Today is my last day as CityBeat’s editor-in-chief.

For nearly four years, I have been at the helm of a publication I’ve long admired. This job has completely changed my life — it introduced me to some of the best people I’ve ever known and pushed me to become a better journalist and citizen.

Since 1994, CityBeat has occupied a unique space in the media landscape as a truly independent publication — an alternative to the daily papers, with fantastic investigative reporting on underrepresented topics and essential coverage of the arts, culture, music, food and much more. As former editor-in-chief Maija Zummo said in her goodbye message when I took over her role, I was only able to run a thriving alt-weekly — in an era when alt-weeklies are shuttering left and right — thanks to the CityBeat staffers who came before me. They navigated the turbulent waters of the 2008 recession, the COVID-19 pandemic and countless other curveballs to keep CityBeat standing strong today.

Of course, as you likely know, things are a bit different now. Since I was hired in 2022, CityBeat ownership has changed hands three times. Most recently, in December, LINK Media acquired CityBeat, becoming the first local company to own CityBeat since its inception.

Though I faced plenty of challenges as editor-in-chief of a small publication, those hardships are outweighed by the important work I was able to do alongside my fellow staffers. This job has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

So why am I leaving if this has been so rewarding? First, I truly believe I’ve done everything I can to help secure CityBeat’s future. CityBeat is in far better shape than it was even a few months ago, and I have every confidence that LINK Media will preserve — and strengthen — CityBeat’s unique legacy. Second, I have accepted a position at the Dayton Daily News, which means I’ll be able to move back home and be closer to my family as I prepare to give birth to my first child.

It’s no secret that the media is struggling to cope with major challenges — from funding cuts to changing consumption habits to outright antagonism from the Trump administration. If I can ask one thing of our readers, it’s this: Stay engaged with local news and local politics. Many of us feel disconnected — from each other and from our communities — and, in my opinion, there is no better way back to civic life than paying attention to what’s happening where you live, work and play. Local news is one of the best antidotes to apathy.

Meghan Goth, an incredibly talented journalist and the executive editor of LINK nky, will take over my duties after today. She can be reached at mgoth@linknky.com.

Thank you for supporting CityBeat and local, independent journalism. Your support has truly changed my life for the better.

The post Ashley Moor Ends Her Tenure as CityBeat’s Editor-in-Chief appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Cincinnati’s arts and culture scene took some unexpected turns in 2025, and CityBeat was there for all of it — the rise of a beloved local clown, viral greeting cards, exotic pet owners and even the race to host Sundance. Here’s a look back at the stories that defined the city’s arts and culture scene in 2025.

Getting to Know Softmaxplus, the Clown about Town

Cincinnati is home to a famous clown. Beginning in the summer of 2023, author Michael Sawan, aka Softmaxplus, began wearing clown makeup and donning a suit to promote his books. Over two years later, Softmaxplus has racked up tens of thousands of social media followers who love watching him interview Cincinnatians of all varieties with a heavy dose of humor. In January, CityBeat writer Nadya Ellerhorst followed Softmaxplus along on his hilarious adventures to get a sense of what the life of a modern-day clown is truly like.

Greater Cincinnati Greeting Card Maker Brings Laughter With Trump-Themed Grief Cards

For those grieving the re-election of President Donald Trump in January, local greeting card maker and paper goods company Colette Paperie was there to lighten the mood with Trump-themed grief cards. One of the Trump grief cards, a Christmas-themed one, went viral on Threads. “Merry Christmas, I guess…let’s enjoy the last few weeks before the apocalypse,” reads the card. “Welp, time to disassociate for the next four years,” reads another.

CityBeat Brought Back Personal Ads in Time for Valentine’s Day

In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, CityBeat had its own personals section, titled “CINgles,” located in the classified ads portion of CityBeat’s print issue, laid out next to relationship editorials from contributors like Erma P. Sanders and her “Dating Diva” column, and Dan Savage’s “Savage Love” column. Personal ads were great, novel ways to find love — or perhaps something else — until the Internet came along with newer dating alternatives and personal ads became less popular. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we decided to resuscitate this vintage matchmaking tool for those disillusioned with modern dating practices and ready to try something new. Singles from all over Greater Cincinnati crafted heartfelt personal ads and detailed their missed connections for CityBeat’s Feb. 5 issue.

