A new festival celebrating regional bluegrass music while supporting a local breast cancer organization is coming to Bellevue on Oct. 17.

Bluegrass for Good, produced by Greater Cincinnati nonprofit Infinite Hills Productions, will take place from 1 to 7 p.m. on the 200 block of Foote Ave. The inaugural event will benefit Chicks & Chucks, a local, all-volunteer organization that supports breast cancer patients and their families throughout Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati by providing assistance and resources during treatment and recovery.

The free, family-friendly festival will feature performances by Zeotrope, The Hicks Brothers, Slippery Creek and the Comet Bluegrass All Stars. Local food and beverage vendors will also participate, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Chicks & Chucks. A silent auction featuring donated items from businesses and supporters throughout the region will provide another opportunity to raise funds for the organization.

A children’s area with games and arts and crafts will also be available. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, with limited seating provided.

The festival’s co-title sponsors are Schneider’s Sweet Shop and OHC.

“Chicks & Chucks is an all-volunteer organization that relies on the generosity of others to continue our mission of assisting local breast cancer WARRIORS during their journey,” said Cathy Youtsey-Halloran, founder of Chicks & Chucks. “Events like Bluegrass for Good allow us to continue that mission and help those in our community.”

Infinite Hills Productions founder Nathan Thompson said the festival is intended to create a recurring event that combines music, community and charitable giving.

“We are strong believers in leveraging community-based events to do some good for a worthwhile cause,” Thompson said. “Bluegrass for Good is the start of something that we hope to grow year over year so we can have an increasingly positive impact on charitable causes that we believe in.”

For Schneider’s Sweet Shop, the event carries a particularly personal meaning.

“After seeing firsthand how breast cancer can affect an entire family, this cause has become incredibly personal to us,” said Kelly Morgan of Schneider’s Sweet Shop. “We wanted to create a day filled with great music, food, drinks and family fun, while raising money and awareness for Chicks & Chucks and the incredible work they do to support women and families affected by breast cancer.”

Bluegrass for Good is free and open to the public.

Additional event details and official RSVP options can be found here.

The post Bluegrass for Good Festival coming to Bellevue to benefit Chicks & Chucks appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

It’s BLINK week, people! Art, music and performance are flooding the city in a big way, in one of the biggest events of the whole year. 

This week’s local band highlight reminds me a little of all the LEDs and fiber optics draping through our streets. Through the smoke and the glow of the laser light this weekend, I could almost imagine the duo playing a set. You know them, you love them – it’s Moonbeau. 

Moonbeau is certainly not new to the scene. Their first single, 2017’s “Are We In Love Yet?” introduced the world (Cincinnati, particularly) to a fresh and danceable new-wave-inspired electronic act. Almost a decade later, Christian Gough’s creation hasn’t lost a step. 

2018’s self-titled and 2020’s “Up All Night” are the only studio albums Moonbeau has ever released. While their catalog might not be massive, both records are full of love for nostalgic, indulgent electronic music (“Get to Know You” and “Complicated” off their self-titled are prime examples of songs straight from, say, The Human League’s “Dare”).

Their newest single, “Only the Lovers”, released in December of last year, takes the band’s sound in a particularly atmospheric direction. Not only does the production sound a lot “wider” than it used to, there is a lot more going on in that newfound space. The music builds under the verses, creating organic tension that explodes out on the chorus with what sounds like a twinkly nebula of sound stars. Did I mention this was best listened to with headphones? 

That doesn’t mean you should overlook “Up All Night” — much of the band’s modern glossiness is still there. The album really shines on tracks like “I Wanna Dance With You” or “One More Time”, even if they feel a tad less “floaty”  comparatively. For fans of bands like Bleachers, Djo, or that old-school new wave stuff (the synths are undeniable), this is a solid entry in the genre. 

One can only hope that a new single late last year means a third album won’t follow too far behind. Moonbeau represents the best of the dreamy, twinkly sounds of a time gone by, coming back for a modern audience. Because let me tell you: this band is no pastiche. It’s vintage. 

You can find last week’s feature on Green Fuzz here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

The post CityBeat’s Local Band Highlight: Moonbeau appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

This story originally appeared in our Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2026 print edition. Check out the edition online here and find where you can get a print edition near you here.

