Election Results: City Hall is (Almost)
Entirely Unchanged
Meet your one and only newcomer to Cincinnati City Council.
BY MADELINE FENING
After months of contentious mayoral campaigning and dozens of council candidates vying to stand out in a crowded race, Cincinnati’s election has wrapped with little changed at City Hall.
With 100% of Hamilton County precincts reporting, these are the results of the election on Nov. 4:
The mayor’s race
The race for mayor ended as predicted with Democratic incumbent Mayor
Aftab Pureval securing his second term. Pureval raked in 78% of the vote over Republican challenger (and half-brother to veep JD Vance) Cory Bowman, who managed 22%, or about 14,383 votes.
During an election results watch party, located across the street from his West End coffee shop, Bowman described a positive concession conversation with Pureval.
“I did just talk with Mayor Aftab, and as I said, this is my first go around. But according to the results, it seems that congratulations are in order,” Bowman announced to a room of about 70 supporters. “The first thing that he said was, ‘I want to get together for a scheduled meeting with you, and I want to hear your ideas and your opinions about what we can do to better the city.’ And I told him, ‘I will gladly accept that invitation.’”
Pureval made his victory speech from the Hamilton County Democrats’ watch party stage, promising to achieve “our wildest dreams” while protecting Cincinnati from the “chaos” in Washington, D.C.
“We can accomplish anything when we do it together, and that is why this city’s motto is ‘Strength in Unity.’ When we have that unity, we have the strength to achieve our wildest dreams. With this election, we’ve got four more years, four more years to achieve those dreams,” Pureval said as the crowd chanted back, “Four more years!”
“This is the responsibility of my lifetime,” he continued. “And these four years I can promise you this: This council and I will pour everything that we have into this city to protect us from the chaos that’s coming out of Washington, D.C.
and to invest in every single one of our neighborhoods.”
City council
The city council race was one to watch with 26 candidates, including eight incumbents, running for nine open seats. All eight incumbents won their seats — Council Member Victoria Parks is the only member who opted out of the race — and political newcomer Ryan James won the final seat. At 29, James is the youngest Black man ever to sit on Cincinnati City Council.
The entire council is Democratendorsed. The 10th-place vote-getter was Republican Liz Keating, who previously served on council. Here’s the order of votes earned by council winners:
Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney – 8.98% Scotty Johnson – 8.33%
Owens – 8.13%
Albi – 7.97%
Jeffreys – 7.84%
Walsh – 7.18% Jeff Cramerding – 7.12% Evan Nolan – 7.10% Ryan James – 6.88%
Both Parties Get Heat for Ohio’s New Congressional District Map as Citizens Look to Future Fights
BY SUSAN TEBBEN, OHIO CAPITAL JOURNAL
The sound of the adjourning gavel had barely faded before Ohioans at the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s Oct. 31 meeting were expressing their outrage at the congressional map that had been passed, and the process to pass it.
While Republicans have received a lot of heat for having ultimate control of the legislature and the redistricting process itself as the majority party, Democrats have not come out of the process unscathed.
As the meeting ended, attendee Katy Shanahan spoke directly to the commission co-chair, Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati.
“Nickie and Dani, you should be ashamed of yourself for allowing this
to go down in your name,” Shanahan shouted as she was seemingly escorted out of the House Finance hearing room.
The ire came after a unanimous vote by the commission, allowing the adoption of a district map that broadens Republican advantage in the state, giving them an edge in 12 of 15 congressional districts.
Currently, Republicans hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 Congressional districts. Despite the new Republican advantages, Democrats have expressed confidence they can hold their current five seats.
Members of the public who have watched the process go through many years of turmoil — even after the 2018 constitutional amendment that sought to reform the process and make it more transparent — saw the map as an insult,
and the Democrats who voted for it as “sell outs.”
Catherine Turcer, executive director of the voting rights advocacy group Common Cause Ohio, called the process a clear “sham” and “dog-and-pony show,” saying commission members on both sides of the aisle went against the constitutionally-mandated process by not deliberating and engaging the public as the process went along.