Documentary Explores Legacy of King Records

A new documentary released in March explored the impact and legacy of record label King Records, one of the most famous Cincinnati contributions to the history of music. The documentary, King of Them All, retells the story of King Records with archival footage and audio, in addition to interviews with King session drummer Philip Paul, singer Otis Williams and James Brown tour manager Alan Leeds. (Brown’s foundational career was built at King Records.) Director Yemi Oyediran also set out to highlight the unique diversity of talent at King Records. In the 1940s and ‘50s, when most workplaces were still segregated, the record label championed work from Black, white and poor people — all working in the same space to create early iterations of rock and roll and country music. “I wanted poor kids in Appalachia, urban kids and suburban kids in Arizona to see reflections of themselves and what they can create. King Records’ story is about possibility — it’s about people who built something incredible with very little,” Oyediran told CityBeat.

Boulder Beats Out Cincinnati to Host the Sundance Film Festival

In March, after months of campaigning for the honor of hosting the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, Cincinnatians found out that Boulder, Colorado, beat out the Queen City to become the new home for the festival starting in 2027. It was first revealed in July of 2024 that Cincinnati was a finalist in the contest to take over hosting duties from Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. In the intervening months, Mayor Aftab Pureval, Film Cincinnati and what felt like the entire city were advocating for Cincinnati’s film scene to finally get the recognition it deserves. Despite losing out on the opportunity to host the film festival, Kristen Schlotman of Film Cincinnati said that she’s still incredibly proud of Cincinnati’s film scene. “While Cincinnati was not selected to host the Sundance Film Festival, we are proud of how our city demonstrated its dynamic role within the film industry. Our proposal focused on long-term sustainability, growth, equity, accessibility, and aimed to deliver a unique and elevated festival experience — all qualities that mirror the evolving priorities of film festivals worldwide,” she said.

The Weird, Wild and Misunderstood Pets Living in Greater Cincinnati

This year, CityBeat tried something a little bit different for our annual Pet Issue — we put a spotlight on the stranger side of pet ownership in Greater Cincinnati. CityBeat writer Sarah Walsh interviewed local owners of exotic and atypical pets — from skunks and cockroaches to Savannah cats and bobwhite quails — to better understand what drew them to their nontraditional pet friends and how daily life is just a bit different for them.

Joe Burrow Stars in Quarterback Netflix Series

At long last, fans champing at the bit for a more intimate look at Joe Burrow’s life got their wish when the Bengals quarterback starred in the second season of the Netflix show Quarterback. The show followed Burrow — and fellow quarterbacks Jared Goff and Kirk Cousins — as he faced ups and downs during his 2024-25 NFL season. Fans were given behind-the-scenes access to the personal struggles Burrow faced throughout the season, including the publicized burglary of his home in Cincinnati.

Kings Island Revives Phantom Theater Ride

In August, Kings Island announced that it would be closing Boo Blasters on Boo Hill, a family-friendly, arcade-style ride that first opened in 2010 as a reimagining of the Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Castle ride. A few weeks later, the theme park revealed what would be replacing the beloved family-friendly game — and it played on fans’ early 2000s nostalgia. Beginning next year, the once-popular Phantom Theater ride will return from a 20-year hiatus, equipped with modern technology to help it appeal to an uninitiated audience. The Phantom Theater will be located in Boo Blasters’ old location. The ride will be called Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare and it will make its debut in the spring.

Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati Returns to Historic Emery Theater

For the first time since 1969, the Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati (TCT) returned to the historic Emery Theater in Over-the-Rhine in October. In 1912, the Emery Theater first opened as a new home for the then-17-year-old Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. TCT, America’s oldest professional theater for young audiences, staged its shows at the Emery from 1949 through 1969, ultimately leaving in 1970 to stage their shows at Taft Theatre. In the ’90s, the space fell into disrepair until developers Dave Neyer and Chris Frutkin saw its hidden potential and facilitated the facelift that made it possible for TCT’s homecoming in October.

America’s River Roots Festival Brings Music and Riverboat Fun to the Ohio Riverfront

In May of 2024, Greater Cincinnati leaders revealed that a brand new event would be taking over the riverfront the following year, and it sounded very similar to the once-beloved Tall Stacks event that ended in 2006. America’s River Roots took over Greater Cincinnati riverfronts in October with live music, riverboat cruises, exhibitions, vendors, food, booze and more to show off the area’s river culture. At the time, leaders estimated that around one million people would flock to the riverfronts to take part in the America’s River Roots festivities — though only hundreds of thousands of visitors inevitably attended the four-day festival. This might be because of a series of last-minute changes (or setbacks, some might say), such as the decision to cancel the headlining performances from Weezer, Maren Morris, Mt. Joy and Janelle Monae, led to some confusion about the event just weeks before it was slated to take place.