The 1960s was an era of fondly remembered tumult with an iconic musical soundtrack. Whether you lived then or simply love the songs it spawned, you should head to downtown Cincinnati’s Aronoff Center on Friday evening, Oct. 16, for an award-winning theatrical production: “The Sixties Show.” 

Craig O’Keefe, the show’s co-founder, producer and artistic director, calls his show, “the greatest 1960s musical recreation show on Earth. We’re not part of the tribute world. Our show isn’t nostalgia. It’s a transmission — history at full volume.” Offering authentic music backed by archival video footage and storytelling, the immersive performance transports audiences back to the music, the politics and the pop culture of that momentous decade.

O’Keefe and co-creator Tom Licameli, veterans of the New York and Los Angeles music scenes, created the show as an off-Broadway theatrical production more than a decade ago. In a recent phone interview with CityBeat, O’Keefe recalled early engagements in small clubs — just two or three attendees in their very first outing — that now fill larger clubs and midsized theaters across the United States. Still building thanks to popular demand, “The Sixties Show” now routinely plays to sold-out venues from coast to coast. The stop at the Aronoff is the show’s first visit to Cincinnati. It has often had return engagements in many U.S. cities. A longer run could happen soon in New York or Chicago, and a trip to London is in the works for 2027.

O’Keefe called his show “a time trip back to the 1960s with live, note-for-note recreations of music from the era. There’s no recorded backing, just our own voices and our own musical abilities. It is decidedly not simply a nostalgia tribute act.”

“The Sixties Show” is anchored by a powerhouse lineup of six musicians, including O’Keefe, who serves as the show’s musical director and plays bass. He has toured with Stone Temple Pilots, Oasis, Sublime, Weezer, Daryl Hall, The Smashing Pumpkins, Dave Edmunds and Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. He played bass for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees The Rascals on their 60th Anniversary Tour.

O’Keefe joked, “I was barely out of diapers at the end of the ’60s.” All the show’s musicians were, in fact, born in that decade, but each one has deep experience with legendary musicians including Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, The Who, The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan and the Saturday Night Live Band. Joining O’Keefe for the show are co-founder Licameli, guitar and bass; Jim Boggia, guitar and ukulele; Kevin Bents, keyboards, guitar and bass; Jeff Miller, keyboards; and drummer Scott Devours. Most of them also provide the show’s vocals. The Sixties Show setlist includes hits by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Kinks, The Byrds, Cream, The Rolling Stones, Bee Gees and The Dave Clark Five. 

O’Keefe’s main musical hero from the era is Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. “He did the whole thing, the sounds, the arrangements. He did it all.” One of O’Keefe’s favorite albums is The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds.” He also admires “Strange Days” by The Doors, “Village Green” by The Kinks and “Led Zeppelin II.”

“We do the great ’60s songs note-for-note, with guitars and amps from the era along with our period multimedia and light show. We put together a great quality show. Our band members are really into this. We don’t play any song we don’t love and do great. We kill the songs we do,” he said. 

“The Sixties Show” band uses no backing tracks, no pre-recorded samples, no pre-recorded audio of any kind. Every number is played entirely live. The musicians use 1960s vintage guitars, keyboards and other instruments to match the original recordings. 

“We sound just like the vinyls for our high-energy trip to the ’60s,” O’Keefe said. 

The set, backed by multiple projection screens, resembles an old TV studio, scattered with nostalgic items such as a VW Beetle and a Microbus, an image of an Apollo astronaut space suit.

Attired in “Mod” styles to underscore the show’s time-travel aspect, the performers use narration to sustain momentum. “We keep it light, never get political,” O’Keefe explained. It’s a chance to learn about — or recall — the ’60s, a great deal of knowledge in a very entertaining way. 

Audience response has been overwhelmingly positive from Boomers who lived through the era as well as more recent fans from generations X, Y and Z. They all describe the show as an emotional, transporting trip back in time.

O’Keefe pointed out, “People are amazed that we’re actually playing live music — every single note we play is done live. We recreate the intricate harmonies and melodies, every note is correct. We love this decade.” He underscored, “This is not a nostalgia tribute act. It’s a concert, it’s time-travel … and it’s unforgettable.”

