One Grammy-winning rapper seems to have a special fondness for the Queen City.

Baby Keem, best known for his quadruple-platinum single “Orange Soda” and for collaborating with his cousin Kendrick Lamar on the Grammy-winning “Family Ties,” mentioned Cincinnati on his new album Ca$ino.

On the album’s seventh song, “$ex Appeal” featuring LA rapper Too $hort, Keem raps: “I’m in the mood, we in Miami / I met a freak from Cincinnati.”

It’s anyone’s guess who the “freak” in question could be, but the rapper has already touched down in Cincinnati at least once before. In 2022, he played a show at popular venue Bogart’s, as part of his tour for his platinum-selling album The Melodic Blue. That show was one of the year’s hottest concerts in the Cincinnati area; tickets sold out in less than 10 minutes.

The rapper is returning to Cincinnati later this year, too—the Ca$ino tour will stop at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center on May 23, which you can learn more about by clicking here.

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The Los Angeles-based rock band Badflower stopped in Cincinnati last Friday.

As part of their latest tour, the group performed at Bogart’s to an adoring crowd of fans.

The band released their debut album in 2019, and their second album was named one of the best rock albums of 2021 by Loudwire when it released. The band is currently touring in support of their third album, No Place Like Home, released in 2025.

Click through the photos below to see everything that photographer Martin Lopez-Isidro witnessed during this show.

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One of the nation’s biggest country music artists is headed to Northern Kentucky to celebrate the release of her latest album — and you can go for just $9.

Megan Moroney’s newest album “Cloud 9” officially dropped Friday.

Last week, Moroney announced a special “9 cities in 9 days” tour to accompany the album’s release, and one of the stops is in our own backyard.

Moroney will perform at the MegaCorp Pavilion in Newport on Feb. 24. Tickets for the “intimate acoustic performance of three songs” stay right on theme with the album’s title, priced at just $9.

According to Moroney’s social media post, tickets will be available at the box office starting at 9 a.m. on the morning of the event. Doors open at 5 p.m. for the performance.

Each person is limited to purchasing two tickets, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Megan Moroney Foundation.

The Georgia native is also stopping in eight other cities, including:

• New York, NY
• Richmond, VA
• Nashville, TN
• Athens, GA
• Kansas City, MO
• Denver, CO
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Scottsdale, AZ

“Cloud 9” is Moroney’s third studio album, following “Am I Okay?” in 2024 and “Lucky” in 2023.

The official album tour kicks off May 29 in Columbus, but Moroney won’t make a stop in the Cincinnati/NKY area.

If you want to catch her performance, get ready to head to the MegaCorp Pavilion box office Tuesday.

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Villa Hills native and performer Logan Wagner has performed in operas throughout the country.

Now, he has been accepted into the prestigious Merola Opera Program, a 10-week live-in training program in San Francisco that, as Wagner put it, is “like a stamp of approval for your career.”

The program had a record number of applicants this year: over 1,500, from all over the world. Wagner was one of only 28 people accepted. Starting this summer, he and the other artists selected – who come from everywhere from South Korea to the UK to states throughout the United States – will travel to California to complete the program.

Merola alumni include Joyce DiDonato, who has won a Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Solo three times, and Stuart Skelton, who won Male Singer of the Year at the 2014 International Opera Awards, among numerous others dating back to the mid twentieth century.

“Once they have completed this program, they will join a vibrant community of distinguished alumni who have gone on to thrilling careers with major opera houses around the world,” said Merola Executive Director Sean Waugh in a press release.

LINK nky talked with Wagner about his career, his love of opera and the form’s appeal before he heads off later this year.

“I grew up being really fascinated by music,” Wagner said.

His father, Tom Wagner, plays keyboards in local rock band The Fast Forward, which is still active in and around Northern Kentucky. Observing his father’s “sense of discipline,” Wagner said, “is the thing that taught me how to really be passionate about something.”

He started doing plays and musicals in middle school and high school. He showed an aptitude for singing, so he started taking private voice lessons. One day his instructor, Carl Resnick at the Musical Arts Center in Cincinnati, asked him if he knew how to dance. Wagner said no, and so Resnick began teaching him how.

“I just started falling in love with opera because it was like all of these emotions in musical theater were then heightened by like 10,000,” Wagner said.

He went to the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, often shortened to CCM, for both his undergraduate and graduate studies. He also earned an artist diploma after completing a post-master’s performance program there.

Since then he’s performed in programs in Des Moines, Santa Fe, Pittsburgh and Virginia. Last year, he performed with New World Orchestra, a program in Miami Beach Florida.