This story is featured in CityBeat’s Dec. 24 print edition.

The post 10 Arts & Culture Stories that Made an Impact on Greater Cincinnati in 2025 appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Are you a self-described music nerd? Do you love to connect with others about your love of music? If so, CityBeat is launching a new music club that will be right up your alley. 

The CityBeat Music Club, launching in November, is like a book club, but for music lovers. Each month, members will listen to two albums — a national album and an album by a local musician  — and discuss them at the CityBeat Music Club meetings. 

Along with discussions about each album, the musician or band behind the local album will also be present at that month’s meeting to discuss the inspiration and story behind the album. 

The CityBeat Music Club will be held on the first Wednesday of every month from 7-8 p.m. at Alien Records, located at 1207 Vine St. in Over-the-Rhine. The club will be hosted by CityBeat Editor-in-Chief Ashley Moor-Mahoney and CityBeat music writer Brent Stroud.

The first edition of the CityBeat Music Club will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 5 from 7-8 p.m. at Alien Records. We will be discussing Neon Grey Midnight Green by Neko Case and Strange Devotion by Cincinnati musician Maura Weaver. Weaver will be present at the meeting to discuss her album. 

Participation in the CityBeat Music Club is free, but you must register here first in order to attend. 

The post CityBeat is Launching a Free Music Club appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Every year, the lineup for Bourbon & Beyond makes me shriek with excitement — and this year’s lineup was no different. Over the course of four days, 2025 festivalgoers had the opportunity to see 117 musical acts across five stages — including The Lumineers, Pixies, Alabama Shakes, Khruangbin, Goo Goo Dolls, Rilo Kiley, Third Eye Blind, Ringo Starr and much, much more.

The only catch to this year’s festivities? I’m pregnant, and the very last thing a pregnant person wants to do is stand for hours in the heat with only a Porta Potty for shade. Did I still do the unthinkable, and take my hormonal, fragile ass to a music festival? Of course I did (safely). Bourbon & Beyond is just that magical. 

For the uninitiated, Bourbon & Beyond is a four-day bourbon, food and music festival at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The musical lineup typically includes a healthy mix of rock and roll, blues, country and indie acts. Between sets, fans can sip bourbon, sample dishes from dozens of vendors, check out culinary demos or even hop on rides at Kentucky Kingdom. The festival is put on by Danny Wimmer Presents, an entertainment company that produces large rock, metal and alternative music festivals throughout the United States. 

Despite the fact that I couldn’t imbibe or admire the festival grounds from the amusement park rides, I was still so excited to see some of my favorite bands and artists over the course of four days. 

For starters, though organizers always make it sound as though parking will be an unimaginable nightmare, I found parking spots quite easily at the expo center each day, though $40 per day did hurt a little bit. This also brings me to another point — the cost of festival passes. Prior to heading to the festival, I saw folks grumbling on Reddit (a favorite place to grumble about everything under the sun) about the costs of festival passes this year. A four-day general admission pass sets you back around $485 this year — that’s a little over $4 per act. Plus, many people are not going to fork over hundreds of dollars to catch one or two bands they love — you are forking over the money to see dozens of acts that you love. You are coming for the festival experience. Just catch Jack White at his next show and stop whining. Anywho…

This year, organizers expanded the festival grounds to include new festival stages, a second festival entrance (which made it even easier to get in each day), more shaded areas (a godsend for an overheated pregnant gal) and an air conditioned building for merchandise. 

I got to the festival on Thursday just in time to see Michael Marcagi’s set on one of the main stages. Marcagi is a Cincinnati native who has found mainstream success with his hit song “Scared to Start.” His set was like a warm hug (but not too warm) and set the tone for a great day of music. I ended up sticking around the mainstages on Thursday to see an entire lineup of musical acts that I adored but had never seen live, including Jade Bird, Waxahatchee (Katie Crutchfield’s show was a festival highlight for me), TV On the Radio and Cage the Elephant. While the weather wasn’t nearly as stifling hot as it was last year, I found myself slowly melting under the afternoon sun. Even simply watching the lead singer of Cage the Elephant, Matt Shultz, dance around the stage for nearly an hour made me feel uncomfortably sweaty. Any pregnancy-induced crankiness that I felt that afternoon quickly evaporated during each amazing set. 

As I stood in line for barbecue, Benson Boone backflipped onto the mainstage. The nearby crowd responded with equal parts eyerolls and excited exclamations. 