The show is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association’s “CAA Presents” 2026-27 Season. Tickets: www.CincinnatiArts.org or 513-621-2787. (Group sales of 10 or more should call 513-977-4155.)

The post Musical Time Travel: The Sixties Show appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

This story originally appeared in our Sept. 30 – Oct. 13, 2026 print edition. Check out the edition online here and find where you can get a print edition near you here.

Wynton Marsalis is a phenomenon in the music world. A world-renowned trumpeter across genres, Marsalis is an award-winning composer, band leader and educator, with 136 albums spanning jazz, classical and alternate genres. 

Marsalis is also a good friend of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra music director Cristian Mǎcelaru, who regularly includes Marsalis’s music in his programming. “We’ll be hearing a lot from Mr. Marsalis,” he told CityBeat in 2024. 

On Oct. 2, the CSO kicks off its 2026-27 season with a three-day festival showcasing Marsalis’s artistry as a composer, soloist, band leader and advocate for American culture (and an unseen but looming presence in the 2010-2013 HBO series “Treme”). 

Mǎcelaru and Marsalis met in 2015 and forged a friendship grounded in mutual respect and shared values. 

“We met at Chautauqua in upstate New York, where we were rehearsing his violin concerto,” Mǎcelaru recalled. “As we discussed the piece, it felt like we had known each other forever. We discovered that although we grew up in different worlds, we were surrounded by families who were dedicated to and passionate about music. Our fathers were educators and our mothers were really strong figures.”

Mǎcelaru and Marsalis did several residencies together in Mǎcelaru’s native Romania and in New York.

“When I talked with Wynton about doing one in Cincinnati, he said, ‘Man, we’ll do whatever you want us to do.’”  

As Marsalis winds up his tenure as leader of the big band Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, or JLCO, Mǎcelaru felt an urgency to go all out in celebrating Marsalis’s achievements.

It’s been 42 years since Marsalis appeared with the CSO and he’s joined by his wife, Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, who performs Bruch’s poignant violin concerto on opening night, and the 15-member JLCO, the group he helped to establish in the 1980s, now recognized as the world’s premiere jazz ensemble. The JLCO performs with the CSO and concludes the festival with their own concert.

The evening’s featured work is Marsalis’s “Liberty” symphony, a CSO co-commission, composed in honor of America’s 250th birthday that premiered on Sept. 12 with the National Symphony Orchestra and the JLCO at Wolf Trap in Virginia.

Marsalis’s works reveal a lifelong devotion to unifying different cultures, locations and musical influences throughout American history. 

“About once a decade, he makes a big statement about where we can go,” Mǎcelaru said. “This symphony tells us what has been building up inside of him and why it’s so important for him to safeguard liberty and democracy.”

The New York Times review of the world premiere stated, “This year hasn’t yet produced any new art about the United States that hits harder than ‘Liberty.’”

The JLCO joins the CSO for the symphony’s six movements that capture society’s struggles during historic time frames, emphasizing humanity, resilience and optimism. 

Expect to hear heavy blues, big band swing, jazz musings and orchestral power. In an interview on Wolf Trap’s website, Marsalis described his work as “transcendent. I was shocked by how uplifting the ending was.”

The following evening, Benedetti returns to perform Marsalis’s Grammy award-winning Violin Concerto, and JLCO joins the CSO for a reimagined take on Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

The violin concerto was written for Benedetti. A recording of the Violin Concerto was released in 2019 with Benedetti and Mǎcelaru conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra, winning Grammys for instrumental soloist and conductor.

“It’s been 10 years since we were all in the same room together working on the concerto at Chautauqua in New York,” Mǎcelaru said. “This is going to be incredible!”

The concerto is indeed incredible, a meditation on the fiddle as a uniquely American sound culminating in a wildly gleeful hoedown.

“Pictures at an Exhibition,” originally a piano suite, was orchestrated by Maurice Ravel and quickly became a symphonic classic. Mǎcelaru envisioned the piece as an opportunity to showcase the versatility of both the CSO and the JLCO. The arrangements by JLCO’s alto sax player Sherman Irby create diverse soundscapes in all the movements.

