This week, let’s celebrate love. The Akron Art Museum hosts the jazz-themed Circa Jazz party where you and your sweetie can learn the Charleston, solve a mystery and check out the exhibitions. Confused young love is the theme of Spring Awakening at Beck Center, with one of Vicky Bussert’s first productions since moving her musical theater program to Oberlin. Meanwhile the BW music theatre program honors Kyle-Jean Baptiste, an alum whose young career was cut short by an accident. There’s a Sweetheart Burlesque show, the Polka Hall of Fame hosts the Sweetheart Ball, and the nonprofit M.U.S.I.C. presents “Love Is In The Air” with music by Chopin & Debussy.
Love hits differently for everyone. If your flavor turns toward the dark and gothic, you’ll enjoy the reunion of 90s local heroes Queue Up, taking the stage at Jilly’s Music Room this Friday for an early show, followed by the all-female MESUSA, part of the NEO Rewind Series. And if festivals set your heart on fire (they do ours), you need to check out the first edition of CoolCleveland’s 2026 Festivals Guide, listing over 60 festivals between this week’s Kurentovanje Festival through Stan Hywet’s Ohio Mart in October. You’ll love it.
Ali Garrigan and Dennis Van Crash (above), the writers and vocalists of Queue Up eventually moved on, but never fell out, and this week they bring it all back with a full-on reunion at Jilly’s Music Room in Akron on Fri 2/13 at 7PM. The all-female MEDUSA (below) follows, bringing girl-powered energy and fun. It’s all part of the 2026 NEO Rewind Series, continuing through July.
