Sat 2/24 @ 3-11PM
Cleveland’s biggest wintertime festival back again, sprawling across the West Bank of the flats, its home in recent years, succeeding two other locations in its 15-year history. As it’s expanded its footprint, it’s also expanded the range of its activities, with the Ingenuity Festival Ingeneers providing installations, displays and arts activities. That’s in addition to the five stages of music, kids activities, and of course the beloved fire pits.
In its middle years, the festival booked a lot of out-of-town bands but recently the lineup has been almost all local — with the result that it keeps getting stronger and stronger, given the quality of today’s area talent. Among the acts you can hear are the Latin rhythm-driven Hello! 3D, young classic rock-style virtuosos LoConti, powerful pop divas Lauren Lanzaretta and Chayla Hope (whose former band Seafair I first heard at Brite Winter, back when it was in Ohio City), ubiquitous guitarist Ray Flanagan, who plays with everyone, with his own band the Mean Machines, rangy jam-style fusion band Wanyama, the dreamy Kid Tigrr (aka Jenna Fournier), cheeky folk duo the Baker’s Basement, pop-inflected rockers Lilieae, and DJ Red-I (Brittany Benton) spinning hip hop, funk, house and more, among others. And all are part of the vibrant local music scene.
Things trend to be a little quieter and laid back in the afternoon. When it gets dark, a partying crowd replaces families. And the hard partyers can keep things going until late at the official afterparty at Mulberry’s in the Flats, from 11PM until close.
Get Brite Winter tickets here.
Cleveland, OH 44113