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Arts & Entertainment News

UC President Santa Ono to Speak at Tonight’s Cincy Stories

0The storytelling event series Cincy Stories will be returning this evening to MOTR Pub. The series features well-known public figures telling personal stories from their lives.

Tonight’s edition will feature:

  • University of Cincinnati President Santa Ono
  • Rome Ntukogu, founder of Far-I-Rome Productions
  • Paula Ison, a local transgender activist
  • Renika Smiley, founder of Generation Now
  • Daniel Rajaiah, recently featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list
  • Music from MC Till

The event will be held on the stage at MOTR Pub at 7 p.m.

You can hear several of the speakers from past Cincy Stories events on The UrbanCincy Podcast.

 

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Arts & Entertainment

The Heights Music Festival kicks off tonight with over 60 performances

Local music will be featured this weekend as The Heights Music Festival returns for its seventh installment. Over 60 performances will take place on Friday and Saturday nights, spread across five Clifton Heights venues within a short walk of each other.

Performers will include local favorites like The Frankl Project, Hickory Robot, and The Natives, along with newer acts such as DAAP Girls, Buenos Crotches, and Oui Si Yes. Some regional acts will also be featured, like The Regrettes and Shrub, both from Columbus. Performances at Mac’s Pizza Pub, Baba Budan’s, Christy’s, and Roxx Electrocafé are open to ages 21+, while Rohs Street Cafe is open to all ages. Tickets can be purchased at any of the participating venues, and cost $5 for Friday night or $10 for both nights.

The festival is organized by Rome Ntukogu of Far-I-Rome Productions, who joined us for episode #10 of The UrbanCincy Podcast. On the podcast, we discussed how festivals like The Heights can help grow the local music scene by connecting music fans to artists.

The Heights, which was originally known as the Clifton Heights Music Festival, takes place twice a year with a strong focus on local artists. The first six installments featured over 500 performances and were attended by over 15,000 music fans, and with each installment, the momentum continues to grow.

 

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The UrbanCincy Podcast

Episode #10: Cincinnati Music Scene

On the tenth episode of The UrbanCincy Podcast, Rome Ntukogu of Far-I-Rome Productions joins the UrbanCincy team to discuss Cincinnati’s music scene.

We discuss the role of different venues in the local music scene, and why some local bands stick to playing in a particular neighborhood. Rome explains why many bands are taking a different approach to touring and selling merchandise, and we debate the positive and negative effects of social media on the live concert experience. We also question whether it’s important for local bands to have “Cincinnati pride” after they make it big, and discuss how mid-size cities can grow a music scene from the inside, without needing validation from larger cities. Finally, we discuss how more national acts are stopping in Cincinnati, the effects of music festivals like Midpoint, Bunbury, and The Heights, and the effects of opening more venues like The Emery.

Photo: A local band performs at The Mad Frog in Corryville.