The night ended (for me) with performances by Alabama Shakes and The Lumineers, two bands that I have previously seen and will always gladly see time and time again. The last time I saw Alabama Shakes was on the USS Intrepid in New York City in 2017, so it was hard to top that performance for me. Damn, does Brittany Howard know how to put on a show, though. And this show was especially sweet because the band just released new music for the first time in a decade and the excitement in the crowd was palpable. The Lumineers brought great energy to end the first night of the festival, and even invited Derek Trucks of the Tedeschi Trucks Band on to the stage for a special performance. 

I also made sure to get to the festival at a reasonable time on Friday so that I didn’t miss the performance from Iron & Wine. The only disadvantage of an earlier performance during Bourbon & Beyond (beyond the soaring afternoon temperatures) is that the performers only get 30 to 40 minutes onstage. Given the time crunch, Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam) rolled through the hits. 

To be perfectly honest, I lay in the shade and chugged water for a better part of Friday in fear that I wouldn’t have the stamina to last until the end of the day. Thankfully, my afternoon recuperation helped fuel me through performances by The Paper Kites and Khruangbin. I had never seen Khruangbin before, so it was a special treat to groove along with thousands of other festivalgoers. 

I did not stay for the last performance of the night from Phish. I am decidedly not a Phish fan, so I used that as an excuse to get to bed at a reasonable time. 

Saturday was without a doubt the best day of the festival for music lovers (or at least for me). I started off the day strong by seeing Marcy Playground perform a sing-along version of “Sex and Candy,” followed by an exhilarating performance from another ‘90s alternative band, Third Eye Blind. The ‘90s anthems were followed by anthems from previous decades by Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, which included other icons aside from Starr, including Colin Hay from Men at Work, Steve Lukather from Toto and Hamish Stuart from Average White Band. I lay on the grass and listened to many hits I recognized, played for an especially exuberant crowd. Then I headed back to the 100 Proof Stage to hear Dawes and Rilo Kiley. 

The performance from Rilo Kiley was probably my favorite of the entire festival. For the first time in over a decade, the band, consisting of indie music heavyweights Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Jason Boesel and Pierre de Reeder, performed live for a crowd full of aging millennials like myself who found their refuge in their music. 

Without knowing it then, I wrapped up my 2025 Bourbon & Beyond experience by seeing the Pixies in what felt like a fever dream of aching feet and sleepiness. I ended the night singing along to Pixies songs like “Debaser,” “Where Is My Mind” and “Here Comes Your Man” surrounded by new and old Pixies fans. I even put my hand on my stomach and sang a few lines to my son, imagining his music taste forming in utero (fingers crossed). It was an unforgettable end to the evening. 

I woke up the next morning with the worst head cold I’ve had in a long time, so I decided standing around for hours listening to a fourth day of music might not be the best call. Regardless, I was so lucky to spend yet another unforgettable year at what I would consider one of the best music festivals in the country. 

The post [REVIEW] From Pixies to Rilo Kiley, Bourbon & Beyond 2025 Proved Unmissable appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Iconic American rock band The Doobie Brothers celebrated the release of their 16th studio album, Walk This Road, with a tour that stopped in Cincinnati on Friday night. The Coral Reefer Band, the band that toured with Jimmy Buffet until his death in 2023, also performed at Riverbend on Friday night. Keep scrolling for everything we saw during their performances.

Photos by Tony Wagner

The post [PHOTOS] Doobie Brothers Perform Hits and New Songs at Riverbend appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Northern Kentucky musician Jordan Smart keeps a folder of the most harrowing images he’s seen from Gaza — a private archive that fuels both his outrage and his art. Since the war began, he has turned his platform into a rallying cry for Palestinians while also speaking out against ICE raids and other social justice issues closer to home.

“For better or worse I’ve never been too good at keeping my mouth shut,” Smart wrote in an Instagram post in November of 2023. “I know most of y’all are here for music and I don’t share much often, in fact lately it’s been nothin’ but awful news…it’s just that I can’t in good conscience see unjustified atrocities carried out in our world for 50+ days on end and just look away and try to self promote. These platforms we have are powerful tools that enable us to make positive change.”

Smart has also used his unique ability to craft compelling, stark portraits of truth to pen blistering protest songs about the war in Gaza, the fatal police shooting of Ryan Hinton in Cincinnati, the American healthcare system and other social justice issues that will appear on his upcoming album, Confessions of a CEO.