“The structure of the piece really lends itself to this collaboration,” said Anthony Paggett, chief artistic officer with the CSO. “With the punctuation of the promenades, the ethereal saxophone solo in the Old Castle, there are tons of threads to pull. The audience will hear familiar material exactly as orchestrated by Ravel, and movements fully arranged for JLCO. The forces will combine to create aural delights!”

The festival concludes with a concert by JLCO and a last chance to see Marsalis leading this extraordinary ensemble of some of the world’s best jazz musicians, many of whom are composers and arrangers for major artists.

Mǎcelaru has led the world’s leading orchestras, and he is clearly awed by JLCO’s high standards of performance and dedication. He’s especially impressed by how it’s done without a conductor.

“Their rehearsals are deeply intellectual in nature. I did not expect that they would be as detail-oriented as our orchestra rehearsals,” he said. “But they were. And they were dealing with the same issues we were addressing. The only difference is they don’t have a conductor. So different members of the ensemble will take the leading role at different times. They listen to every note that they play, they understand its purpose.”

And as Mǎcelaru noted, the JLCO decides who’ll lead a specific number, “and that person has the same authority I have as conductor. And this changes from minute to minute.”

“I’ve learned so much from Wynton and from his musicians. They have found the way where the instrument they play isn’t just musical instruments. It’s truly a voice that is so human, so expressive.”

Mǎcelaru looks forward to the first joint rehearsal as much as the first concert. “I’ve seen it over and over: as soon as they walk on stage and they start performing, everyone in the CSO and the audiences will understand and appreciate their artistry so much.”

The post CSO Opening Weekend celebrates music legend Wynton Marsalis appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Green Fuzz’s first album, “Kicking and Screaming,” feels like a trip back to the old-school basement days of punk music. Lo-fi rippers abound in a promising freshman effort. 

Well … maybe it’s a bit more complicated than that. 

Punk rock is one of my personal favorite music genres. From DC to SoCal and everywhere in between, wherever there’s cheap beer in sweaty venues, I’ve likely heard it. It’s my wheelhouse.

The thing about punk-influenced music is that it’s not really suited for critical listening. For the uninitiated, this might be a bit jarring, but let’s talk about this record. 

What stuck about “Kicking and Screaming” on first listen was the opener, “Real Friends.” When I said that rippers abound, I meant it – the record opens to a soaring Blondie-coded number with enough fuzz and distortion to keep it DIY. 

That may be too polite a way to put it. I mean this with love – this album sounds rough in a good way. Sasi Scott’s vocals sound crystal clear over the compressed riff-factory going on in the mix most of the time. This ends up giving the record a live-act quality that, coupled with the punk sensibilities, is what I would call an “acquired taste.” 

But here are two facts. One: DIY music isn’t supposed to sound technical; you’ve gotta FEEL it! Two: that’s just track one. For the initiated, there’s plenty left to discover under the hood. 

Track two, “Fake Friends,”  lands a hard shift into something more akin to Riot Grrrl than New Wave. The band broods and broods until the room seems to explode. This might come as an initial shock, but Green Fuzz sheds musical skins on this record with ease. 

The record is actually littered with sounds reminiscent of punk stylings over the last 40 years or so. In songs like “Path through the Tall Grass” or “In My Dreams,” I hear more of the band’s emo influences, while tracks like “Out of Season” evoke the alt-rock 90s in a big way. Even the album cover is delightfully old-school, reminiscent of hand-drawn classics like “Milo Goes to College” or “Kerplunk.”

Point is, if you appreciate the history of alternative music scenes, or if you’re already tapped into the local basement circuit, you will get something out of this album. I, for one, am very excited to see where this band goes in their future projects. 

You can find last week’s feature on Trauma Illinois here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

The post CityBeat’s Local Band Highlight: Green Fuzz appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

One of horror’s most famous names is making a rare appearance in the U.S. this Friday, and it’s right here in Cincinnati.

Fabio Frizzi, the legendary composer known for his work on many of Lucio Fulci’s iconic horror films like “Zombi 2,” “The Beyond” and “City of the Living Dead,” is performing his unique brand of synth-focused scores at the Hoffner Ballroom in Northside this Friday.

