on the air. The fest is heavy on local acts, but also includes a few national touring artists and some regional performers who can now hear WNKU on the airwaves since it expanded to include signals out of Middletown, Ohio (105.9 FM), and Portsmouth, Ohio (104.1 FM). The sound of the lineup largely reflects WNKU’s eclectic mix, which includes various shades of Rock and Roots music.
On Friday in the Southgate House Revival’s Sanctuary room, Wild Carrot kicks things off, followed by 500 Miles to Memphis, acclaimed touring artists Jason Wilber and Will Kimbrough and hometown greats The Tillers. In the Revival Room on Friday, Alone at 3AM, Frontier Folk Nebraska, the Noah Wotherspoon Band and Arlo McKinley & the Lonesome Sound perform, with esteemed Mississippi singer/songwriter Charlie Mars headlining. Friday’s Lounge lineup features My Brother The Bear, South Vienna, Ohio’s The Great Wide Open, Dayton, Ohio’s The Repeating Arms and The Part-Time Gentlemen.
Saturday’s Show Your Love festivities begin in the Sanctuary with The Bromwell Diehl Band, followed by The Newbees, Buffalo Wabs & The Price Hill Hustle, Cincy native and Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band vocalist Noah Hunt with The Scotty Bratcher Band and The Cliftones. West Virginia’s William Matheny kicks things off Saturday in the Revival Room, joined by Ben Knight & The Well Diggers, Lexington, Ky.’s Tyler Childers, Columbus, Ohio’s Hocking River String Band and Canadian crew New Country Rehab. Saturday in the Lounge, Cincy’s Willow Tree Carolers and The Ready Stance will be joined by Indiana’s Nick Dittmeier Band and The 220 Breakers, plus Chillicothe, Ohio’s BMV.
Music starts at 7:30 on Friday and Saturday. Tickets for each night are available at ticketfly.com (click here for Friday and here for Saturday) for $20; two-night passes are also available for $30 and VIP weekend tickets — which include admission to a 5 p.m. pre-show reception Saturday featuring food, drinks and live music from Chardez and others — are $50. All proceeds go to WNKU.
SUB: More Local Notes
• Sunday at The Greenwich (2442 Gilbert Ave., Walnut Hills, the-greenwich.com), BLUEbridgeJAZZ, an area Jazz concert presenter, will host the BHM Drum Summit. The show will offer historical context about the importance of drums in African culture and have some poets provide spoken word pieces. The highlight will be performances from three of Cincinnati’s top Jazz drummers — Art Gore, Melvin Broach and Anthony T Lee (who’s now based in Brooklyn, N.Y.). Pianist William Menefield and bassist Brandon Meeks will also perform with the drummers. Showtime is 6:30 p.m. and admission is $15 (which includes free food and valet service).
• The popular Tie Dye Ball benefit concert returns this Friday for its sixth annual event, featuring live music from local Jam band favorites Spookfloaters and Jerry’s Little Band. This year’s ball takes place at The Redmoor (3187 Linwood Ave., Mount Lookout, theredmoor.com) and a portion of the proceeds go to the local Play It Forward organization, which assists Tristate musicians in health and/or financial emergencies. (Read more about the charity’s mission at pifcincy.org.) Doors open at 7 p.m. (there will be food available) and music begins at 9 p.m. Along with ticket sales, money will be raised through various “split the pot” drawings and raffles. Tickets (available only at the door) are $10.
• Post Hardcore quartet Glassworld (featuring former members of All My Friends are Dead, The Rose Hill and other local bands) hosts a release party this Saturday in honor of its debut, the EP Breaking Free. Saturday’s 7 p.m. show, featuring special guests The Protest, Ocean Grid, Where are the Warriors and K-Drama, takes place at all-ages venue The Underground (1140 Smiley Ave., Forest Park, theug.com). Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 day of show. Visit facebook.com/glassworldband for more on the group.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN : [email protected]
