Category: cincinnati

Ohio’s Live Rock Scene: May

As is the case every year in these parts, May is the big dog as far as major rock & roll happenings in Ohio. Columbus is home to the Sonic Temple Festival (formerly Rock on the Range) and always brings in some of the biggest names in rock and metal music. This year is certainly no exception. We are going to start with that festival as they are bringing in the biggest metal band in the world and we will end in Cleveland with the biggest hard rock band in the world.

Next week, May 8-11, will mark the return of the massive Sonic Temple Music and Art Festival to Columbus at Historic Crew Stadium. In recent years it was expanded to four days and now even offers four stages of music. There will be over 100 performances over the course of the four days. The event is 97% sold out and it is definitely not cheap. If you haven’t already secured tickets, they can be purchased here. They do offer a “pay later” option if that is up your alley. If the event does not sell out, you will likely be able to score good deals on the days of the shows. I’ve bought from the long-time scalpers that stand on 17th Avenue before and they are usually pretty negotiable. Highlighting the four days will of course be Metallica. They will headline on Friday and Sunday and will play two entirely different set lists. No songs will be repeated. They will be supported on Friday by the legendary Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. On Sunday, when they close out the festival, they’ll be supported by Alice In Chains. All of these bands put on phenomenal live shows.

Thursday May 8th will kick off the event and will be headlined by nu-metal titans Korn. Other great live bands that I’d recommend checking out are Three Days Grace, Poppy, Filter, and Killswitch Engage. . Joining Metallica on Friday will also be a thrash metal trio of Overkill, Testament, and Exodus as well as classic metal heroes Armored Saint from Canada. Saturday will welcome back Linkin Park to headline for the first time since 2014 when they headlined the former Rock on the Range. They will be supported throughout the day by bands such as Sick Puppies, Hoobastank, Trivium, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, Bullet For My Valentine, and Crossfade. Lastly, joining Metallica and Alice in Chains on Sunday will be Chevelle, Swedish metal giants Arch Enemy, and the anticipated return of Power Trip.

Wednesday May 14th brings Nazareth to my favorite small venue; Columbus’ The King of Clubs. The 70’s rockers will be appearing there for the first time. Tickets are still available and range from $30 for general admission to $60 for floor seating. There are also tables available from $200-$300 depending on how many seats. I’ve never seen Nazareth, but think this should definitely be a show worth checking out.

May 19th brings two of the bigger hard rock acts of the 2000’s to Blossom Music Center up in Cuyahoga Falls. Six days later they will also visit Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center. The tour features Staind and Breaking Benjamin. I’ve seen both of these bands a number of times and they both sound great live. There are plenty of tickets available for both shows and those can be purchased right here.

On May 21st Billy Idol and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts will come to Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center. I haven’t seen Billy Idol live, but Joan Jett was great at the very first Sonic Temple back in 2019. There are plenty of tickets available in all sections of the large venue. They range in price from $22-$270 depending on location and can be purchased here.

May 23rd will bring another classic rock veteran to the Buckeye State. Pat Benatar will visit The Ohio State University’s Mershon Auditorium. Tickets are pricey and range from $65-$270. They can be bought here. I saw her open for Journey once and her show was fine. The tour will make stops in Sylvania (Toledo-ish) the next night and down on the river in Marietta on the 27th.

There is only one active band right now that could top the Metallica visit next week. Short of Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin reuniting, that band is AC/DC. It’s been a long time since the boys from Down Under have played in Ohio and it very well could be the last time that they do. They will be playing in Cleveland for the final night of their tour on May 28th at Huntington Bank Field; home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. The show is nearly sold out and the few remaining seats range in price from $221-$360. If you can swing it, buy your tickets here, and go see one of the greatest rock acts of all time for possibly the final time. I’ve been fortunate enough to see AC/DC twice and can’t recommend it enough!

That’s all for May! June has some good stuff coming up too, but May is definitely the time to go see some live music!

Posted on by chadjhobbs 0

Ohio’s live rock scene: April

Well, I dropped the ball on this one, and am already behind. Hopefully, you already knew that Cold was in Columbus at The King of Clubs last Saturday night. If not, my bad. The Jacksonville outfit also visited Cleveland two nights prior but won’t be back in Ohio for the remainder of the tour. They will visit nearby Indianapolis, Lexington, KY and Covington, KY to end the jaunt on May 30th through June 1st if you want to make the trek to see them.

If you are in the Cincinnati area, southern rock legends ZZ Top are rolling into the Queen City TONIGHT at the Andrew Brady Music Center. Plenty of tickets remain available and range from $46 to $165. They can be purchased here. I’ve been fortunate enough to see ZZ Top twice and they were stellar both times. This is the Houston trio’s only announced visit to the Buckeye State this year.

Classic era Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate is on tour and visiting each of the three big C’s of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus. On April 12th he’ll be playing at the Taft Theatre in Cincy. On the 15th he’ll play TempleLive Cleveland and on the 16th he will visit TempleLive Columbus. The tour is featured as the final time that Tate will play Queensryche’s famous Operation Mindcrime album in its entirety. Tickets are still available for all three shows through Ticketmaster. If you dig 80’s era metal, this is a show worth looking into. My buddy Dan and I met Geoff Tate several years ago as part of an after show meet and greet from a Queensryche gig. The show was fantastic.

