Athens, Ohio's Orchestral Folk Rock ensemble The Ridges has become a Cincinnati favorite thanks to frequent visits, including during several past MidPoint Music Festivals. The band is returning to MPMF this year for a pair of showcases. Since last year's MPMF appearance, the group has toured extensively (hitting the South, Midwest and East Coast hard), played seven (!) showcases at Austin, Texas' South By Southwest and, most recently, opened for Indie stars Ra Ra Riot.
The Ridges will play MidPoint again this year, on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Mr. Pitiful's on Main Street in Over-the-Rhine. The band made a promotional video for its official MPMF showcase, featuring a clip of an unreleased song called "Shadows."
In addition to the official showcase, The Ridges have curated the musical lineup for FotoFocus Presents: The MidPoint Sessions, an afternoon "day party" to celebrate the concert photography exhibit Reverberation: Capturing the Live Music Experience at the Art Academy of Cincinnati's Childlaw Gallery (1212 Jackson St., Over-the-Rhine, just off the MidPoint Midway).
Though not officially affiliated with MidPoint, the showcase and exhibit are great examples of some of the cool auxiliary events that are scheduled around official MPMF events. The exhibit will be open longer during MidPoint; fans can check out the show until 9 p.m. on Sept. 26 and 10 p.m. on Sept. 27-28. The exhibit closes Sept. 29.
For The MidPoint Sessions, The Ridges have invited some of their fellow Ohio musician pals (and fellow MPMF 2013 showcasers) to join in on Saturday, Sept. 28's event at the Art Academy. Cincinnati's The Happy Maladies and Molly Sullivan, as well as Columbus, Ohio's great Indigo Wild are also slated to play. The performances are being filmed by The Queen City Project; look for video of the artists' Sessions after MidPoint.