The concert, titled “Frizzi 2 Fulci,” will feature Frizzi and a live band performing his most famous works as clips from the corresponding films play across screens. When local concert promoter Chris Alsip heard that the 75-year-old composer was crossing the globe to do a tour in America, he knew that he wanted a stop in Cincinnati.

“I’m a huge horror fan, and it’s definitely one of those things on my bucket list. I’ve been watching Lucio Fulci’s movies since high school, maybe even younger. And without the work of Frizzi, who is such a great composer, those movies wouldn’t nearly be as iconic as they are,” he said.

He booked the show last year, but Frizzi had to postpone the tour for a year. When the new dates were announced, Alsip jumped at the chance to get a new date. One problem: independent venues in Cincinnati have rapidly dwindled over the past few years. So he hit up Julia Green, owner of the temporarily closed venue DSGN CLLCTV.

“He said, ‘Is there a place we can do this at?’ Since, as you know, it’s really hard to find a good venue in Cincinnati these days,” she said. “We’re painting a mural right now on the side of the Hoffner Lodge, so we talked to the owner and booked the show. And it’s perfect, because the lodge has a — I don’t wanna say creepy vibe, but it’s definitely an older space. The horror scene in Cincinnati is really big, and we want to bring more stuff like this to the city.”

While Alsip has met many a horror icon thanks to his position as an organizer of the HorrorHound Convention, Cincinnati’s yearly celebration of all things horror, he never imagined he’d get to meet Frizzi, given that he’s a 75-year-old man who lives halfway across the world. He’s especially excited to hear the score from “Zombi 2.”

“It means the world to me. You don’t really get the chance to meet your idols, for one, but especially composers,” he said. “I’ve met movie stars and actors, but this is a whole different story. You won’t get very many opportunities in your life to see something like this.”

In the future, Alsip plans to book more shows like this so that local communities who love music, film or all things horror can intersect even more.

“This may not be the biggest show on the planet, but it’s still a big deal. Like, he’s here from Italy. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime concert from an iconic composer who’s super talented,” he said. “And it’ll make a lasting memory. Someone could be at home watching these movies with their family or a friend or a date and say ‘Hey, by the way, I went and saw the composer of this film in a small room in Cincinnati,’ and they’d be like, ‘Really?’ It’s an opportunity for people to experience something that they’ve never seen and probably never will get a chance to see again.”

For more information on “Frizzi 2 Fulci,” including how to buy tickets, click here.

Correction: A prior version of this story listed the event as happening on Thursday. It is on Friday, October 2.

The post Legendary Italian horror film composer performs in Northside this Friday appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

With their bows resting beside them, Rector A. Jones Middle School violinists began plucking the instrument beneath their chins with their fingers. 

A batch of trumpet players followed, before students cradling large ornate wooden guitarróns and smaller folk-style guitars called vihuelas, began strumming. 

Eventually, the ensemble will blend to produce the song “Atotonilco” by Juan José Espinosa Guevara — a mariachi classic. 

When Band Director Scott Reed tried launching a jazz band at Jones, a common offering at middle and high schools, it fell flat. But when he decided to scrap it in favor of a mariachi band, students flocked. 

Now, Boone County School District’s Los Voladores Del Mariachi, the only public middle school mariachi ensemble in the state, has already more than doubled its roster of 15 students that participated when it launched last year. 

“The kids that may be kind of marginal, or feel like they’re lost in the cracks, this gives them a sense of pride, that means something to them. And I think that’s why jazz band just didn’t really take off,” Reed said. 

Of the school’s 746 students enrolled in 2024-25, 32.7% identified as Hispanic or Latino. Although many joined Jones’ mariachi band because it’s part of their heritage, it’s a blend of students from diverse backgrounds who joined for diverse reasons. 

Reed, who is white, didn’t start the program as an expert on the genre — he never actually learned or taught mariachi until last year. But he’s a longtime trumpeter, his wife is a violinist and he wanted to create a space for his students to learn about their culture or someone else’s. Jones’ tapestry of student identities is clear from a first step into the school’s entryway, which is trimmed with flags from dozens of countries.

“I’ve been in a lot of schools and this has been my favorite place to teach,” Reed said. “I think the diversity has something to with that,” he said. 

