Read this week’s feature on Cleveland’s post-Covid DIY scene below, and then check out shots from around town from shows that happened this summer and fall, from a Black queer space in Midtown to an AdultMart parking lot. [content-1]
Fans at the Slime House AdultMart show in November. Credit: Mark OpreaMitch Frear, of Cum Jar, and Erik Alcaraz, of Drug Abuse, at the AdultMart show in November. Credit: Mark OpreaA crowdsurfer at the AdultMart show. Credit: Mark OpreaFans at AdultMart. Credit: Mark OpreaCleveland singer-songwriter Jason Kaminski and his band playing at The Birdhouse in early November. Credit: Mark OpreaLowercase Roses, the performing name of Matt Scheuermann, playing his song “Traveling Salesman” at The Birdhouse in November. Though he’s lived in Philadelphia for the past 10 years, Scheuermann returns to Cleveland often to play DIY shows. Credit: Mark OpreaQuinn, 28, the founder of Birdhouse in 2019, watches Lowercase Roses play at a show in early November. He says DIY has grown more organized in its post-Covid revival. Credit: Mark OpreaAn attendee at a DIY bridge show in October. Credit: Mark OpreaA security guard working for Bedrock intervened halfway through the show. “Next time I’ll call CPD,” he said. Credit: Mark OpreaA security guard working for Bedrock intervened halfway through the show. “Next time I’ll call CPD,” he said. Credit: Mark OpreaA DIY show hosted on a soon-to-be-demolished bridge Downtown drew a full crowd in mid-October. Credit: Mark OpreaFugitive Bubble, an indie band from Olympia, Washington, playing the Downtown bridge show in October. Credit: Mark OpreaDIY bridge culture in late September. Credit: Mark OpreaCredit: Mark OpreaA line dance formed at BLK Punx Press’s Juneteeth show. Credit: Mark OpreaA line dance in BLK Punx Press’s Juneteeth show. Credit: Mark OpreaOnya Nurve, a drag queen from Cleveland, hosted BLK Punx’s Juneteenth celebration this year. Credit: Mark OpreaBLK Punx Press. Credit: Mark OpreaDrag queens wait for their sets at BLK Punx’s Juneteenth show. Credit: Mark OpreaDeNayva Tolbert, 30, at a bar inside BLK Punx Press’ indoor space. Tolbert started her DIY venue, which hosts everything from drag performers to funk groups, as an musical haven for the Black queer community. Credit: Mark OpreaCrowdsurfing at the AdultMart show in early November. Credit: Mark OpreaDrug Abuse’s set at AdultMart in November. Credit: Mark Oprea
Mark Oprea is a staff writer at Scene. He's covered Cleveland for the past decade, and has contributed to TIME, NPR, Narratively, the Pacific Standard and the Cleveland Magazine. He's the winner of two Press Club awards.
