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!

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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!

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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. 

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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!

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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!

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Picture it: a laser-lit, smoky room, floor-to-ceiling screens pulsing with light and color, reinforcing the trance-like rhythm so you forget it’s long past your bedtime – you’re dancin’, baby!

Here in the Queen City, the dance scene is vibrant and alive. Throw a stone, and you’ll likely hit a funky bar with a fun DJ – but this week’s band highlight isn’t spinning traditional club tracks. A dark edge pervades “I am.”, the third studio album from UC and Xavier songwriting professor and singer Jess Lamb, but the grooves win out to produce atmospheric and moody – as well as undeniably catchy – club tunes. 

Released this summer via Queen City Sounds, Lamb seems downright boisterous from the tracklist; “I am.” starts every title, seeming to point to her directly. However, Lamb’s first lyrics are asking if someone else is okay and directing the energy outward. Those first question-and-answer, call-and-response lines immediately tossed my assumptions of the record out the window, revealing an inner anxiety that sticks around. 

Track two, “I am the answer.” picks up the pace, feeling like a 90s dance throwback as it jams the refrain “we’re born to fly” deep into your brain. For people who’d rather shut up and dance, there’s plenty to be had on this record. 

“I am free.” feels like a real high point, thoughtfully toeing the line between poignant vocals and danceable beats. The mood then shifts toward a more manic and sinister energy for track four, which the record dips in and out of through the rest of the runtime (namely “I am abundant.” that drones along for over ten minutes). 

Echoes of artists from Chappell Roan to Grimes show up across the music – in fact, “I am love.” could almost feel like a direct collaboration between the two, if it weren’t for Lamb’s distinct and powerful backing vocals.

That self-assuredness comes through on “I am beautiful.” but at track ten, it feels more like self-affirmation after a long string of anxious doubts. God’s presence in the lyrics and themes can’t be ignored when searching for meaning in this record, but for as many references as there are, the real source of power throughout the piece seems to come from within. 

Track 12, “God’s Imagination” ends the record on a quietly hopeful note. Featuring harp from Viktoria Lekson that reinforces the heavenly vibes, the lyrics read “now sing it / metamorphosis/transformative/manifest/destiny/with your own voice now”. Being a figment of God’s imagination could make some people feel small and insignificant, but Lamb seems almost relieved. She makes her own power, and tells you to do the same in the closing seconds with her call to action: “now shine!”

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

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First things first: no, I don’t know if you’re supposed to pronounce the “!” with a little pause. 

Oh! The Manatee, according to the band, crystallized (or should I say, catalyzed) in a little cabin in Kentucky late last year. The Clifton quartet ran to the woods to write what would become “Catalyze,” their debut EP they claim represents many “sleepless nights crammed into a room full of instruments.” 

The band’s first single, “Tailgate,” dropped in September of last year, setting a precedent for an indie aesthetic akin to the soft parts of Hop Along or Wednesday, albeit with a distinctly DIY edge. That notion falls away with the EP’s opener, “Halfway,” a lively rocker that crashes into the slower, doom-y distortion of “Crown.” 

For five tracks and just seventeen minutes, “Catalyze” packs a surprising amount of variance. 

Annabel Taylor’s vocals flitter between ethereal runs and barely-contained yells, and the aforementioned guitar work from Stephen Nagamalla makes every track feel fresh. Dylan Lopes’ percussion feels perfectly suited for each track, and coupled with chunky front-and-center bass riffs from Isaiah Poe interplaying with the melodies, the band comes together like a well-oiled machine for their debut project. 

The standout track, undoubtedly, is “Ladybug Lady”, but not for the reason you think. Forest sounds accent thoughtful acoustic guitar and naked vocals in a sugary-sweet, Cavetown kinda way on this song – It will stick with you for its novelty even if it’s not explicitly *your* thing. For a collection of music featuring something resembling doom metal just two tracks ago, I’m surprised too. 

In short, Oh! The Manatee has a lot of promise in this scene. “Catalyze” shows more than raw strength, but versatility, restraint, and a solidified artistic direction carrying them toward a full-length project. I’m excited for the first big release from this band, and I hope you are too. 

…Also, manatees are mammals, right?

You can listen to their music wherever you stream, and catch them around town at your favorite indie haunt. 

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

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Local Emmy-nominated vocalist, percussionist and songwriter Patsy Meyer released her latest album “Changes” last week.

The largely instrumental album, which blends smooth jazz with Latin-inspired grooves, comes from incomplete compositions that Meyer produced with her late husband over a decade ago. Meyer’s husband, John Henry Kreitler, was a 10-time Emmy-winning composer and worked on notable series like “Law & Order” and “Melrose Place.” He died in January 2024.

“I have so much music that was just sitting there in a treasure box. I’ve found, in my grief, that I needed to move forward, complete this and share it with the world. I don’t know what inspired me to put it out now. I guess it was just being able to finally get back to it, and to be coming out of the dark, as Gloria Estefan wrote,” Meyer said. “I miss his creativity, his intelligence and musicality, and I miss him as my partner. I just felt like there was an opening in my life to let this all the music out, and it all still sounds relevant today.”

Meyer got her start as a vocalist in the eighth grade after participating in choirs, variety shows and the like. She contemplated going to school for music, but ended up majoring in fashion and interior design. The Cincinnati native ended up falling back into the musical realm anyway when she moved to Los Angeles in 2001 and ended up going on tour with Grammy-winning jazz guitarist Norman Brown.