Smart, a singer-songwriter based in Ludlow, Kentucky, has been releasing original music for over a decade. ​​Whether he’s singing about pickles or humanitarian crises, Smart’s Dylanesque vocals and folk stylings perfectly complement his insightful and powerful storytelling. In 2023, his song “Apple Don’t Fall” — a poignant, honest portrait of living with addiction — earned him the top prize in the prestigious Gems in the Rough contest, hosted by the YouTube channel GemsOnVHS. 

Long before penning protest songs about the war in Gaza, Smart was using his platform to advocate for the issues — and people —  he believes in. Back in 2016, Smart opened twice for Sen. Bernie Sanders on his presidential campaign trail. 

Shortly after the Oct. 7 attack and the start of the war in Gaza, Smart began posting videos and original songs about what numerous international human rights organizations have described as a genocide against Palestinians.

Local leaders, including from the The Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center, have criticized calling the war a “genocide” as antisemetic, while local advocates from groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) have pushed back on this claim.

“I’ve always written politically conscious [music] and I guess I’ve written from a humanitarian perspective, like, that’s always been a thing,” Smart told CityBeat. “I’ve been posting songs on social media that are relevant to current events and news headlines and articles that I would read for like 10 years or something. I think that I have been more active in doing that in the last 18 months because I think that this issue and the genocide in Gaza, as a parent, that some of the stuff that I’ve seen has just deeply affected me. … To me, it just it feels like [the war in Gaza] is kind of like the crux of all the things that are wrong with society and the world, all meeting in one just absolutely abysmal scenario.” 

“We’re seeing human rights being stripped away from people in so many different ways, shapes and forms, all over the place — whether it’s here or abroad,” Smart continued. “And I know that it is inherently political to speak about it, but it also just feels inherently human to stand up for it and against certain things, you know?”

Smart first used the word “Palestine” in his song “Hope That I Don’t Dream,” which appears on Quiet Skies Vol. 1, a benefit album with songs from local and international musicians released on Aug. 6. The proceeds go directly to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. 

He first debuted the song on Instagram in November of 2023. Smart says that the song is inspired in part by a photo he saw of a Palestinian grandfather holding his dead granddaughter. That photo also inspired him to abandon his fear of speaking out about the war in Gaza. 

“Yeah, that that was kind of the turning point, and the first verse of the song talks about the early [days of] the genocide,” Smart said. “There was a video of a grandfather with his granddaughter who was killed, and she’s got pom-poms in her hair, and she just looks so perfect and innocent and peaceful and just like a little child that is dressed the way my daughter would have been. And I saw this Palestinian grandfather, holding her and kissing her eyelids, and he looked shockingly at peace. And there was something about that image that I was just like, whatever I’m afraid of, whatever I’m afraid of losing, whatever I’m afraid of encountering in my personal life or business-wise or anything, it’s nothing compared to what people in Palestine are facing.”

In June of 2024, Smart released his most popular protest song to date, “Who Would Jesus Bomb,” a straightforward folk song that asks, “Who would Jesus bomb?/Tell me who would Jesus bomb/Would it be kids in Palestine, or how about Vietnam?” 

It was that song that ultimately helped grow his platform and gain him the attention of notable people in Hollywood and Washington, D.C. 

“Who Would Jesus Bomb” also helped shape his forthcoming album, Confessions of a CEO. 

Across 11 songs, Smart transforms his outrage at current events into urgent, soulful protest anthems that echo the spirit of Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone and other voices of resistance. 

Smart’s storytelling prowess is on display on “Can’t Padlock An Idea,” a song about the Highlander Research and Education Center, a social justice leadership training school and cultural center in New Market, Tennessee. He recounts the events of March 29, 2019, when a white supremacist set fire to the center. 

There’s a bit of levity and humor in the fifth track on the album, “Talking Second Coming Blues,” where Smart plays the part of an intolerant and racist bigot waxing poetic about liberal yard signs, illegal immigrants and JD Vance. “Flicked my television on and there my hero stood/I clapped my hands and messed my jeans and shouted, ‘God is good!’/The camera panned, to my dismay, away from JD Vance/There sat the true embodiment of Satan’s evil plans — yep, you guessed — the Pope!”

The album ends with Smart asking for an end to the war in Gaza. “I’m screaming into the void, end the genocide,” Smart sings on the aptly-titled “End the Genocide.” 

Confessions of a CEO will be released in September. Smart and other local musicians will be playing at a Gaza benefit show on Friday at 8 p.m. at The Lounge in Northside. 

For more information about Smart, visit jordansmartmusic.com. You can stream Smart’s music on Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal.

The post Northern Kentucky Musician Jordan Smart Turns Gaza Activism and Social Justice Into Protest Songs on New Album appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Organizers have announced the fourth headliner to perform at America’s River Roots Festival in October.

