Rock Hall to Honor Smokey Robinson at 20th Annual Music Masters (Updated)
Update: The Rock Hall has just announced the first batch of performers scheduled to appear at the tribute. Dennis Edwards, Martha Reeves and Mary Wilson — all of whom are Rock Hall inductees — will perform along with Grammy winner the Robert Glasper Experiment. Adam Blackstone, a guy who’s served as the Musical Director for…
The L.A. Band ‘Talkback’ That Shit All Over Cleveland Has Some More Things To Say
Update: In case you were wondering where L.A.-based trio Talkback gets its name, look no further than this post, recently published to the band’s official Facebook page. Members and siblings Bri, Matt, and Justin Geraci, who originally hail from Cleveland, have a few things to say about Scene and our article which made the rounds on…
Update: Hillary Clinton Slated to Visit Cleveland Later This Month
Update: Details regarding Ms. Clinton’s upcoming visit to the Forest City have been released. The Democratic presidential hopeful will speak to the public at a ‘Commit to Vote’ Grassroots Organizing Meeting on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 9:30 a.m. at Case Western’s Tinkham Veale University Center. Doors open at 8:00 a.m. and the whole event is expected to…
Two Opening Receptions Highlight This Month’s Walk All Over Waterloo
This month’s Walk All Over Waterloo first Friday event includes two opening receptions for new exhibitions in Collinwood. I’ll Be the One in the Mask is a solo exhibition by Eric Leroy at Gallery One Sixty. On the other end of Waterloo, Praxis Fiber Workshop debuts recent work by ten members of Cleveland Institute of…
SPACES Interns Take Over Exhibition Space This Month
SPACES is proud to have some very talented interns. In an effort to promote these talents and reward the interns for their hard work and dedication to the organization, SPACES is letting these talented artists take over its exhibition space. Timeout is an exhibition curated by and showcasing work from SPACES 2015 interns. It is…
Cavs Holding Open Auditions For National Anthem Singers Aug. 29
You, too, could sing the National Anthem before a regular season Cleveland Cavaliers game. The Cavs are holding open tryouts on August 29th (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.) at the Q to put together a pool of potential performers for next season. Nothing terribly fancy about the auditions: You or your group (no larger than…
Playhouse Square to Expand KeyBank Broadway Series Beginning with 2016-2017 Season
Cleveland is about a year away from joining some elite company: Playhouse Square, beginning with the 2016-17 season, will expand the KeyBank Broadway Series to run 24 performances over three weeks instead of 16 performances over two weeks. This announcement emboldens Cleveland’s identity as a definitive city for the performing, visual and musical arts as…
Veteran Acts Shine at Lollapalooza 2015
“I just saw someone fall over — fucking amateur,” observed one photographer over the weekend at Lollapalooza, the annual destination festival that takes place at Chicago’s Grant Park. “I’ve been going to concerts for 41 years and I haven’t fallen over once. And I used to party pretty hard.” The extreme heat contributed to dehydration…
Big Bang Dueling Piano Bar Keyed Up for Friday Opening
Come Friday, the third new business in Phase II of the Flats East Bank development will come to life. The Big Bang dueling piano bar opens on the heels of Alley Cat Oyster Bar and FWD Day and Nightclub, both of which unlocked their doors over the weekend. Big Bang (1163 Front Ave., 216-417-6222) officially…
Man Breaks into Ohio City Home, Drops His Pants, Watches Woman Sleep
“This is what I do.” This was the last thing a man said before he was pushed out of a Ohio City home when a woman found him standing over her at 5 a.m. with his pants down according to NewsNet5. The 37-year-old woman woke up to the man in her bedroom holding his private…
Van Halen Delivers Deep Tracks and Hits at Blossom Concert
It had been too long since concert fans had spent a hot summer night with Van Halen under the stars at Blossom Music Center. Actually, it had been 20 years — going all the way back to the Balance tour in July of 1995, during the controversial “Van Hagar” era. (This writer enjoys both of…
Artist Jimmy Kuehnle Will Explain That Big Pink Inflatable at MOCA This Week
If you’ve walked or driven past MOCA Cleveland after dark this summer, you’ve probably seen Jimmy Kuehnle’s 40-ft. tall, 25-ft. wide bright pink, inflatable installation in the building’s large front window. The soft, bright form intentionally contrasts MOCA Cleveland’s cutting-edge architecture. “The architecture influenced my design by its very shape,” explains Kuehnle. “MOCA Cleveland’s building…