Thursday, April 17th, folk rock legend Bob Dylan stops in Toledo at the Stranahan Theater. This show is sold out. Two nights later the music icon stops in Youngstown at the Powers Auditorium. At the time that I am writing this, there are three total tickets still available. Dylan, who will turn 84 in May, is one of the most influential songwriters of all time.

April 19th brings options to people in Columbus. Icons like Bob Dylan? No. However, rock favorites from nearby Point Pleasant, West Virginia that have adopted Columbus as a second home, Bobaflex will be playing a rare live show at The Newport Music Hall. The band has largely been quiet for the better part of a decade as some members have moved on to a quieter life and others have soldiered on with a new project: The Lonely Ones. Occasionally, though, the McCoy brothers convene the Bobaflex band to do these one off shows at The Newport. General admission tickets are still available for $20 and can be purchased here. They aren’t all that active these days, but Bobaflex used to play anywhere and everywhere in the Buckeye State. They’ve played its biggest festival, the former Rock on the Range, but I’ve also seen them three times in Marion and another time in Mount Vernon. They aren’t in it for the stardom, they just want to play live shows…and they’ll probably party with you afterwards.

Across town, at the same time, at A&R Music Bar will be New York rockers Wheatus. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about them outside of their absolute banger; “Teenage Dirtbag”. Tickets are available here for only $17-22. At that price point, you really can’t go wrong. At the bare minimum, you’re going to get live music and get to sing along to one of the most iconic rock songs of the early 2000’s. It’s kind of hard to not have a good time under those circumstances. If you’re closer to the Cleveland area, they will be in Lakewood the night before at Mahall’s.

Wrapping up April will be arena rock legends Journey. They are coming to Cleveland for a private concert for season ticket holders of the Cleveland Browns on April 24th. The concert will be a Draft Day party and will feature a full headlining set at Huntington Bank Field, the home stadium of the Browns. Tickets are free for Browns season ticket holders. As of now, they are available for purchase from Ticketmaster as resell tickets. The current range is $20-$182. I expect these prices to steadily drop. Ohio weather in April is unpredictable and a band like Journey is not going to want to play to an empty stadium. If you know a Browns season ticket holder, reach out to them for their tickets if they aren’t going to go. Journey has been a great performance each of the several times that I have seen them over the years; albeit with three different singers. Few bands have a catalog of tracks that everyone knows every word to. Journey is one of them. This one should be a good time as long as the band members keep their egos in check and leave their drama in San Francisco.

That wraps it up for April. Go try to see some live music! If April doesn’t do it for ya, don’t worry, we’ve got the big boys coming up in May.

Posted on by chadjhobbs 0

Ohio’s upcoming concerts: March

March is nearing its end and spring, at least by the calendar, is here. While the days may be few, there are still a handful of rock concerts coming to the Buckeye State before April arrives that are worth checking out!

This Saturday night, at my favorite small venue, is Brother Cane. They will be making a stop at The King of Clubs. These guys released three albums in the 1990’s and are led by their vocalist Damon Johnson. You may also recognize him as one of the three guitarists in the current Lynyrd Skynyrd band. Tickets can be purchased here. I’ve not seen this band live, but I’ve yet to be disappointed by a show at The King of Clubs.

Wednesday night, Poppy will visit Cleveland’s House of Blues on her They’re All Around Us tour. The pop-metal-internet sensation is fresh off of a performance on the Jimmy Kimmel Show in support of her album that shares the tour’s namesake. Tickets can be purchased here, and range from $39.50-$69.50. I’ve seen her once and found her show to be very entertaining and I enjoyed it. The House of Blues is also a cool, historic venue to see a concert in.

March 29th, the last Saturday of the month, brings two big time bands from the “nu-metal” era for a pair of arena shows.

In the capital city of Columbus, Deftones will be performing at Nationwide Arena. They’ve never been my thing and I haven’t been impressed by their live shows in the past. However, their recent career resurgence has them playing at one of the larger venues in the state, so I must acknowledge their relevance. The Mars Volta will be opening the concert and tickets can be purchased here. It does appear that the show is sold out, so you’ll unfortunately need to be prepared to pay re-sale prices.

The other arena show going on that night will take place in the Queen City of Cincinnati. Coming to Heritage Bank Center is the band Disturbed. Tickets are available from $29 to $182 and can be purchased here. Daughtry and Nothing More are the opening acts for this show. I’ve seen Disturbed live several times and have always enjoyed them. The Chicago metal act has been active since 1994 and have been touring pretty relentlessly for the past ten years or so. I’d vouch for this one, of the remaining March concerts coming to Ohio, as the best bang for your buck. If these aren’t your jam, don’t fret, Ohio is welcoming a jam packed April and it is sure to have a little something for everyone!

Posted on by chadjhobbs 0