“They could have improved these maps, they could have been having hearings all month,” Turcer told the Capital Journal.
“Instead, they just did everything in secret, negotiated in secret, and all the members are a great disappointment.”
Ohio-based anti-gerrymandering group Equal Districts Coalition submitted their own map proposal earlier in
the year and supported a Democratic proposal that would have seen the state broken up into eight Republicanleaning districts and seven Democraticleaning districts.
After all was said and done in the last week of October, the coalition said the map adopted by the commission was “even more rigged than it was 14 years and two anti-gerrymandering reforms ago.”
The coalition said the Democrats “hung Ohio voters out to dry,” agreeing to districts that “dilute the political power of our state’s communities of color.”
Isaacsohn and Antonio argued that they’d done what they could to stem the gerrymandering they saw happening to their state, but also argued that the five districts that were considered safely
Cincinnati City Hall
PHOTO: EMILY WIDMAN
Democratic in the map adopted in 2022 are still competitive in the new map.
“Like our previous map, Democrats continue to have a narrow path, winning four to five seats under these lines,” Antonio told the media after the vote.
“This was our only way forward to retain our representation in Congress, the voices of the people of Ohio.”
Antonio’s co-chair on the commission, state Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, acknowledged the map could be a negative or a positive for Republicans depending on the candidates and the campaigns run in the future.
“You don’t have to squint very hard looking at the map to see where Republicans maybe have a better shot at being successful,” Stewart said.
“You don’t have to squint very hard to see where we’re going to have an uphill climb, maybe, if there’s a bad election season for our party, but overall I think it’s a good map.”
Isaacsohn pointed to the “realities of where our state’s leadership is” as to why the two Democrats decided to vote on the map, what they saw as “the best path to … making sure that Ohioans have as many competitive congressional districts as possible.”
“The options were eliminate all three of our members of Congress, or maintain their ability to run and win in 2026, we chose to make sure that Democrats can run in all three of the targeted districts,” Isaacsohn said, referring to the 1st, 9th, and 13th districts, held currently by U.S. Reps. Greg Landsman, Marcy Kaptur and Emilia Sykes, respectively.
Landsman’s seat may end up “one of the most competitive seats in the country” in the next cycle because of the new districts, according to Alex Linser, chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party.
The Democrats in that county stand ready to get to work for the next election cycle, despite the fact that the county has been “disenfranchised by being split into two districts,” he said.
“The whole situation is very disappointing, but we are where we are, and we have to look forward,” Linser told the Capital Journal on Nov. 3.
The Democratic leaders on the commission received support from national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene, who commended them for “negotiating to prevent an even more egregious gerrymander.”
“This compromise keeps us on the path to taking back the House Majority, and we’ll continue to win across Ohio because voters know it’s House Democrats who are fighting for them,” DelBene said in a statement.
Republicans were also shamed during the process for what
anti-gerrymandering advocates saw as a lack of action and a lack of interest in keeping the public in the process.
They defended the process, claiming the bipartisan support of the map proved the process had worked as intended.
Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, who was one of the authors of the legislative redistricting reform, claimed the commission led “a fair and open process.”
He added that the new map, which will be in effect until 2031, brings “longterm certainty to congressional district lines.”
Stewart said the Republican caucus in the Ohio House is “pleased” to have 12 districts “in which Republicans have a very good opportunity to be successful.”
“I think when you compare that to the map we have now, I think that satisfies a lot of appetites amongst a very robust Republican caucus, not just here, but in Washington, D.C., amongst our delegation,” Stewart said.
The commission’s bipartisan support blocks any attempt at a referendum that would allow the public to vote on whether to keep the map.
Nevertheless, legal challenges and a future ballot initiative to once again reform redistricting are still on the table.
“I don’t know that we’ve ever passed a map that didn’t result in a court challenge from somebody,” Stewart said.
“I think when you look at the map that complies with every single requirement in the (state) constitution, I think that’d be a very uphill climb and we’re not concerned about any such lawsuit being successful.”