Cleveland Browns Fans: Drown Your Sorrows With These 9 New Beers at FirstEnergy Stadium
Hope and optimism run deep this time of the year as the Cleveland Browns trudge through training camp and into the first preseason games of the year. (Aforementioned hope and optimism have been know to flame out by the second quarter of the home opener as the return of Cleveland Browns football brings new faces…
Here are the Ten Republicans You Can Expect to See Thursday Night at the Q
Though the 10-man roster of Republican debaters won’t be released until hours before the 9 p.m. debate on Thursday, recent polls have given us a pretty good idea who will grace the Quicken Loans Arena Stage. Per Fox News, the candidates will be arranged according to their placement in the polls, with the most popular…
Carlos Jones & the P.L.U.S. Band to Play Benefit Concert at West Park Station
One of Northeast Ohio’s hardest working bands, Carlos Jones & The P.L.U.S. Band (aka The Peace, Love, Unity Syndicate) keep a busy schedule during the summer months when they play outdoor festivals and special events. The reggae group has just announced it’ll perform at an Expressions of Diversity benefit for adults with autism, developmental disabilities…
Cleveland Metroparks to Host Second Annual Whiskey Island Stand Up Paddleboard Festival
Been meaning to cut back on the booze and do something, you know, active? Get up and out on the water Second Annual Whiskey Island Stand Up Paddleboard Race and Festival on Saturday, Aug. 22, at Lakefront Reservation. Stand up paddleboarding has been getting pretty popular over the last few years, especially in Northeast Ohio. Unlike surfing,…
These New Cleveland Billboards Are Trying to Get Republicans to Talk about Police Violence
The national black political organization Color of Change has purchased nine billboards in the Cleveland area to raise awareness about police brutality in advance of the first Republican National Debate, which will be held in Cleveland Thursday. “It’s likely that without these billboards, Republican candidates will ignore systemic racism and discriminatory policing in next week’s…
Akron Police Respond to Call of Baby Eating Charcoal, Find Couple Running Meth Lab
Akron police responded to a call over the weekend concerning a toddler who was spotted shoveling charcoal into his mouth. They found the unsupervised one-year-old, sure, but also a couple who was running a methamphetamine lab out of their apartment, reports Cleveland.com. Nicolas Anton and Heather Sandau, both 25, were arrested on Sunday at the 1000…
King James is the King of Shirtless Yoga
Expand your comfort zone. Strive for greatness. #NikeBasketballAcademy A photo posted by Nike Basketball (@nikebasketball) on Jun 29, 2015 at 11:24am PDT Good morning. On the beaches of LA, at the Nike Basketball Academy in late June, LeBron leads a flock of youth in yoga. We saw this photo and had to share. (Please note…
Notes from a Six-Month ‘Ashley Madison’ Journey in Cleveland
“Just sex.” So read my tagline when I posted my first profile on Ashley Madison. I’d hastily assembled a bit of relevant information about what I was looking for: a regular partner, attractive, no diseases, no idiots. Also, free weekdays. After all, I’m a married mother of school-aged children—not exactly in the market for dinner…
‘Because I Said I Would’ Showcases Woman’s Animal Protection Promise In Light of Cecil the Lion Coverage
With the international firestorm raging around the murder of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe, there’s been plenty of debate over the value of social-media outrage and the opportunity cost of prolonged focus on one tragedy over others. Leave it to our pals at Because I Said I Would to help reroute our perceptions a bit.…
Some Classical Music Events to Catch the Weeks of Aug. 3 and Aug. 11
PAND (Performers and Artists for Nuclear Disarmament) will present its annual August 6th concert commemorating the bombing of Hiroshima in World War II at 7:30 pm at Pilgrim Congregational Church on W. 14th St. in Tremont. Emma Shook & Elayna Duitman, violins, Lisa Boyko, viola, Paul Kushious, cello, Anna Jungeun Rathbun, soprano, Julia Russ, piano,…
Red Bull Basketball Tournament Coming to Cleveland
In 2014, Red Bull Reign started in Chicago as host Anthony Davis invited 32 teams from around the city to see which team would “reign” on the court. Regional competition for this year’s installment of the event comes to Cleveland as some of the city’s best basketball squads will square off on Aug. 8 at…
Watch These Hilarious ‘Trainwreck’ Outtakes
You’re welcome.