Getting started has meant building the plane while flying it. 

“Last year I was staying a day or two ahead of the kids,” Reed said laughing. 

One of his first moves was asking the local music store to help special order the mariachi instruments, which ended up costing around $20,000 in total. The summer before launching the band last school year, and again this year, Reed attended the National Mariachi Education Workshops, a weeklong conference in Las Vegas, Nevada to learn more about the music genre and how to teach it. 

Both those things were made possible by grant money, Reed said. 

During Reed’s mariachi band classes available to 7th and 8th graders, students learn both how to play instruments and their history. He’s noticed the program’s positive impact on attendance with students coming to school to play their instruments which live in the band room. 

After one year, he was invited to present at the Kentucky Music Educators Association professional development conference about how to start a mariachi band. 

Meet the band

Merli Ramirez, a 7th grader, is one of the students who joined because it represents her Hispanic culture and identity.

“It makes me feel comfortable playing and proud of myself,” Ramirez said. 

Dylan Morales, a 7th grader who already plays trumpet, joined specifically because he really wanted to learn violin.

“I like the sound of it, it has a really clean sound,” he said.

“I wanted to make my momma proud,” said Christopher Ceboci, another 7th grader who joined the program. 

He said his family often listens to mariachi when they’re cleaning up the house. 

It’s also just fun, something Kobe Sanchez, another 7th grader agrees with. 

“It’s not hard, but it’s also not easy,” Sanchez said. 

Manuel Cervantes, an 8th grader, said the class means a lot to him because his family members all play instruments, including his dad, who plays the mariachi staple, the vihuela. 

“I feel I want to carry that on,” Cervantes said. 

“If this goes well, there’s a chance of me joining a bigger group,” he said. 

Mariachi-ng on

Reed has already heard from many of his former 8th grade students who graduated out of the ensemble last year, and no longer have a place to play mariachi.

This year, Reed wants to find a way to outfit the band with uniforms. He said it’s likely the full mariachi suits might be challenging and costly to source, but that he’s looking at options. 

He also is dreaming up a mariachi festival, which would bring together the one other Kentucky public school band at Bryan Station High School, and two other programs at Berea College and the University of Louisville. 

Reed, who also DJs on the side, has also found mariachi might be a real career pathway for students, considering the demand for mariachi bands he’s seen at local weddings.

“This is hard, and I’ve never worked harder than I have at this school, but to see these kids really get behind it, I think, and I hope, it’s going to continue to grow,” he said. 

The post This Northern Kentucky middle school traded jazz for mariachi. Students flocked to it appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Trauma Illinois was destined to be a rock band from the moment of their conception. 

Lead singer Jack Johnson, following a “horrific car accident” and laid up in the ICU, received a get well card from none other than Fall Out Boy, who just happened to be at the same hospital, according to the band’s Cincy Music profile.

At the end, it read “P.S. – Trauma Illinois – sweet band name.” And so, christened by legends like Fall Out Boy, they ran with it.

Trauma Illinois is a Cincy band, born and bred. Don’t let the name fool you — they’ve been proud of their roots the whole time. “Queen City” is one of their early standout singles, joyously grooving through a sing-a-longable and vintage rock-and-roll track. Last year, “PROST!” celebrated Cincy’s German beer culture, and “Pink Motel” is about falling in love… at Riverbend. 

2024’s “White House” compilation contains many of the band’s singles, characterizing Trauma Illinois as a tried-and-true blues rock act at home alongside the likes of Wolfmother, albeit with a cheeky edge. 

Thumbing through their discography, the energy only seems to grow with time. Their newest single from this May, “2007 Toyota RAV4” loses none of the latent cheeriness the band fosters throughout their songs while significantly picking up the pace. It ends up in a place that’s less Led Zeppelin and more Origami Angel, which might seem like a jarring switch, but it works. 

But by no means is the slower stuff less worthwhile. “Blue Bus”, for example, takes its sweet time to build from a single guitar into a soaring melodic affair complete with pipe organ – I’d be surprised if the band left that sound behind, because they so clearly love to make it. 

That being said, I like the direction the band is heading into with their new singles. Come for a rocker like “On Your Lips”, stay for the fun glossiness of “Pink Motel.” 