Over time, she worked her way up to playing at some of the world’s biggest venues — like the Hollywood Bowl — with famous acts like Patti Austin, Peabo Bryson, War and Cheap Trick. In addition, she and her husband took up residence in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, every winter for more than a decade to perform internationally.

Eventually, Meyer returned to the Queen City permanently in 2018. She now teaches at schools across the city, facilitates drum circles for the Cincinnati Arts Association, is heavily involved with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and was inducted into the Cincinnati Jazz Hall of Fame last year. She still performs, too, as the leader of the Patsy Meyer Band.

“When you’re on tour, you’re living in a hotel, so it’s a little different. I would be in Dallas performing for three weeks, and then we would go to Boston, and then Montreal, and so on. It wasn’t a permanent thing, but it was enjoyable,” she said. “But I just love being back here. Even while I lived in LA for 18 years, I’d come back all the time. Cincinnati feels like home. My daughter is also a musician who works for the Children’s Theatre, and I get to see my little two-year-old grandson a lot, which makes me happy. Plus, we have great musicians here in Cincinnati that could rival any LA musicians most of the time. Just saying.”

Meyer will be performing at Fountain Square on Sept. 15 to celebrate the album’s release, and plans to have a more formal album release party at Caffe Vivace on October 8. In her free time, she’s also putting together another album she wrote with her late husband that is “100% vocal.”

“I’m trying to continue on with our vision. You know, it took a while to get the courage to do that, and to have the growth mindset to try to pursue a lot of the things we wanted to do together. I don’t know. I just hope that everyone enjoys the album and it takes them on a really nice, smooth journey. Have a glass of wine and put it on,” she said. “I don’t plan to stop anytime soon … I just can’t imagine doing anything else. I love playing. I love singing. I love creating music. It’s my life.”

For more information on Patsy Meyer, including details on her new album and her upcoming shows, visit her website.

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After months of speculation following the Voices of America Country Music Festival’s announcement of a relocation, the festival has revealed its new home.

In its 5th year, the VOA Country Music Festival will take place at the Butler County Fairgrounds from Aug. 5-7. Moving the festival to the Butler County Fairgrounds will help it expand further and allow fans to camp onsite for the weekend, according to festival organizers.

“This festival belongs to more than one location,” said Tyler Wogenstahl, the festival’s founder and the president of Further Concepts and Investors. “It belongs to the fans, artists, employees, vendors, sponsors and community partners who have helped build it. Our responsibility now is to take VOA somewhere it is welcomed, supported and given the opportunity to grow.”

Previously, the festival took place in West Chester’s VOA MetroPark. Wogenstahl confirmed to CityBeat back in July that he had already chosen a new location for the festival, but was waiting for the 2026 festival to go off without a hitch. West Chester Township announced in a release that local government officials made the decision to discontinue hosting the festival earlier this summer.

“In early June 2026, the township provided advance notice to Further Concepts and
Investors, LLC (aka Further Festivals), that the license agreement for the use of township property would not be renewed, allowing the event organizer sufficient time to plan for relocating future events,” the release read.

For the upcoming fifth festival, organizers will expand the fest’s Loyalty Presale to include all fans who purchased tickets in 2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026. Eligible past purchasers will receive an exclusive Loyalty Code, providing early access to 2027 passes at the festival’s lowest available pricing, in an effort to show gratitude to everyone who has been part of their story from year one.

At this year’s festival, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton and Jordan Davis headlined each day. Other big names who made an appearance at the festival include LeAnn Rimes, Scotty McCreery, Tyler Hubbard, Lee Brice, Dustin Lynch, Rodney Atkins, Ashley Cooke and Easton Corbin.

For more information on the VOA Country Music Festival, visit the official website.

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Have a Nice Life’s “Deathconsciousness” (2008) is a distinctly internet age album.

It’s devastating and vast and empty; the mood and texture of the music matter as much, if not more than, the words that are being said on the songs. The blown-out, droning drums on “Bloodhail” completely contradict the calm opener “A Quick One Before the…” and swallow up the ephemeral guitars and vocals. It’s more than post-punk; it’s shoegaze and doom metal and tone poetry and drone wrapped in a particular perspective your parents could just never understand. 

It’s now almost 20 years later. Enter the subject of today’s local band highlight: Mall Witch. 

The comparisons to bands like Have a Nice Life aren’t hard to make. “Sunk Cost Fallacy,” Mall Witch’s newest single, might share an anxious, growling guitar tone or a DIY production style, but two decades of internet brainrot has done a number on things. 

“Not Gone Yet,” another single from this year, switches gears a bit to a decayed and deliberately-paced sound more akin to Wednesday or Ethel Cain — and vocalist Levi Antoine really soars. The band’s demo tape features stripped production with much more room for vocals (tracks like “Collateral Damage” are super accessible), so for the chiller Mall Witch experience, I’d recommend staying on that side of things. 

But the band, the production, and the scrap bits of audio laid into their other tracks tell an interesting story. Echoes of echoes ring throughout the Mall Witch discography, from commercials (“Count Chocula is Buying Real…”) to the screech of a dial-up modem that brings me back to places in my own childhood. The anxiety of a severe weather alert, the comforting synth of the early internet, the pitched-down voice of the devil. These pieces of ephemera, at least to me, evoke a kind of memory that seems to reach through the music at me. 

In short, I can’t recommend it enough. I, for one, will be watching this band closely for a full-length release. It is exactly my kind of jam, and if you’re anything like me, it’s probably yours too.

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

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