Brandon Flowers Thrives on Audience’s Energy at House of Blues
The Killers’ frontman Brandon Flowers instantly energized the sold out crowd at House of Blues last night when he kicked off his show with “Dreams Come True,” the first track off his second solo album, The Desired Effect. Suited up in his signature silver blazer, Flowers hopped to the top of a speaker to position…
Space: ROCK Gallery to Open Show by Local Rock Photographer Mara Robinson
A singer and keyboardist, local rock photographer Mara Robinson started shooting bands in 1999 and has been published in various national and international music publications including Paste, Pitchfork, and the Canadian Broadcast Corporation. She received some significant local attention when she shot the most recent Lottery League concert. She’s photographed acts such as the Flaming Lips,…
Alley Cat Oyster Bar Just Days from Opening in the Flats
Following a weekend of private events, Alley Cat Oyster Bar (1056 Old River Rd., 216-574-9999, alleycatoysterbar.com) will open to the public on Monday, making it the first new restaurant to open in Phase II of Flats East Bank. It joins the currently operating Willeyville, Lago and Ken Stewart’s, and will soon be followed by Flip…
9 Concerts to Catch This Weekend
FRIDAY, JULY 31 Brandon Flowers Best known as the lead singer of the Las Vegas alternative rock band, the Killers, Brandon Flowers has put his own name up in lights as well as a successful solo artist. His second solo album, The Desired Effect, came out earlier this summer to critical acclaim and features appearances…
Second Community Police Commission Public Meeting to be Held Monday, Applications Due Thursday
Just a reminder for all those folks considering applying for the Cleveland Community Police Commission: The second public meeting to explain what the commission is and answer residents’ questions will be held Monday, Aug. 3, at 6:00 p.m., at the offices of the Hispanic Alliance on W. 25th St. As at the first public meeting,…
Long-Standing Cleveland Construction Barrel Has Its Own Facebook Page
Construction barrels have become semi-permanent fixtures here in the Forest City, and what better way to document their time on our roadways than by making it “Facebook official?” At least that’s what one neighborhood is doing after “Barry the Barrel” was set up at West 144th Street and Montrose more than a year ago. It’s…
Indie Rockers Bleachers to Play Free Concert at Jacobs Pavilion on Sunday
A few years ago, Fun. guitarist Jack Antonoff [pictured] started writing songs for a solo project that he subsequently dubbed Bleachers. He initially kept the songs a secret because he just didn’t want to be bombarded with questions about when the album would come out and what it would sound like. Antonoff wrote songs for…
Loud in Cleveland Podcast with Ageless Males
Our friends at Loud in Cleveland shared their latest episode today — this time with Kyle Singleton and Adam Katon from the band Ageless Males. From hosts Drew Maziasz and Michael Cornacchione: “Kyle Singleton, who plays guitar and sings, and Adam Katon, the drummer for Ageless Males, came by our super-secret base of operations and world…
Hip-Hop Trio BadBadNotGood Makes Impressive Local Debut
For the past few years, Mahall’s 20 Lanes has been home to the summertime LKWD Music Festival. However, this year there’s a massive construction effort on Madison Avenue. So instead of holding a day-long festival and forcing people to deal with that headache, the good people at Mahall’s decided to host a summer series of…
Nightlight in Akron to Host Special Screening of Stanford Prison Experiment
Akron’s Nightlight Cinema will host a special screening of The Stanford Prison Experiment Friday evening. Akron psychology professor Dr. David Baker will introduce the film and present a guard’s uniform from the original experiment in 1971. The film, which stars Ezra Miller and which took home Best Screenplay honors at Sundance, is a recreation of…
Neighborhood Asset: Café 55 Puts Fresh Spin on Corner Bodega
The area around E. 55th and St. Clair might not feel much like a neighborhood, but Café 55 (1361 E. 55th St., 216-600-5275) feels very much like a neighborhood asset. This chef-driven breakfast and lunch spot, the newest component of developer Rick Semersky’s Hub 55 project to open, puts a fresh spin on the corner…
Indie Rockers Man Man to Play Grog Shop in September
An avant garde indie rock band out of Philadelphia, Man Man is known for its theatrical, high-energy live performances. The band has played Cleveland regularly throughout the course of its ten-year career and is slated to return to town to play the Grog Shop on Sept. 24. It’s still touring in support of its most…
