• The ever-growing Whispering Beard Folk Festival returns this week for four days of Folk, Americana, Bluegrass, Country and Roots music, much of it provided by artists from the Greater Cincinnati area. The festival (which is “camping-friendly”) takes place at the Old Mill Campground (7249 First St., Friendship, Ind.), which is about an hour southwest of Cincinnati.
Whispering Beard — which has become a much-anticipated event for Americana fans in the region — begins Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. and continues through Sunday afternoon, with the Mt. Pleasant String Band closing things out at 2 p.m. (Music runs all day and night — with special late-night sets planned — on Friday and Saturday.)
Other local acts joining touring headliners like Robbie Fulks (see Sound Advice on page 50), Joseph Huber and Tim Easton (among other regional/national acts) include The Tillers, Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle, Easy Tom Eby, Dawg Yawp, My Brother the Bear, David Faul, The Rubber Knife Gang, Arlo McKinley, Jeremy Pinnell, Frontier Folk Nebraska, Maria Carrelli, Krystal Peterson and HuTown Holler. Just as the Cincy Blues Fest offers a great snapshot of the city’s rich Blues scene, Whispering Beard is the perfect way to check out many of the finest Roots/Americana artists in the area.
Full fest passes are $75 in advance or $80 at the gate. Single-day tickets are $40 for Friday or Saturday and $20 for Thursday. Tickets (including campsite reservations) can be purchased at cincyticket.com. For complete fest info, visit whisperingbeard.com.
• This Friday through Sunday, Urban Artifact (1660 Blue Rock St., Northside, artifactbeer.com) plays host to the first Bewilderfest, another local-music-heavy event that features a wide range of styles (and also a wide selection of special beers from around the world). According to the mission statement on the fest website, performers are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones — the goal of the three-day affair is to “twist the usual, bend the standards and jump to new conclusions,” so fest-goers can expect uncommon sets and covers from some of the area’s more interesting and creative artists. All three days of the festival are free to those 21 and up; for those 18-20, admission is just $5. Music begins at 4 p.m. Friday and Sunday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Local acts to appear Friday at the inaugural Bewilderfest include Vampire Weekend at Bernie’s, Lung, Leggy, Coconut Milk, mr.phylzzz, Filthy Beast, Dynamite Thunderpunch, Lipstick Fiction and The Terror Electric. Cincinnati area artists in Saturday’s lineup include Injecting Strangers, Trxlleydxdgers, Buggs Tha Rocka, Go Go Buffalo, 1-71 Stranglers (featuring Wussy’s Chuck Cleaver and Clinton Jacob of mr.phylzzz/Trxlleydxdgers), Jim Trace & the Makers, Fycus, Sundae Drives, Colors in Mind and Expeditions. For Sunday’s lineup, locals like Mad Anthony, The Whiskey Shambles, New Moons, Wonky Tonk, The Mark Borison Vanity Project, The Grove and Father Smash and the Revival are slated to appear.
More details are available at bewilderfest.com.
The Reanimated Reanimates
Cincinnati Horror Punk favorites The Reanimated drew a lot of attention in its six-year run before quitting in 2013, releasing a pair of full-lengths and an EP and becoming a constant presence on the local club scene.
There was never any huge “farewell show,” but this Saturday at Backstage Café (724 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky.), the band is, well, reanimating for a special, one-night-only show to raise funds to help the group’s guitarist Adam Alone, who suffered some medical issues earlier this year that have placed a heavy financial burden on his family. All of the admission money ($5 minimum donation; $10 suggested donation) will go to help Alone.
The fun starts at 6 p.m. The Reanimated will be joined on the bill by The Big Bad, The Lurking Corpses and GeeGee’s Punk Rock All Stars.
For more on the show, visit citybeat.com this week for Nick Grever’s preview.
CONTACT MIKE BREEN: mbreen@citybeat.com
This article appears in Aug 24-31, 2016.