My wife’s employer, American Financial Group, held their annual Christmas Party down at Music Hall on Monday night. This event has proven to be my yearly opportunity to visit Music Hall, which is a shame as the building is just beautiful. However with two kids my wife and I don’t get out often enough to explore the arts.

CHCA Choir & Band

Kieth Urban was this year’s featured entertainer. Honestly, I know him better as a judge on American Idol than I do as a performer, but I was very pleasantly surprised by his performance.

Well Behaved Audience

Keith is one heck of a guitar player and his drummer was no slouch either. I didn’t recognize many of the songs, which shouldn’t be surprising as I very rarely listen to country music, but I found the performance to be entertaining and enjoyable.

Stage View

Urban also was very interactive with the audience. He brought one fan onto stage for a quick conversation and a selfie after she loudly professed her love between songs. He also left the stage during one song to perform from the back of the room.

Beautiful Music Hall

Previously we have seen Journey, Tim McGraw, and Carrie Underwood (from the pit no-less), but this performance ranks up at the top with those that I’ve recently seen from this annual party. Who will it be next year?

It only took 14 years for me to finally attend my 100th O.A.R. concert, which took place at the Madison Theater in Covington on October 16. There were times when I would see nearly 30 of their shows a year (2001) but that has definitely slowed down and I’m now seeing them play just twice a year or so. Regardless I can still remember my first show at Bogart’s back in 2000 just as well as this last one. I have so many memories and have met so many awesome friends through the years, all thanks to this amazing band and group of guys. I can’t wait for my next show.

Bosom Ball

P.S. I dusted off my recording equipment and brought it along to get a pretty decent tape of the night. Enjoy!

In addition to the two big music festivals that came to town over the last month, I was also fortunate enough to see my two all-time favorite bands recently.

Phillip Phillips at PNC Pavilion

First up was 99th O.A.R. show, which took place at PNC Pavilion June 28. This was a co-headline show with Phillip Phillips, who played first for just over an hour. This former American Idol winner actually puts on a pretty good live show and has a very solid backing band.

O.A.R. at PNC Pavilion

Due to the co-headline show, O.A.R.’s set was a bit shorter than the standard two hours they usually play. It was a treat to hear some of the new songs live for the first time including “Two Hands Up” and “We’ll Pick Up Where We Left Off.” The band was on fire and the show was a ton of fun!

Dave & Tim at Riverbend

Just a week and a half later I was treated to my 52nd Dave Matthews Band show. This summer tour is one that you definitely should not miss as the band is playing two sets, the first being an acoustic set. To kick of the night at Riverbend, Dave and Tim Reynolds played a couple of songs alone followed by a number of full band acoustic songs.

DMB Full Band Acoustic at Riverbend

It was really cool to hear some of the live staples being played in a different manner, such as “Ants Marching” and “Two Step.” After eight acoustic songs and a short break, the band was back on stage for a dozen or so plugged in songs followed by a few songs in the encore.

Dave Matthews Band at Riverbend

Thanks to a Riverbend ticket giveaway I was able to watch the entire show from the general admission pit. It had been a couple years since my last shows in the pit and I forgot just how awesome it can be. What a night!

This past weekend was the inaugural Buckle Up Music Festival, organized by the same folks who brought Bunbury to Cincinnati, which took place for the third year last weekend. The advantage of doing these events in back to back weekends is that the stages and tents can all be easily reused. The disadvantage is that it has left me a little worn out and I only attended one day of each. There were a couple of differences between Buckle Up and Bunbury including the primary beer sponsor (Bud Light vs. Warsteiner) as well as some vendor differences, but the setup was mostly identical.

Natalie Stovall and the Drive on Bud Light Stage

Buckle Up was primarily a country music festival. However, Saturday’s lineup was mostly dedicated to folk, bluegrass, and Americana artists, which is much more my style. Natalie Stovall and the Drive caught my attention with an opening set medley of rock cover tunes before moving on to their original country genre, but I soon found myself on my way over to see singer-songwriter Joe Pug’s blend of folk-Americana.

Joe Pug on River Stage

The early Saturday afternoon crowd was light, but boats were already anchoring near the festival site and people were setting up blankets and chairs near the main stage to save spots for later bands. There were obvious age differences between the Bunbury and Buckle Up crowds. The youthful Bunbury crowd quickly bounces from stage to stage all day long, while many in the Buckle Up crowd seemed content to sit at a stage (maybe two) for the entire day, even if that meant time spent without listening to any live bands.

Houndmouth on Main Stage

One cool thing I saw at Buckle Up that I didn’t notice at Bunbury were the temporary tattoo schedules that Cincinnati Bell and other vendors were passing out for free. The tattoos only listed the lineups for the top three stages, but it will still a convenient way to quickly see who was playing without digging out the paper festival guide or unlocking your phone.