Even as the commission prepared to vote on the map last in October, Antonio said the system under which the vote was happening was “broken,” and Isaacsohn said Democrats “are not in control of that process here in Ohio,” leading to their tied-hands negotiation.
The only way to improve would be to go back to the ballot box, they both agreed.
Last year, Ohioans saw an attempt to bring about a citizen-led redistricting process that would have eliminated the elected-official-led Ohio Redistricting Commission, and brought on a vetted panel of Ohioans to do the job.
That initiative met with harsh competition in a counter-campaign that also claimed a “no” vote on the initiative
would end gerrymandering.
Republicans on the Ohio Ballot Board, led by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose who opposed the amendment, wrote ballot language for the proposal claiming it would require gerrymandering.
In the end, the effort went down in defeat with many voters expressing confusion over the ballot language.
Turcer was a leader in the campaign to get the previous ballot initiative passed.
She said she and others learned a lot from that campaign, and plan to try again after they’ve taken the proper time to organize and strategize.
“We will all have to pick up our clipboards, but not right away,” Turcer said.
No matter the political party, the most recent actions showed Turcer that “these folks can’t actually be trusted to create fair districts.”
Asked about a legal challenge to the congressional map, Antonio said she wouldn’t be leading the charge, but “it’s going to happen.”
This story was originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal and republished here with permission.
A full house watches as the Ohio Redistricting Commission meets on Oct. 31.
PHOTO: SUSAN TEBBEN, OHIO CAPITAL JOURNAL
Some CVG Flights Canceled Amid Government Shutdown
BY MADELINE FENING
Hundreds (possibly thousands) of air travelers won’t be taking off from CVG as scheduled in November, and December could look worse as holiday travel ramps up.
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) is among the dozens of major U.S. airports to be hit with sudden flight cuts. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the decision on Nov. 5, saying flights would be reduced at 40 major airports starting Nov. 7, including major hubs in New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. Duffy said flight cuts would begin at 4%, rising incrementally to 10% over the following week.
“We thought 10% was the right number based on the pressure we were seeing,” Duffy said in a news conference.
The cuts come as many air traffic controllers are choosing to stay home rather than work without pay amid the government shutdown, resulting in staffing shortages across the country.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairperson Jennifer Homendy defended Duffy’s decision as a matter of public safety in a post on X.
“Low air traffic control staffing levels, mandatory overtime, and six-day
work weeks have a direct impact on #safety,” the post reads, in part. “Controllers are dedicated safety professionals (thank you for your continued service), but pressures are building in the system.”
“We are monitoring the situation
and remain in close communication with our airline and federal partners,” reads a CVG press release on the cancellations.
As the shutdown continues into the holiday season, CVG is asking all travelers to check the status of their flights before coming to the airport.
“If there is a change and you need to reschedule, it will be easier to do so from home through your airline’s app or website than at the airport.”
To see the latest cancellations and delays at CVG, visit cvgairport.com/flights.
THE SNAP GAP
From food pantries to Findlay Market, here’s how Cincinnati is handling the loss of SNAP food benefits.
BY MADELINE FENING AND KATHERINE BARRIER
Editor’s note: Things are moving fast on Capitol Hill. You can find the latest information on the government shutdown at CityBeat.com.
CityBeat reached out into the internet ether (local Facebook groups) in an attempt to connect with folks impacted by the recent pause on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits), previously known as food stamps. Some interviews were nearly scheduled but never materialized, and it might have to do with a common response in the comment section: “This ain’t our fight.”
They’re right.
While families risk going hungry in Cincinnati and beyond, the fight is between lawmakers in Washington, D.C.
TAKING THE ‘FED’ OUT OF ‘FEDERAL’
The federal government shut down on Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to pass new funding bills. Healthcare was the sticking point for Democrats, specifically subsidies for health insurance premiums purchased on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace and the reversal of Medicaid cuts in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” But some Republican lawmakers accused the Democrats of looking to use the ACA to give free health care to undocumented immigrants, though experts have repeatedly explained that is not true.
Still, the government remains shut down as of press time, now the longest in U.S. history. The previous 35-day record was also set under President Donald Trump in 2019.