On Monday, organizers revealed that innovative R&B artist Janelle Monáe will kickoff the headline music series at America’s River Roots Festival on Thursday, Oct. 9.

Monáe is a singer, rapper, songwriter, actress and activist. She has been nominated for ten Grammy Awards and is the recipient of the Billboard Women in Music Rising Star Award. Fans have speculated that Monáe could be releasing new music in the near future, citing a series of cryptic posts on Monáe’s social media that show her creating original music on a guitar and Orchid synthesizer.

The pop and R&B artist joins other River Roots main stage headliners Mt. Joy, Weezer, Maren Morris and Walker Hayes. Tickets to the headline music series can be purchased by visiting americasriverroots.com/music.

The festival will also feature free performances from national and regional artists across themed stages along the riverfront, including:

• Sawyer Point Stage (Gospel & Cultural Rhythms)
• Schmidlapp Stage (Jazz, Gospel)
• Freedom Center Stage (R&B, Blues)
• Covington Stage (Bluegrass, Country, Americana)
• Newport Stage (Southern Rock, Blues)
• Yeatmans Cove Stage (Cross-Genre)
• Public Landing Stage (Regional Music)

Apart from music performances, festivalgoers can expect riverboat cruises, bourbon tastings and bottles in Newport, the Craft Brewmaster Experience with tours and tastings in Smale Park, a local artisan bazaar on the Purple People Bridge and more.

America’s River Roots Festival takes place from Oct. 8-12 along the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky riverfronts. To learn more about America’s River Roots Festival, visit americasriverroots.com.

The post Janelle Monáe to Kickoff the Headline Music Series at America’s River Roots Festival appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

The Ohio boys are bringing their beautiful noise to Cincinnati.

On Aug. 24, Columbus-based band Caamp will be playing the only Ohio show on the second leg of their tour at the ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park. 

Since the band released their debut album in 2016, their poignant descriptions of growing up in Ohio have been a major part of their music and identity — so much so that their unofficial band tagline is “Ohio Boys Making Beautiful Noise.”

Evan Westfall, Caamp’s co-founder and multi-instrumentalist, admitted that there is a bit of added pressure performing their music in front of local crowds.

“It’s like, even though there are people there who love you unconditionally, there’s still — at least for me personally — pressure to put on an even better show, especially when you always want to make longtime friends and family in the crowd proud,” Westfall told CityBeat.

Caamp was formed by Westfall and lead singer and songwriter Taylor Meier, who met at an Upper Arlington summer camp in middle school. Meier began playing music in coffee shops around Athens in 2013 while attending Ohio University. They later acquired three more band members: Joe Kavalec, Matt Vinson and Nick Falk.

In 2016, Caamp released their debut, self-titled album on Square Roots Records — a raw, Americana effort with moving songwriting and sparse instrumentation. Their second full-length effort, 2019’s By and By, is a warm, homespun meditation on love, longing and the places that shape us — from quiet porches and winding backroads to moonlit nights under wide-open skies. The songs are steeped in vivid, tactile moments; you can almost feel the summer air and smell the campfire smoke as the banjo strums on.

By and By helped secure Caamp’s debut on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart in 2019. The album also debuted at number one on the Heatseekers Albums chart.

The band gained even more attention for their 2022 album, Lavender Days, when former President Barack Obama included a song from the album, “Apple Tree Blues,” on his 2022 summer music playlist. That same year, Caamp was also nominated for 2023 Duo/Group of the Year by the Americana Music Association. 

In June, Caamp released their fifth studio album, Copper Changes Color, which made it apparent from the louder, upbeat opening track, “Millions,” that fans were on a slightly different sonic journey this time around — one steeped in indie rock influences. 

“By that point, Taylor was really into The Strokes and has been now for a while,” Westfall said. “You know, we’ve all had our Strokes phases. So Taylor started bringing in some of those songs. It was, like, super fun for me, because I honestly love The Strokes too, and it was fun to try to make songs like that.”

“Mistakes,” “One True Way” (featuring Madi Diaz), “Porchswing” and “Drive” are also reminiscent of The Strokes’ minimalist brand of indie rock. The album also takes some unexpected — and welcome — detours, like “Waiting Up (For You),” a lively Southern rock romp.

For listeners who aren’t fans of change, though, there are stripped-back songs that harken back to Caamp’s early, banjo-fueled days. Amid the more fast-paced indie rock tunes, “Fairview Feeling” is especially soft and soothing. Caamp also stays true to their roots in “Ohio’s Ugly,” another soft, folksy love song that playfully calls out their home state for being “all fields.” 

