09.02-09.09.2026 In the (K)Now

 

 

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In The (K)Now

09.02-09.09.26

How did we get so smart just now? Just how is it that we know so many cool events coming up in the next week? Well, for one thing, we receive hundreds of emails a day to EVENTS@CoolCleveland.com from legit area artists and nonprofits telling us what they are up to (you could do the same). Plus, we’ve been in the arts community ourselves for a long time, and many of the artists we write about are our friends. So let’s make friends. Now.

If you haven’t checked out Riverdog near Oberlin (as we did once again a couple weeks ago), you are in for a treat. Same can be said for the band Mourning [A] BLKstar, whom we recently performed with on our NEO Rewind Series, and who are hosting a rare free concert on Public Square. Our buddy Jamie Haddad is fresh off his gig backing up Paul Simon on his latest tour (including a stop at Blossom), and now you can catch him up close at BOP STOP.

We’ve known the supertalented Amy Casey forever, and happy to see she’s exhibiting at Walk All Over Waterloo this week. Our friend Gabe Pollock puts on the CMA’s MIX party, which features an Island vibe this time around. We caught Rent For Cheryl a couple weeks ago when they headlined Highland Square’s PorchROKR, and now they are lighting up Cain Park. One of our favorite local politicians, Shontel Brown has taken over the 11th District Labor Day Parade and Festival to celebrate our great city. So I guess it really is who you know. Don’t wait.

-Thomas Mulready

CoolCleveland.com 

Photo by Thomas Mulready

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FEATURE

 

 MAGICAL MUSICAL SETTING 

“20-acre Riverdog Retreat on former farmland is five miles from Oberlin in Wakeman, a drive past farms and forests into the countryside,” says CoolCleveland writer Claudia J. Taller. “Every time I venture out there for a concert, I’m enchanted. ‘Retreat’ is a good name for it—the campground community laidback feel, with equally mellow guests, makes it a destination where relaxation intersects with art.”

Recently Taller ventured out to Riverdog to hear a rising young band called Liam Purcell & Cain River, one of the many outstanding bluegrass-influenced/Americana ensembles that are the venue’s staples, a sound enhanced by the appropriately rustic setting. “They composed a new song the night before the concert and performed it for us with great confidence,” Claudia reports.

 

NEWS

 

 ON A ROLL 

Cleveland’s Alla Boara was formed by drummer Anthony Taddeo during the pandemic to bring a jazz feel to traditional Italian folk tunes. They’ve spread their wings since then, with more out-of-town touring, collaborations, an educational nonprofit, and now their fourth album called Tessere which they’ll debut at Peninsula’s G.A.R. Hall Friday 9/4. And they have a Christmas album in the pipeline!

WEDNESDAY
9/2

 

Cleveland’s self-dubbed “Afro-Futurist Collective” Mourning [A] BLKStar plays on Public Square for its free summer concert series this evening, debunking the myth that there’s nothing to see but tribute bands. The group’s blend of soul, jazz, spoken word and hip hop confronts issues of justice and cultural awareness,

 MORE on WEDNESDAY… 

 

THURSDAY
9/3

 

The Great Geauga County Fair may be a day or two shorter than most county fairs. But it makes up for it in its sheer size and schedule of activities, from music to nearly two dozen rides to TWO demolition derbies to a space devoted to environmental stewardship. It could take you all of the fair’s five days to see everything.

 MORE on THURSDAY… 

FRIDAY
9/4

 

Amy Casey is one of Cleveland’s most gifted and original—and quietest—artists. While she hasn’t had a solo show locally in two decades, she’s built a following in other cities such as Chicago. Tonight at Walk All Over Waterloo her work goes on view at the Maria Neil gallery.

 MORE on FRIDAY… 

SATURDAY
9/5

 

For the fourth year, the Hingetown Jazz Festival presents an afternoon and evening of music at three venues around the corner of West 29th Street and Detroit Avenue — and it’s all free.

 MORE on SATURDAY… 

SUNDAY
9/6

 

The Music Box Supper Club’s Reggae Sundays end as they started on Memorial Day weekend, with Carlos Jones & the P.L.U.S. Band. They’ll play on the inside stage with the doors open to the river breezes, and tropical-style drinks and a Jamaican-flavored menu available.

 MORE on SUNDAY… 

 

MONDAY
9/7

 

The 11th Congressional District Labor Day Parade and Festival was started by Congressman Louis Stokes 54 years ago and it’s still going strong under Congresswoman Shontel Brown, featuring one of the largest parades in NE Ohio and an afternoon to hang out in Luke Easter Park and enjoy food, music and friendship.  

 

TUESDAY
9/8

 

It’s the last hurrah for the Summit Metro Park Band—the last of their 25th season, that is, when they bring their familiar pop tunes and standards to Cascade Valley Metro Park’s Himelright Lodge for an indoor concert. The patio doors will be open so you can also sit outside and enjoy fresh air with the music.

WEDNESDAY
9/9

 

Ten years ago, Sara Continenza founded the nonprofit Food Strong to promote food justice—healthy food accessible to all. Two years ago it acquired an unused urban farm it’s restoring and upgrading. Tonight it hosts its “Botanical Wonderland Gala” to help fund its work.

 MORE on WEDNESDAY… 

BACKTALK

 

 

Who do YOU know?-Thomas Mulready
CoolCleveland.com

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