The result? A largely unpaid, furloughed or laid off federal workforce, grounded flights and no SNAP benefits for millions of Americans, among many other
consequences.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced SNAP would be suspended starting Nov. 1, but two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration had to use $4.65 in SNAP contingency funds to immediately fund the $9 billion program. Trump said states will be tasked with distributing partial payments — about 50% — to families sometime in November. The USDA walked back its initial math, saying “further analysis” of the available funds found payments will only need to be reduced by 35%, not 50%, USDA official Patrick Penn said in a Nov. 5 court filing. It’s still unclear when the payments will hit cards; the administration previously warned that states aren’t set up to administer partial payments en masse. As of press time, the Trump administration is bumping back against orders from appeals courts to distribute full payments.
LOCAL NUMBERS
While 65% of your grocery money is better than half, a growing number of SNAP recipients still face food insecurity even with full SNAP benefits.
Each month, Hamilton County issues around $19.1 million — or $240 million annually — to its approximately 97,000 recipients, 45% of whom are children and 12% of whom are seniors 65 or older. The math works out to an average of $197 a month for each recipient, or about $5.64 a day.
Hamilton County Commissioners met with community leaders about the SNAP pause on Oct. 28, just days
before the Nov. 1 cut-off date. Kurt Reiber, CEO of the Freestore Foodbank, told commissioners that roughly 50% of the families the food bank serves are on SNAP, and the need is ever-growing.
In the first quarter last year, Reiber said Freestore Foodbank’s two retail markets — the Bea Taylor Market in Riverside and the Liberty Street Market in Overthe-Rhine — provided $130,000 in food assistance. In this year’s first quarter, that was more than doubled to $270,000.
“Two hundred seventy-five thousand of our neighbors are food insecure — 82,000 kids. Imagine Great American Ball Park being filled up twice. That’s how many kids don’t know where the next meal is coming from,” Reiber told commissioners.
While the food bank is serving more families, federal aid has shrunk, says Reiber. During the first quarter in 2024, Freestore Foodbank received 44% of its food from the USDA. In the first quarter of this year, it was just 26%.
“Nine out of 10 meals … provided to Tri-State families come from SNAP benefits. One out of 10 meals comes from Freestore Foodbank and our sister food banks across the country. We cannot food bank our way out of this situation. Philanthropy will help, but we need government resources right now,” he said.
Commissioners agreed. They called on the federal government to end the shutdown and on the state government for assistance until that happens. Commission President Denise Driehaus said Ohio is holding onto a $3.94 billion Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as the “rainy day” fund — the largest in Ohio’s history.
“Those dollars were set aside for a moment of crisis, and, for right now, it is raining for families in Hamilton County in the state of Ohio,” she said. “So we’re calling on Gov. DeWine and on the legislature to release some of the rainy day funds, to provide … gap funding until we have the federal government open up for business.”
One Ohio lawmaker has been pushing to open the rainy day fund to SNAP recipients since the federal shutdown first began. State Rep. Latyna Humphrey (D-Columbus) introduced House Bill 502 to make an emergency appropriation to fund SNAP through the rainy day fund in the event of a federal funding lapse. Humphrey’s bill was never given a public hearing and never considered for a full vote in the Ohio House of
Representatives.
Ohio’s Republican super majority refuses to touch the rain day funds for SNAP. Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman said the Ohio Senate was “forced to protect” the fund from covering the SNAP gap, saying the rainy day fund “is there to protect Ohio’s balanced budget from any potential unexpected shortfalls.”
Instead, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed an executive order requiring the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to allocate $7 million in TANF funds to regional food banks and $18 million to Ohio Works First recipients, about 63,000 low-income Ohioans including more than 57,000 children. About 1.5 million Ohioans use SNAP in total.
“I’m very supportive of this plan to help Ohioans in need as we await action from Democrats in the U.S. Senate,” said Speaker Huffman.
Without the rainy day funds they’d hoped for, Hamilton County Commissioners voted to amend the County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding Plan to reclassify $223,000 in relief funds to Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank.