He has a handful of favorite operas. One is Fellow Travelers, which was actually developed in a collaboration between the Cincinnati Opera and CCM, about the 1950s lavender scare that saw mass firings and other forms of social persecution of gay employees in the government. He performed in a production of Fellow Travelers at the Pittsburgh Opera. Others include Peter Grimes, a twentieth century classic by Benjamin Britten, Tosca by Puccini and Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, which is, in turn, based of a poetic novel by Pushkin.

“What draws me to is the fact that it’s such a long standing art form and something that really explores every bit of the human psyche and that’s told through not only words but also music,” Wagner said.

He encouraged people to explore the art form, which has continued to evolve throughout the centuries.

“My philosophy as an artist is to allow people to see feelings that they have felt themselves on stage and hold up a mirror to that and let people have a cathartic experience in the theater,” Wagner said. “Because we’re all in this place together and experiencing this one thing together for the first time and only time because it changes constantly. That’s a beautiful thing that we shouldn’t take for granted.”

Check out one Wagner’s performances below, and learn more about him at loganwagnertenor.com/media.

This story originally appeared at linknky.com.

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The Cincinnati Reds are once again hosting a concert series at Great American Ball Park.

This summer, fans can enjoy post-game concerts from country star Jon Pardi, EDM icon Marshmello, and rap legends Rick Ross and Ludacris in the Ohio Lottery Post-Game Concert Series.

Anyone who attends the Reds game prior to the concert can watch the show for free.

Fans who simply wish to attend the concert or who want to be up close and personal with their favorite artist can purchase a Field Pass from the Reds.

More details on each performer are below, provided by the Reds.

Jon Pardi – Wednesday, July 8 vs. Philadelphia Phillies (7:10 p.m. game time)
MCA Nashville artist Jon Pardi began careening down the highway over 10 years ago, leading the charge to modernize honkytonk with roaring guitars and a good-time spirit. Pardi’s reputation for punchy, against-the-wind bravado has only grown, with his just-released fifth studio album, Honkytonk Hollywood. The 17-track album is the spiritual successor to his fearless breakout hits, once again showcasing his commitment to staying true to himself, yet giving his signature sound a new spark. With four Top 5 albums under his belt – including 2016’s Platinum #1, California Sunrise – Pardi has solidified his place in country music.

Marshmello – Friday, July 31 vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (6:10 p.m. game time)
Marshmello is a Grammy-nominated, genre-defying artist and producer whose influence spans the global music landscape. With more than 16.8 billion Spotify streams, over 68 million monthly listeners, and top-tier status on both Spotify and YouTube, he remains one of the world’s most-streamed artists. His collaborations include Khalid, Kane Brown, Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, P!NK and Sting, among many others. Career highlights include a Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album, the Billboard Hot 100 hit “Numb,” the Latin album Sugar Papi, and the historic chart-topping crossover “Miles On It.”

Rick Ross – Friday, Aug. 14 vs. Miami Marlins (6:10 p.m. game time)
Rick Ross exploded onto the global stage with Port of Miami (2006), debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 and instantly redefining modern luxury rap. Built one of hip-hop’s most powerful empires by founding Maybach Music Group (MMG), launching and elevating careers of stars like Meek Mill and Wale. Delivered a run of commercial dominance, with 11 consecutive top 10 Billboard 200 albums and multiple #1 debuts across two decades. Rick Ross has earned multiple Grammy Award nominations, including Best Rap Album (God Forgives, I Don’t) and Best Rap Performance, placing him among hip-hop’s elite peer group.

Ludacris – Friday, Sept. 4 vs. Milwaukee Brewers (6:10 p.m. game time)
The career of three-time GRAMMY Award-winning musician, actor and philanthropist Chris “Ludacris” Bridges can best be described as remarkable. As a recording artist, he has sold more than 24 million albums worldwide, thanks to the blockbuster success of such singles as “Stand Up,” “Get Back,” “Southern Hospitality,” “Number One Spot,” “Money Maker,” and “My Chick Bad.” All these records were accompanied by ingenious videos that demonstrated Bridges’ far-reaching imagination and his willingness to stretch the boundaries of what rap videos should look and feel like. This past October marked the 25th anniversary of Ludacris’ groundbreaking debut album, Back for the First Time — a milestone that not only celebrates his legacy but also sets the stage for what’s next.

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One of the largest concert venues in Northern Kentucky will no longer accept cash as a form of payment at its box office.

The concert venue, located within Newport’s Ovation development, announced on Facebook that its box office will no longer accept cash. It is, however, still accepting debit and credit cards.

MegaCorp Pavilion is a 290,000-square-foot, multi-level facility that serves as a flexible indoor and outdoor concert venue. Its outdoor amphitheater accommodates up to 7,000 guests, while its indoor space holds up to 2,700 people.

