Concert picks to start the season right
Now that summer is finally here, hopefully, music fans will be out and about to the various venues around Northeast Ohio. Just because it is summer, please don’t ignore our smaller music clubs and venues. Many a time as you fight the traffic to get in and out of Blossom on your way to hear today’s “in” generic country band sound just like they do on their video and pay eight bucks for a beer, you could’ve seen someone a lot more talented, in a much smaller venue, for a lot less money. The first half of summer alone has a great lineup of national acts coming our way at various clubs including…
Nighttown has a few great reasons for those who don’t like jazz to come to Cleveland’s best jazz club. On Wed 6/8, tango music comes to Nighttown with Argentina native Hector Del Curto, and Tue 6/28 & Wed 6/29 is the return of California rock legend J. D. Souther doing solo acoustic shows. I saw him the last time at Nighttown and he was terrific. If you are into singer/songwriters check one of his shows out. And, as always, there are also a lot of great jazz acts coming through Nighttown this summer, check out http://NighttownCleveland.com for more info.
The Beachland also will be rocking this summer. On Thu 6/9 blues guitarist Jimmy Thackery, co-founder of the Nighthawks, brings his current band to the Beachland; and on Sat 6/21 Jimmie Dale Gilmore makes an appearance. For information on these shows and all the great stuff going on at the Beachland visit http://BeachlandBallroom.com.
The Winchester in Lakewood has a CD release party for the Rick Bay Band’s album Can’t Lie Hard Enough on Fri 6/3; Blues guitarist Kelly Richey and her band make an appearance on Fri 6/10; and British rock icon Ian McLagen comes in on Fri 6/17. McLagen played in both the Faces and the Small Faces, and played keyboards on many of Rod Stewart’s early hits including “Maggie May.” For information on these shows and more visit http://TheWinchester.net.
Down in Kent they will be getting into bluegrass, country and the blues this summer with Sam Bush on Fri 6/3; the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on Sat 6/4; and Cleveland favorites Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes headlining the Kent Blues Festival on Sat 7/23. For more info go to http://KentStage.com.
And let us not forget our friends downtown at the House of Blues with the legendary Robin Trower on Thu 6/2; jam rockers Grace Potter and the Nocturnals [pictured] on Sat 6/4; and blues guitarist Jonny Lang on Thu 6/23. For more info on these shows and a whole lot more go to http://HOB.com/cleveland.
Greg Cielec is a local writer who covers mostly music and sports for a variety of publications and websites. He is also a full time English and creative writing teacher at Streetsboro High School; an adjunct professor at BGSU Firelands College and Lakeland Community College; and a football coach at John Carroll University.
He has published two books of fiction, My Cleveland Story (1998) and Home and Away Games (2006), and the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Michael Heaton has called him “the Mark Twain of Cleveland.” Check out his website and blog at http://www.GregCielec.com.
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One Response to “The Sounds of Summer: Concert picks to start the season right”
jeff
Like The House of Blues isn’t corporate or pricey…gimme a break