“I think at the heart of part of the record, it’s still us, you know?” Westfall said. “They kind of are folk songs at the heart of it. If you shifted back and made it an acoustic guitar or banjo record, it would be there … It’s not the sound that we were known for, for the first couple years. We were off the road for a while, and we were trying to figure out how to fall back in love with making music and playing shows again, and so this is what was fun for us at the time. We’ve been having a lot more fun on the road this year.”

In early August, Ohio State University announced several updates to Ohio Stadium’s gameday experience — including pairing Caamp’s “Ohio” with an inspirational video played during the first half of games. Though not a traditional stadium banger, “Ohio” is full of pride for the state. “Football and tall trees, the autumn never ends, summer lovin / Ohio, treat me well,” Meier’s smoky, rich voice croons over a banjo and guitar. 

Along with the rest of the band, Westfall is firmly embedded in the Midwestern music scene. In 2020, he co-founded Super Sport Records, an independent record label based in Columbus that releases music from surf, garage rock and power-pop in Ohio and throughout the Midwest. 

During breaks from touring with Caamp, Westfall also tends to another professional pursuit — a growing solo career. In January, Westfall released his debut solo album, Is This Our Exit, a unique instrumental journey that helped him sharpen his creativity and musical focus. Not only did the solo album help propel his own career, but it also gave him some fresh ideas to take back to his band members. 

“It’s just really healthy for us to all kind of have our own outlets like that,” Westfall said. “I was able to experiment with different tunings on the guitar for my stuff, and I was really excited to show the [Caamp] guys some open tunings. One of the songs off the new record, ‘Shade,’ was one of those open tunings. I ran over to Taylor’s house one day [because] I wanted to show him the open tuning, and we sat down and ended up writing that song that day.”

The last time Caamp visited Cincinnati was to open for The Lumineers at Riverbend Music Center in 2022. Westfall, whose wife is originally from Cincinnati, says that he is excited to return to the Queen City.

“I love Cincinnati,” Westfall said. “I’m really excited. I’m serious. I don’t say that all the time; like, we’re long overdue to be playing in Cincy and I’m just very excited to get out there.”

Caamp plays the ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park on Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. The Sam Fribush Organ Trio and Maggie Halfman open for the band. More info: bradymusiccenter.com.

This story is featured in CityBeat’s Aug. 20 print edition.

The post Caamp Returns to Cincinnati with a New Album and a Deeper Sense of Home appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

A new music documentary featuring legendary figures in the local country and rockabilly scenes debuts at the Southgate House Revival later this month.

Honky Talkin’: Tales & Travails From The Honky Tonk Trails, a documentary that intimately examines the lives of working musicians, will premiere at the Southgate House Revival on Aug. 23.

Longtime Cincinnati resident Eric Weltner — the film’s director and writer — created Honky Talkin’ to explore how musicians navigate the unique pressures of life on the road, from grueling hours and creative ruts to financial uncertainty.

“I was always just intrigued in what that life is, because I think a lot of people have this image of being a professional musician, that everybody is Taylor Swift or Beyonce, and about 99.5% of them are not — they are real people doing a job,” Weltner says. “A lot of it is like any other job — a lot of travel, a lot of arranging, a lot of cold calling, trying to get gigs, dealing with car trouble on the road, just ordinary life things.”

Weltner has previously directed two films, International Incidents and The Mohawk Monopoly — both about minor league hockey.

To better understand the lows and highs that musicians face, Weltner and his locally-based production team interviewed a number of bands and musicians — including Northern Kentucky legend Bobby Mackey and Vevay, Indiana rockabilly band Jerry King and the Rivertown Ramblers.

Though Mackey’s honky tonk in Wilder, Kentucky (now temporarily located in Florence while they build a brand new, one-story bar on the same site in Wilder) is perhaps more locally famous than its namesake, the musician behind the legendary establishment is just as interesting.

Inspired by country music heavyweights like Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and George Jones, Mackey began making his own signature brand of country music after graduating from Lewis County High School in 1968. In 1978, Mackey opened Bobby Mackey’s Music World in Wilder — a true honky tonk with music, ghosts and plenty of stories that make it into the Honky Talkin’ documentary. Last year, Mackey was inducted into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame.

Weltner told CityBeat that his crew was the last professional film crew in the old Bobby Mackey’s Music World location before demolition began in December.