Schedule Tattoos

My favorite act of the day was easily The Lone Bellow’s performance on the river stage. This would be my third time seeing them play in the last year. Their 5 PM start coincided with the growing crowds, but I arrived a few minutes early to get a good spot on the floor just a row or two from the front rail. Their crowd continued to grow as their set went along and by the end the river stage seating area was near capacity. When I saw them first it seemed like 45 minutes was a full set for the band, but now with a year of touring under they belt they could have easily played for longer than the 45 minutes provided by the festival setting. I look forward to seeing them play again soon.

The Lone Bellow on River Stage

After catching some of Emmylou Harris on the main stage, I made my way back over to the river stage for Drive By Truckers. I was hoping I could get another good spot down on the floor, but upon my arrival it was clear that the crowd had continued to grow. At this point I realized that the crowd was larger than Bunbury’s Sunday attendance.

Drive By Truckers on River Stage

After catching some of Alison Krauss and Union Station on the main stage, I again returned to the river stage this time for Old Crow Medicine Show. Unfortunately the crowd had grown so much that we were forced to watch their set from the far left side of the stage, where the sound was less than ideal. When the crowd is manageable, the river stage is a great place to catch a set, but when the crowd is too large for the contained space, the beauty of this unique setting is lost.

Old Crow Medicine Show on River Stage

Willie Nelson closed out the night on the main stage with a massive crowd gathered on the festival lawn. I’m not sure what attendance was like on Friday or Sunday, but I would have to say based on Saturday’s crowd that the Buckle Up Music Festival will absolutely be back next year. If it does return, I hope that they again dedicate one of the days to music outside of standard country music. I know that I would do it again, but it makes buying tickets before the lineup is announced impossible.

I bought tickets for Bunbury last year at the conclusion of last year’s festival after having a great time and being guaranteed the lowest prices. The down side to buying this early is that you have no idea who is going to be playing when the lineup is eventually announced months later. In addition future plans can sometimes take place on the same weekend, like what was supposed to happen for my family this year. We had tentative plans to be out-of-town during Bunbury and after what I considered to be a lackluster lineup announcement, I went ahead and sold our tickets to some friends.

ZZ Ward on Main Stage

Fast forward to this past weekend and as the festival approached I starting digging into the lineup a little more and finding bands that I wouldn’t mind seeing perform live. Then our plans to be out-of-town fell through and I started thinking about buying a single day ticket to attend Friday, but I just couldn’t convince myself to spend $70 for the single day ticket after originally buying the three-day pass for just over $100 last year. Fortunately I was able to secure a free pass into the festival on Sunday to experience at least a little of Bunbury’s third year.

Robert DeLong on River Stage

I arrived just before 4pm having no idea that some bands were pushed back due to severe weather earlier in the day. This was good news for me as I was able to walk right in and see The Lighthouse and the Whaler perform on the river stage, which was fortunately back on the banks of the Ohio River this year. Last year this stage had to be moved up out of the floodplain due to high water. The serpentine wall provides a great natural setting for a concert with its steep steps and tiered seating areas. The disadvantage is that sometimes this natural amphitheater can cause the volume to swell a little too loudly, but that is worth the risk due to the ideal setting and great backdrop.

Young the Giant on Main Stage

Bands set times were cut just a bit in an effort to squeeze everyone in and the curfew was pushed out so that the headliners could still play full sets. I spent the middle of the evening bouncing primarily between the river stage and the main stage, which was moved to the other end of the grass of Yeatmans Cove Park. With the move they had to take out the western most entrance to the festival, but as I mentioned last year this stage had to be moved somewhere else. In the old orientation, the stage and crowd created such a bottleneck situation as the evening went on. I was so glad to see that the stage was moved, and I’m sure many others were too, even if it meant longer walks to get inside the gates.

Flaming Lips on Main Stage

I really enjoyed the stretch of music provided by Red Wanting Blue, Kopecky Family Band, ZZ Ward, Robert DeLong, and finally Young the Giant. These bands all alternated between the main and river stages, which are within close proximity to each other. So even though the following band would start immediately after the prior, I was still able to catch nearly all of their sets. The night was closed out with the Flaming Lips, who I have seen a couple of times before. As I experienced at these past shows, their set was much more about the stage show and theatrics than it was about the music. The fireworks were a nice touch though.

I saw enough continued improvements to visit the box office and purchase tickets for next year. Bunbury is worth the risk of buying tickets without knowing the lineup.

This past weekend I took my wife and two kids out to the Nelsonville Music Festival for our first visit. Not only was it our first time at the festival it was our first time in the Hocking Hills area of Ohio, but for sure it will not be the last time. The area is full of wooded, rolling terrain, along with plenty of little towns along the way. Nelsonville is one of those towns, which is home to the Hocking College, site for the music festival.

Frank Turner

Jason Isbell

The four-day festival kicked off at 6 PM Thursday. After making the less than three-hour drive from Cincinnati, and then settling into the cabin that would server as our home for the next three nights, we made our way to the festival for a couple of hours to enjoy the sounds of Frank Turner and Jason Isbell. I was already a fan of Frank Turner, but had never heard much of Jason Isbell, other than knowing that he used to be in the Drive By Truckers. I left the festival a big fan of his and will be downloading his catalog soon.