Arts Review: Emotional Responses Come Alive at ‘Material Girls’
This summer, there’s a warm glow inside HEDGE Gallery, and it’s not the August humidity or the collective body heat of the thousands of Third Friday attendees. All summer long, the gallery’s walls are filled with dozens of bold, vibrant paintings by two of Cleveland’s most promising emerging artists. Material Girls is an exhibition of…
Indictment Describes Long-Running Elder Abuse, Theft Scheme Against Late Golfer Charlie Sifford
Craig and Sandra Sifford, the son and daughter-in-law of the late golfer Charlie Sifford, were indicted this week for stealing upwards of $1 million from Charlie’s personal financial accounts before he died. The indictment covers theft, money laundering and unauthorized use of property. Sandra was also charged with receiving stolen property. Court documents show that Craig…
Ohio’s First-Ever Tax Holiday Begins Aug. 7
Ohio’s first-ever tax holiday on back-to-school supplies and clothing begins Aug. 7 at 12:01 a.m. and ends on Aug. 9 at 11:50 p.m. This tax holiday applies to traditional brick-and-mortar stores as well as online retailers for those who actually report online purchases on their tax returns. The tax holiday covers back-to-school supplies and instructional materials…
An Activist Reached Out to the Officer She Misidentified; His Response is the Best Ever
On Sunday, as Scene reported, the GCRTA officer who pepper sprayed a gathered crowd of Movement for Black Lives conference attendees was misidentified as Lt. Sean O’Neil. The actual officer was later identified in an RTA press release as Robert Schwab, a 25-year veteran of the force. Schwab has been placed on administrative duties during…
Fox News’ Bret Baier Discusses Upcoming Republican Debate
The bloated field of Republican presidential candidates will be flying into Cleveland next week, joining Fox News anchors and hosts Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace for the first national debate in this election cycle. The event is set for 9-11 p.m. on Aug. 6, live at Quicken Loans Arena. The plan is to…
Backstage Pass: An Interview with Cleveland World Festival Founder James Levin
The Cleveland World Festival (formerly known as the Cleveland One World Festival) celebrates the ethnically diverse music and art that can be found in Cleveland. The third annual event is slated to return to the Cleveland Cultural Gardens on Sunday, Aug. 2 from 11 a.m . to 9 p.m. According to a press release, the…
Local Newgrass Act Honeybucket Takes a Fan Friendly Approach with New EP
Though you wouldn’t exactly call their music bluegrass, the guys in the local “newgrass” outfit Honeybucket managed to get a gig playing at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival earlier this summer. Now, how the hell did that happen? “They had this selection process where they don’t screen the bands and we just got in — it…
Sublime with Rome Channels Nostalgia Through New Vision
It was The Rome Show last night at Nautica, and maybe that’s fine or maybe that’s not fine. But that’s what it was. And that’s nothing new. Sublime with Rome has been around for some five or six years now, and they’ve played Cleveland before. Sublime devotees will have their opinions, but it can’t be…
Arts Review: ‘How to Remain Human’ Enthralls at MOCA
With August upon us and the summer winding down, time is running out to visit MOCA’s summer exhibitions, How to Remain Human and Tony Lewis’ movement pressure power nomenclature weight free (the order of the words in the show’s title is meant to be re-arranged at will). In How to Remain Human, emerging, mid-career and…
20 Eateries Grilling Up 50 Types of Burger? Must Be the Annual Hamburger Fest
More than 20 area restaurants will be serving up 50 different styles of hamburgers at the 10th Annual National Hamburger Festival, which takes place in Akron August 8-9. The festival is a benefit for Akron Children’s Hospital. In addition to the National Hamburger Cook-Off, in which participating restaurants compete for honors in categories such as…
Prankster Posts Craigslist Ad Selling the University of Akron
In light of monstrous University of Akron budget cuts — which total more than $40 million and affect thousands of students, staff, and community members — a fake ad was placed on Craigslist this morning declaring the academic institution up for sale. The listing, which has since been pulled from the site, indicated that E.J. Thomas…