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A beloved British indie rock band stopped by Cincinnati last weekend.

The Wombats are currently on a North American tour in support of their latest album Oh! The Ocean, and they performed at Bogart’s on Feb. 13.

Best known for songs like “Moving to New York” and the TikTok-viral “Greek Tragedy,” the band formed in 2003 and has gotten progressively more famous with each album release.

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The Wombats are immensely popular in their home country—their 2022 album Fix Yourself, Not The World hit #1 on the UK charts, and they regularly perform at the country’s biggest venues like the Crystal Palace and The O2.

Click through the pics below to see everything we saw at Bogart’s show.

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A lot has happened since Miguel released his 2017 album War & Leisure, a deft mix of electro-laced R&B, Rock and Funk that cemented the California native as a worthy disciple of Prince.

Trump 1.0, Black Lives Matter, the COVID pandemic, the separation from his longtime partner, the birth of his first child, Trump 2.0 and more couldn’t help but alter Miguel’s headspace over the last eight years. Cue his long-gestating fifth album, CAOS, which dropped last October to a curiously muted response. (For context, he released four albums between 2010 and 2017, less time than it took for CAOS to surface.)

The measured reaction to Miguel’s latest isn’t a surprise — it’s darker and more ominous than anything he’s yet produced, the sound of a man at a crossroads. Album opener “CAOS,” which is Spanish for chaos, is an intriguing mélange of Miguel’s signature sensuous elements (penetrating falsetto vocals and Latin-flavored acoustic guitar) with dense beats and dark-hued atmospherics accentuated by one of the few lyrics sung in English, “I’m inches from a sabotage.” 

The next song, “The Killing,” opens with dirge-like menace, a metaphorical scene setter for an extinguished relationship despite likeminded sexual proclivities.

“This album has a much more aggressive, angsty outlook, not necessarily in the sound, but definitely in the lyrics,” Miguel said in a recent interview with Grammy.com. “There’s a raw honesty running through it, a kind of underlying tension that comes from confronting what’s no longer working. It reflects the evolution of my internal operating systems, learning to face the broken parts of myself head on instead of avoiding them.”

The sounds on CAOS are in fact grittier and more experimental, marked by electric guitars that dip into psychedelia and unexpected, frequently discordant rhythms. 

“Nearsight (SID)” is perhaps the best example of Miguel’s current melding of introspection and sonic restlessness — it’s an ambient, slow-burning look at how transcendental meditation has altered its often-indulgent creator’s life before jump-cutting in the final third via driving drums and an urgent vocal delivery. 

It culminates with this statement of intent: “Breathe it in now/Let me meditate/We going in now/Till you levitate.”

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Seven-time Grammy-nominated rapper Baby Keem is returning to Cincinnati once again.

The rapper, best known for his quadruple-platinum single “Orange Soda” and his Grammy-winning hit “Family Ties” featuring his cousin Kendrick Lamar, will perform at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center on May 23 as part of a 36-date tour.

The tour is in support of his new album, Ca$ino, which releases next week on Feb. 20.

Previously, Baby Keem had a tour stop at Cincinnati venue Bogart’s in 2022 during the tour for his platinum-selling album The Melodic Blue; tickets sold out for that show in less than 10 minutes.

As part of the promotion for the new album, Baby Keem released a new documentary titled “Booman I” featuring clips of his family during his childhood and his time in the studio working on the album—with a cameo from his uber-famous cousin Kendrick Lamar. The two collaborated last year on the Grammy-nominated song “The Hillbillies.”

“I understood the hardship before he was born—just the history of our family in general. We don’t call ourselves the hillbillies for nothing,” Lamar says in the documentary. “This is a story of a war environment and a warfare, psychologically, to try and change our generational curses.”

Tickets for Baby Keem’s latest stop in Cincinnati are on sale now.

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A beloved British indie rock band will perform in Cincinnati this weekend.

The Wombats are currently on a North American tour in support of their latest album Oh! The Ocean, and their next stop is at Bogart’s this Friday, Feb. 13.

Best known for songs like “Moving to New York” and the TikTok-viral “Greek Tragedy,” the band formed in 2003 and has gotten progressively more famous with each album release.

Click here for more music news from CityBeat

The Wombats are immensely popular in their home country—their 2022 album Fix Yourself, Not The World hit #1 on the UK charts, and they regularly perform at the country’s biggest venues like the Crystal Palace and The O2.

Their sixth album Oh! The Ocean was released in February 2025, and the band has been touring since.

Tickets can be purchased here on the venue’s website.

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