Since opening the Beachland Ballroom & Tavern in Collinwood some 15 years ago, co-owners Mark Leddy and Cindy Barber have brought a number of terrific national acts to town. Bands like the White Stripes played the Tavern before graduating to bigger venues. The garage-blues duo the Black Keys played their first-ever show in the club's tavern. Sleater-Kinney once said it was their favorite venue in the country. The place gets props from national and local acts alike.
15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com.
The fact that local acts such as Hillbilly Idol and Oldboy are willing to schlep out to Mentor to play the Local Tavern speaks volumes about the place's reputation. It features live music almost every night of the week. Monday nights are known as Monday Mashup Jam Night and spots for local musicians fill up fast. It's a good opportunity to see the city's local music talent all in one fell swoop.
9470 Mentor Ave., Mentor, 440-392-6022, local-tavern.com.
Miss Alexandra Huntingdon began performing in opera and musical theater before settling on the stage name Miss Alexandra Huntingdon and hitting the Cleveland clubs. A self-described "rust-belt glamour queen," Huntingdon describes her music as original songs with a retro-pop/cabaret sensibility. She's recorded her new live album at Survival Kit Gallery in the 78th Street Studios; it shows off her vocal prowess.
A veteran of the local club scene, EV teamed up with locals Lorine Chia and Machine Gun Kelly on the catchy dancefloor-ready single "GoodTime." With the song, EV successfully blurs the lines between hip-hop and EDM. The song's premiere last year was a big enough deal that Rolling Stone magazine even covered it. You can usually find EV spinning at all the typical Warehouse District bars.
Originally a duo, Seafair expanded to a four-piece when singer-keyboardist Chayla Hope and guitarist Joshua Riehl recruited drummer Ryan Kelly and cellist Tara Hanish, both of whom had played in the terrific local act Unsparing Sea, to join them. The group then became even bigger when it added guitarist Mike Flaherty and violinist Andre Belding to the fold. Together, the six create lush soundscapes that rival those of like-minded acts such as the Arcade Fire and the National.
Movie and music buffs are likely familiar with local author Matthew Chojnacki's works — Alternative Movie Posters, a comprehensive look at the art of underground film posters, and Put the Needle on the Record, a comparative read of 250-plus vinyl singles covers of popular '80s musicians, both of which have made regional and national headlines since their release. We reckon these hardbacks will quickly become your new favorite coffee table books, so click on over to Chojnacki's website. He'll probably even sign them for you.
Cleveland Cinemas' eastside palace of indie and foreign fare is the perennial favorite for this award, and with good reason. Not only is it the birthplace of the Cleveland International Film Festival, and home to monthly midnight movie screenings of Rocky Horror and The Room, it's also the only game in town for limited-release films and smaller distributors. The region's true art-house theater is the Cleveland Cinematheque, but it's the Cedar Lee that gives you first-run gems, Oscar nominees, and up-and-coming directors in one friendly package. Plus, Cleveland Heights has tons of great options for food and beer after you catch a flick.
2163 Lee Rd., Cleveland Hts., 216-321-5411, clevelandcinemas.com.
It's cold as hell, there's good food, better beer, and some of the best bands braving the frigid weather to put on an amazing show. Brite Winter is what Cleveland is all about. It's an odd concept — an outdoor music festival in the dead of Cleveland's winter — but people keep flocking to the Ohio City event because it's too damn fun to pass up. Put on a hat, a coat, another hat and another coat, gather round the fire, and bask in the tunes.
As a stay-at-home mom of three boys, Elyria's Rachel Krych knows how to find the best deals and stretch a dollar when buying things for the house. She's essentially a frugality guru, posting the best deals she can find on her blog, and showing you how to become a couponer like those all-star couponers you see on reality TV. Krych also writes columns for the Chronicle Telegram and Medina County Gazette.
It would seem impossible to take a lumbering theatrical war wagon like Les Miserables and turn it into a touching, intimate musical with loads of nuance. But that's exactly what Victoria Bussert did as the director of Les Miz at Great Lakes Theater last fall. In that downsized version, many scenes played with an unforeseen clarity, and the cozy confines of the Hanna Theatre proved ideal for Bussert's concept and the glorious music.
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