“Bobby Mackey has been around for 50 some years, and had his own club for nearly 50 years at this point, and his story is interesting because he had to choose — go to Nashville and make it, or do I stay here where I’m established, and run my own thing? That’s what he did. He’s been highly successful with it,” Weltner said.

Jerry King and the Rivertown Ramblers have been making country and rockabilly music and touring locally since the early 2000s. In 2006, they achieved breakthrough success with their hit “Honky Tonk Bop,” a true country-rockabilly tune. The band has recorded tracks at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, where rock and roll, country and rockabilly artists like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded music from the mid-to-late ’50s.

Other bands and music industry professionals featured in the documentary include The Royal Hounds, Morgans Mill, Jason & The Scorchers lead singer Jason Ringenberg, Bobby Mackey’s Music World General Manager Denise Mackey and Southgate House Revival owner Morrella Raleigh.

All of the featured interviews help paint a clearer picture of what life looks like for the working musician — from the highs of stellar performances to the lows of missing out on family life while on tour.

“I was told by one of the bands that divorce is a very common situation in the music industry, where people feel almost estranged from their families by being on the road eight or nine months out of the year, and have somewhat tenuous relationships with their spouses and their children,” Weltner said.

Though some musicians, like Mackey and Ringenberg, have achieved this familial balance and mainstream success, they sometimes face new sorts of challenges once they make it to the big leagues. The documentary touches on the pros and cons of getting signed to a major record label. For many, being signed to a major label means finally outsourcing tougher aspects of the job — like marketing and booking tours — to someone else. However, that major label deal can also come with less creative freedom and more pressure to constantly deliver.

There are also plenty of fun insider stories in the documentary, including a recounting of Ringenberg’s experience opening for The Ramones in Texas in 1983.

“There are a lot of little nuggets that people will just find fascinating,” Weltner said. “You know, maybe even hearing about a professional oboe player who tried to crash a CD release party to be onstage with one of the bands. Things like that. Those are things that really happen to real people. Or maybe a random rockabilly show in the middle of Indiana at three o’clock in the morning at a Waffle House — things like that appear in the film … We get stories of the fun, the entertaining, the bizarre, the less-than-fun, like buses breaking down and equipment being stolen, things like that. So there’s a lot to the story, and there’s a lot to being a professional, touring musician.”

Honky Talkin’: Tales & Travails From The Honky Tonk Trails premieres at the Southgate House Revival on Aug. 23. The night will also include performances from Ringenberg, The Royal Hounds and Jerry King and the Rivertown Ramblers. For more information about the premiere, visit southgatehouse.com.

For more information about Honky Talkin’: Tales & Travails From The Honky Tonk Trails, visit the film’s Facebook page.

Watch the trailer for Honky Talkin’ below:

The post Cincinnati Filmmaker’s New Documentary Highlights Touring Musicians’ Struggles and Successes appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Cincinnati-based psych rockers In The Pines have released the second single from their forthcoming album, Sunbeam Dream.

The eponymous single, “Sunbeam Dream,” is described as the album’s “most muscular and hard-driving track,” with intersecting guitar melodies that perfectly complement the driving synths, percussion and bassline — a perfect track for fans of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Glass Beams.

For the uninitiated,  In The Pines is an indie-psych band formed in 2016 by childhood friends Michael Shular and Charlie Horn. The band has released three mesmerizing sonic rides so far — Slow Blink, Impossible Daze and Painting by Numbers — that have helped them earn a loyal following.

In Sunbeam Dream — the band’s fourth full-length effort out Sept. 12 — the synthesizer becomes a main character, rather than an element used to create more texture in their music. The result of this upgrade is felt throughout the two singles off the album released already.

Synths play an important part in the lives of In The Pines’ band members. The band owns and operates Foleytronics, a boutique vintage pro audio repair shop in Dayton, Kentucky. Foley also has a basement — which doubles as a studio space for the band — full of vintage effects, tape machines and synthesizers. The band’s synth-heavy sound comes courtesy of one of these artifacts, a 1971 resuscitated Mellotron.

The band has already released “Flyin’ Nowhere” and “Sunbeam Dream” from their forthcoming album. “Time Shakes,” the third and final single to be released off the album, will be released on Aug. 26.

For more information about In The Pines, visit inthepines.band. You can stream In The Pines’ music on Spotify, Bandcamp and Apple Music.

Listen to “Flyin’ Nowhere”:

Listen to “Sunbeam Dream”:

The post Cincinnati Band In The Pines Plug in and Power Up on New Single ‘Sunbeam Dream’ appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.