And the Beat Goes On…
Early spring brings even more great music
By Greg Cielec
As a mild winter turns into, hopefully, an early spring, our local concert clubs and small hall venues have a variety of great shows in almost any genre for music fans to enjoy as the seasons change.
The House of Blues welcomes the coming of spring with a lineup of classic rockers and old-school ’90s singers with Eddie Money on the Thu 3/1; Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes on Fri 3/2; Boys II Men on Fri 3/16; the Saw Doctors on Fri 3/23; and blues guitarist extraordinaire Johnny Lang on Sun 5/13.
In the next several weeks Nighttown, on the top of Cedar Hill, has a stellar lineup of shows, starting with Boston jazz vocalist Michelle Wilson, backed by Cleveland bluesmen Blue Lunch, on Sat 2/25. The next night Sun 2/26 Manhattan Transfer original member Janis Siegel does a solo show. Comedian and social activist Dick Gregory stops in for two nights, on Wed 2/29 and Fri 3/2. On Wed 3/7 guitarist Murali Coryell (son of Larry) brings his trio in for a show.
The Beachland Ballroom will soon be celebrating its 12th Anniversary with a whole menu of great shows over the next several months. On Thu 2/23 it’s Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires [pictured]; on Fri 2/24 it is the Del Fuegos on a small mini-reunion tour; the Greenhorns on Mon 3/12; Dave Alvin, once of the Blasters, on Wed 3/7; the Reverend Horton Heat returns Thu 3/15; Loudon Wainwright III returns Thu 4/19; Jonathon Edwards will take the audience back to Athens on Fri 4/27; and Sonny Landreth and the Brickhouse Blues Band will play Thu 5/17. This is just a small sampling of the shows on tap at the Beachland in the coming months.
If you love guitarists and rock legends, the Winchester is the place to be this spring. Starting with Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials on Sat 2/25; followed by Denny Lane (of Wings amongst other bands) on Fri 3/9; blues legends Savoy Brown, with original lead guitarist and founder Kim Simmonds, takes the stage on Sat 3/10; and bluesmen Jimmy Thackery and the Drivers play on Fri 3/23. In April local legends take over the stage, with the Wally Bryson Group playing Fri 4/13, and Jonah Koslen’s Stagepass Now coming back for a return engagement on Fri 4/20. April closes out with Kelly Richey and her Band on the Sat 4/28.
And, finally, don’t forget about all the good things happening south of town at the Kent Stage in downtown Kent. On Fri 3/2 they too host the Del Fuegos on their reunion tour; followed the next night Sat 3/3 by bluegrass legends Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys. Guitar virtuoso Neil Zaza has a CD release show on Fri 3/16; Greg Brown returns on Sat 3/31; Leon Redbone appears on Fri 4/27; and the beautiful Judy Collins returns on Sat 4/28.
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.
Cleveland, OH 44114
Cleveland Heights, OH 44106
Cleveland, OH 44110
Lakewood, OH 44107
Kent, OH 44240
One Response to “And the Beat Goes On…”
Billy Clarksville
Thanks, for all the information. Great Job!
When is the new book going to be release? Can’t wait.
PEACE,
BC
PS. Billy is back!