The Pepper Spray’s Aftermath: Narratives Carom & Converge; Another NEOMG Eyesore
Heavy-duty social issues have run aground in Cleveland recently, and most of us are flailing in confusion. Not to worry — your Scene correspondents are on the case. We’re losing sleep on your behalf to roam and mine these tectonic “unrest” beats. Let’s dive right in, shall we, to the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) board…
Steely Dan and Elvis Costello Deliver Double Dose of Classic Hits
Steely Dan’s Walter Becker and Donald Fagen aren’t the most animated performers. But with a stellar backing band anchored by hard-hitting drummer Keith Carlock, they didn’t need to be as they delivered a solid two-hour set last night at Blossom. Between Becker’s stream-of-consciousness banter with the audience of about 10,000 and Fagen’s sophisticated lounge singer…
Actor Cary Elwes Comes to Akron in October for Special Screening of the Princess Bride
Fans of the 1987 classic the Princess Bride, rejoice! Actor Cary Elwes, who played the dreamy swashbuckling Westley, is planning a trip to Akron for a special screening and discussion of the flick at the Akron Civic Theatre in October. On Saturday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m., folks can partake in a viewing of the film,…
Cleveland West Art League Members Show Off Their Creations
For the fourth consecutive year, the Cleveland West Art League (CWAL) presents Tall Walls, its annual unjuried, uncensored members’ art exhibition; the one-night-only show is this Friday from 6 p.m. to midnight. Tall Walls is open to any of CWAL’s more than 200 member artists. Each artist is invited to submit up to two works,…
Dinner Lab Joins Cleveland’s Crowded Dining Events Scene — and Immediately Stands Out
Cleveland is lucky to have a number of wonderful, well-established dining events that have built up right alongside our bountiful food scene. They range from chef-driven Dinner in the Dark events to farm-chic Plated Landscape banquets and everything in between. Last week, our fair city welcomed in a new outfit, Dinner Lab, which launched back…
‘Brickumentary’ is world’s longest commercial
Every once in a while, I’ll get sucked down a LEGO-centric YouTube wormhole. Watching time-lapse videos of geekoids assembling life-size U.S. presidents, or scaled models of the Titanic or the Death Star, or fully-functioning cars all out of LEGO bricks makes for pretty good entertainment. But in A LEGO Brickumentary, out Friday at the Cedar…
Two Groups are Providing No-Cost Shakespeare, Indoors and Out
Both the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival and the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival are running the works of Old Will right now. And while one happens outdoors (weather permitting) and the other takes place inside a ferociously air-conditioned auditorium, each of the productions has plenty to recommend it. Now in its 18th season of providing Shakespeare to…
Film Spotlight: The Stanford Prison Experiment
“A lot of the directors I admire were famous manipulators,” says Kyle Patrick Alvarez, director of The Stanford Prison Experiment. “Hitchcock and Kubrick and directors who almost seemed to hate actors in a way. I love their work, but I also love actors and I wanted to be able to talk to these guys without…
Band of the Week: The Sam Hooper Group
Meet the band: Sam Hooper (guitars, vocals), Sakait N. Baksar(keyboards), Mike Null (guitars, vocals), Derrick James(bass), Reggie Holmes(drums) A Supergroup of Sorts:With four CDs released on the FBJoy Records label, Hooper, who grew up in Shaker Heights, has assembled a significant discography. His songs have been featured on the daytime TV dramas All My Children…
In the Fight for Labor Equality, Don’t Disregard #BlackLivesMatter
The Movement for Black Lives Convening took place last weekend in downtown Cleveland, drawing together a vast, vibrant group of activists to discuss the multi-faceted foundation of racial inequality in the U.S. Sandra Ellington, a member of SEIU Local 1 here in Cleveland, attended the event and spent some time with Scene to further describe…
78-Year-Old Dan Ott Has Stolen More Than 1,000 Cars in His Life. And Left Plenty of Damage Along the Way
Come the first week of June, Dan Ott would be in Michigan, in his new apartment, where most of his belongings and furniture had already been moved, working at his new job. But on Thursday, May 25, 2006, the Buckeye State was still his home. The 31-year-old and his girlfriend Maryann Ricker were enjoying one…