Shakey Graves

The Men Porch Sitting

Friday we made our way to the festival site in the mid afternoon. The first act we caught was Shakey Graves, and he made a huge impression on me. I immediately thought his solo performance sounded a lot like Xavier Rudd, who I really enjoy. He had a couple of friends join him for some of his performance, but I actually liked his solo work better. We also caught performances by Grupo Fantasma, The Men, and a local group by the name of Total Blam Blams before retiring back to the cabin to rest up for a big Saturday.

Festival Babies

We’re no strangers to taking children to music festivals, and from what I’ve seen this has to be one of the most family friendly music festivals out there. There is a really interesting children’s zone with various activities throughout the day. Plus the Robbins Crossing Historic Village offers a handful of cabins and trees to escape the heat and explore. There were a ton of kids in attendance and many brought along great toys to share with everyone.

Pokey LaFarge Cabin Performance

No-Fi Cabin

Kid’s Zone

We originally intended to arrive in the middle of the afternoon again on Saturday. But after realizing that The Avett Brothers set wouldn’t end until at least 11:30 or likely later, we decided to hang at the cabin until the temperatures dropped a little bit. We were still able to catch the No BS! Brass Band, Pokey LaFarge, and personal favorite The Head & The Heart before enjoying the entire Avett Brothers set. Our plan worked our really well.

Hula

The Avett Brothers

Group Shot

I was really impressed by our first visit to the Nelsonville Music Festival, and I know everyone else in our group was too. We had six kids between the four couples and everyone one of us has already said that we should make this a yearly trip. The only thing I wish I could change would be the headliners set times, as I wish they were a bit earlier so the kids could try to enjoy them as well.

Last night was the final night of this years Tunes & Blooms at the Cincinnati Zoo. We made it to three of the four weekly events and experienced the record-breaking crowd last week with over 5000 people in attendance. I wish the crowds were as large as they have become, but it is nice to see so many families getting out and enjoying themselves.

Green Light Morning

Originally Tunes & Blooms was supposed to end last week, but they had to postpone the first week due to severe weather. Normally the event is every Thursday in April but with the delay it spread into May this year and helped kick off this year’s Zoo Babies.

Tulips

Last night also kicked off the annual flower sale and I was able to get a couple of bags of tulips for $5 each. Each bag has at least two dozen bulbs in it, so they are a definitely a steal. If interested in getting your own, call the Tulip Hotline, 487-3399 ext. 2015 for more information. See you next year, Tunes & Blooms.

Last night my family and I kicked off yet another year at the Cincinnati Zoo’s Tunes & Blooms. This has become one of our favorite activities to kick of spring, and I don’t think we are alone. Years ago the crowds were nothing like they are now, but with a little planning ahead we’ve always had a great time.

Shiny & The Spoon

The blooms have not really arrived at the zoo yet, with the cold winter weather earlier in the year. Fortunately there are three more weeks of Tunes & Blooms and I’m sure the tulips will be ready one of these days. Last week’s event was postponed due to weather and will now end this year’s season on the first Thursday in May. See you there!

I think I have found my music festival destination for this summer! The Nelsonville Music Festival takes place at Robbins Crossing historic village on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, less than three hours from Cincinnati. The four-day festival offers multiple stages of music along with camping on site, kids activities, local art vendors, food, and a beer garden.

The 10th annual festival will feature over 40 bands including The Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, and Jason Isbell with even more to be announced. Tickets are just $100 for the weekend and children 12 and under are free. Camping is just $20 extra, but we are considering finding an offsite cabin around the nearby Hocking Hills State Park. Anyone want to join us?

Sunday night I caught Beatles tribute band Classical Mystery Tour‘s performance at Music Hall with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. My brother has an Enjoy the Arts membership and since his girlfriend could not join him for the show I got to go instead. I had never heard of Enjoy the Arts before, but I now know it is the ideal gift for anyone aged 35 and younger. Worth almost $1,000, Enjoy the Arts members get free tickets to cool arts and a great way to experience the city all year-long for a fee of $50 ($35 for students with ID).

The performance started with a ten minute Cincinnati Pops medley overture of Beatles songs. From there the four members of Classical Mystery Tour arrived on stage to perform with the orchestra. The highlights of the first set were mostly from the Magical Mystery Tour album, including “All You Need Is Love,” “Penny Lane,” and “Hello, Goodbye” because of the amount of orchestration on the studio versions of each song.

Beatles Music With Orchestra

The band had a number of costume changes with wardrobes spanning the Beatles career. And while they certainly looked the part, it was amazing how close their voices sounded so familiar and spot on. Orchestral highlights from the second set included “A Day in the Life,” as well as “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and even Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die.” They also threw in hugely popular songs such as “Imagine,” “Something,” and “Hey Jude.”

This was a one-night-only show but it seems the band is on tour often, so be sure to catch them their next time through town. You will not be disappointed.