You can find last week’s feature on Beloved Youth here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

The post CityBeat’s Local Band Highlight: Trauma Illinois appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

This is just about all the information there is online on this week’s band highlight, Beloved Youth: 

“Beloved Youth are a 4 piece alt rock band from the Cincinnati area. Formed in 2012, the group of childhood friends have released 4 ep’s to date. Combining strong pop melodies, acerbic lyrical prowess and focus on compelling guitar arrangements.”

They should really update their Bandcamp page, because their debut album was released just this March. “Derivative” took its sweet time (14 years!), but came out fully-formed and, frankly, beautifully rendered.

The band’s affinity for riffs is one of the first qualities that jumped out at me – the opening track, “Losing Daylight” is a slow burner that really revs up near the end into the forceful second song “Are You Happy?” By just track two, I could feel this album’s alt rock chops showing. 

And the melodies don’t stop coming. Songs like “Automatic” and “Teeth” pull back a bit, but don’t sacrifice their overall catchiness. The band’s songwriting holds up across these tonal shifts, as well as Sean Mac’s particularly impressive vocals, making the disparate singles and such that make up a good bit of this album still feel cohesive.

I also have to shout out Alexandre Hirlinger of Coastal Club for mixing Derivative, because the production is clear as a bell. Every instrument feels right in its place and the vocals are crisp and prominent — lo-fi this is not. 

My personal favorite track has to be “Methuselah” — the band hits a real sweet spot of fun and intensity. Mac builds and builds in a whirlwind on the verses, echoed by frantic guitars that do a really cool switch-up in the final minute. 

To sum up: check this album out. If you’re into anything remotely in the rock sphere, this would slot into your playlist or your CD case quite nicely. 

You can find last week’s feature on Jess Lamb here. Leave a comment on our Instagram or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com with your suggestions for next week’s local band highlight!

The post CityBeat’s Local Band Highlight: Beloved Youth appeared first on Cincinnati CityBeat.

Peaches is still thirsty after all these years.

Merrill Nisker is now in her third decade as Peaches, a singer whose garish visual aesthetic and ribald lyrical explorations remain intact on her first album in 11 years, “No Lube, So Rude.” As that title might suggest, Peaches still isn’t shy about exploring her sexual proclivities. Opening track “Hanging Titties” is patented Peaches, an electro-clash slap to the face delivered via a cavalcade of carnal desires and gender-bending glee.

“No Lube, So Rude” doesn’t hesitate to reference its creator’s age — for the uninitiated, 59-year-old Nisker first unveiled her fearless alter ego back when Bill Clinton still called the White House home. Check this from the slinky “Panna Cotta Delight,” which opens with a chintzy 1980s video-game keyboard lick: “I don’t need insurance, I’ve got the pension/Yes, I’m old, solid gold/A woman in control…”

Peaches’ mashup of influences — which she once described thusly: “I loved Iggy Pop, I loved Riot Grrrl, I loved Missy Elliot and I loved Lil’ Kim lyrics” — populate a discography designed to thrill and offend. “No Lube, So Rude” is no exception.

“For me, and for what I do, I’m always an advocate for queer and trans rights, human rights and bodily autonomy, and those are especially under attack in America right now,” Peaches said in a recent interview with OnMilwaukee. “Even though I already had a lot of material dealing with these themes, it felt like the right time to give another big push, show my support and get out there connecting with the community. I’m letting people know it’s okay to be who we are, to feel how we feel and that we’re absolutely in the right to be who we need to be.”

While the new material revels in its fleshy desires and pointed cultural critiques, album closer “Be Love” reveals Peaches’ need for deeper connection, culminating with unexpected strings and a fading beat as she yearns, “What to do, not the truth/Find the real inside you/I wanna be love.”

As expected, a Peaches live show is an interactive spectacle, complete with elaborate costumes, backing dancers and enough sexual bravado to make Prince blush. It’s a celebration of life personified by the following sentiments in “Flip This,” which is a live staple on the current tour: “We are the noise, filter through/Seek and destroy, fill it new/We are the voice, coming through/We can’t avoid, bring the truth.”

Peaches is playing at Bogarts on September 19. Click here for tickets.

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