#Ohio

PREMIEREShannon Clark and the Sugar Triumph Over Loss on “Let It Ride”

Shannon Clark and the Sugar hail from Greenville, Ohio, home of the American sharpshooter Annie Oakley. It's a connection that feels natural when listening to their upcoming album Marks on the Wall, a collection of what lead singer Shannon Clark often calls "Midwest Americana Soul." The record (out...

Ashley Prillaman

PLAYING CINCYSIOUX Finds His Groove On 'Whiskey House Bar Music' EP

Earlier this week, SIOUX flexed his introspective side on his new EP, Whiskey House Bar Music. Over danceable lo-fi beats produced by Rocco., the Cincinnati MC expresses extreme relatability when it comes to all sides of love—the good, the bad, and the ugly. “Whiskey House Bar Music is an idea of a...

Victoria Moorwood

PLAYING CINCYDave Chappelle Brings Stevie Wonder, Chance the Rapper and More to Dayton Benefit Concert

For this week's Playing Cincinnati, we traveled 20 miles north to Dave Chappelle's Gem City Shine Benefit Concert in Dayton, Ohio. Chappelle, who lives in the neighboring Ohio town of Yellow Springs, threw the enormous block party to commemorate the nine lives lost in a recent mass shooting at a...

Victoria Moorwood

PLAYING CINCYIntroducing Cincinnati Rap Trio Patterns of Chaos

Patterns of Chaos is a Cincinnati hip hop trio creating positive and sometimes head-banging hip-hop emphasizing heavily conscious messages about to bless your life. Cellist and rapper Christoph “Toph” Sassmannshaus, producer Alexander “Stallitix” Stallings and rapper Jay Hill met at Off Tha Block...

Victoria Moorwood

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PLAYING COLUMBUSGalen Tipton Sparkles on First LP Nightbath

As the dusk of May began to fall on Ohio, I discovered fireflies. The first time I saw them, flickering across my cobbled neighborhood street, my overjoyed reaction made my roommate laugh: pointing and squealing like a kid, I couldn’t get over the shock of them, the way that they zipped through the...

Kaiya Gordon

PLAYING COLUMBUSStems Fearlessly Fuse Prog and Hip-Hop on Debut

In the past year, the group – which members describe as “prog-hop” – has released an EP, two singles, and an album; they’ve been featured by Columbus’ Mouth Mag and The Dispatch; and on...

Kaiya Gordon

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PLAYING COLUMBUSThe Turbos Critique Police Brutality with New Video

" These powerful lines open The Turbos' latest release, "'Murica." Filmed by Caden Huston, the video that accompanies the new song shows the four-piece playing in front of a...

Kaiya Gordon

PLAYING COLUMBUSDamn the Witch Siren Makes 'Magic' on New album

Their first album since 2015’s Back to Dreaming, Damn the Witch Siren’s latest release, Red Magic is brooding and addictive. The band’s tags on Bandcamp almost say it all: “electronic, electropop, pop, sex, witch rock, Columbus,” they read. But along with the sex, and the dance beats, and the fizzy...

Kaiya Gordon

PLAYING COLUMBUSSaintseneca Returns to Their Roots

Columbus' Saintseneca has grown a lot since their start in 2007. But when they returned to Columbus on tour, playing two sold-out nights at Ace of Cups, it was clear that their hometown base hasn't budged. Joined by two other burgeoning local acts – Counterfeit Madison and Connections...

Kaiya Gordon

PLAYING COLUMBUSBands to Watch - An Annotated Playlist

Grunge Dad is one of Columbus Alive's Bands to Watch. Imagine: Columbus Alive just released their much anticipated lineup for their annual Bands to Watch concert, and the coffee shop conversation is relentless. The show – which will include Sarob, Grunge Dad, Akula, Souther, and Future Nuns – is...

Kaiya Gordon

PLAYING COLUMBUSMouth Mag Highlights Local Hip Hop

OG Vern. Photo by Annie Noelker When Annie Noelker moved to Columbus in 2014 to attend Columbus College of Art and Design, she was already interested in stories. "As a little kid I would hide under my covers and read until I fell asleep," she tells me. "I found visual art and storytelling in the form...

Kaiya Gordon

PLAYING COLUMBUSKizzy Hall and Diet Cig @ Ace of Cups

All photos by Kaiya Gordon "Y'all Ohioans know how to do rock bands in a way the rest of the country is trying to catch up to," said Caleb Cordes of Sinai Vessel on Sunday night at the Ace of Cups. The band was following Columbus' own Kizzy Hall, who opened the show with a fast-paced set that, yes,...

Kaiya Gordon