“We are pulling every lever we have to keep food on the table for Hamilton County families,” said Driehaus. “Freestore Foodbank has been on the front lines of hunger relief for decades. This action ensures they have immediate resources to meet the surge in need caused by the shutdown.”
Freestore Foodbank
PHOTO: EMILY WIDMAN
FOOD BANKS IN HIGH GEAR
“
Freestore Foodbank Marketing and Communications Manager Nicki Roe told CityBeat that the sudden spike in need resembles the pandemic era.
“I would say COVID. How to adjust on the fly,” she said. “If you need help, we’re here for you, just come in,” Roe said. “It’s all self-declaration, so you don’t have to prove anything. You just come in and we’ll get you what you need.”
There’s currently enough provisions to meet the need at Freestore’s Liberty Street Market and Bea Taylor Market, as well as many off-site distributions in Greater Cincinnati, according to Roe.
But to continue to deliver on this promise amid the SNAP pause (or impending reductions), Roe said Freestore needs monetary donations, even more than canned goods from the depths of your pantry. Thanks to direct partnerships with food distributors, Roe said every $1 donated can help provide up to three meals.
“Donations for us are the quickest way,” she said. If you’re in a better position to donate your time rather than your cash, Roe said Freestore is going to need more volunteers ahead of the busy surge. You can sign up as an individual volunteer or as a group on their website.
“We can always use help in either one of our markets at Rosenthal or the one at Liberty Street,” she said.
Two hundred seventy-five thousand of our neighbors are food insecure — 82,000 kids.
Imagine Great American Ball Park being filled up twice.
That’s how many kids don’t know where the next meal is coming from,” Reiber told commissioners.
website that lists soup kitchens, pop-up and regular pantry sites.
One of those local food pantries is CAIN in Northside. Open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, CAIN serves 400 individual households each week. So far this year, CAIN has seen 12,795 visits by 2,408 distinct households, representing 9,899 people, according to an annual report provided by the organization.
“There’s already been a significant bump the last couple of weeks in folks coming to visit the market,” said CAIN Board President Samuel Foulkes. “We’re seeing a lot of folks that are first timers, and that’s because there are people who rely on SNAP benefits, and that keeps them above the water line. There’s a lot of concern and fear in households that wouldn’t traditionally feel like they needed to go to a food assistance nonprofit.”
Even on top of fear of losing SNAP, Foulkes said CAIN’s wait list has hit capacity for months.
“We have a virtual line, a queue that people can join, and our Monday line closes in about 60 seconds,” he said. “It’s been like that for a year.”
Like Freestore Foodbank, Foulkes said CAIN can do more with a small donation than you might think. A lot more.
“Pick a pantry that’s close to them,” she said. “Then they can just put it right on their shelves and get it out.”
Freestore Foodbank has a pantry locator on their
But if you do have a surplus of canned goods at home, Roe recommends donating directly to a local pantry.
“Ten dollars will buy enough food through our discount purchasing system to feed several families,” he said. “It is very effective. A low financial contribution will go a long way, because we source so much of our
Foodbank's Bea Taylor Market in Riverside
Findlay Market customers can convert their SNAP dollars into tokens at the market’s help center desk. The yellow tokens make it possible to shop from vendors who don’t have a card reader for the electronic benefits transfer card (EBT), though some vendors can swipe EBT. Findlay Market has a map showing which vendors can only take the tokens. But the token system also allows SNAP customers to get more out of their benefits. The market’s Produce Perks program matches the number of yellow tokens with special green tokens that can be spent on fresh produce from specific vendors, like ETC Produce & Provisions.
Toncia Chavez runs ETC at Findlay Market, accepting both yellow and green Produce Perks tokens. She said her employees are often the first to explain how the benefits work to new SNAP recipients.
“They ask us a lot of questions, and they’re usually whispering because they’re a little bit embarrassed,” Chavez said. “And I want to tell those people, don’t be embarrassed. Give yourself some grace…we will answer all your questions. We will help you with what you need to get. We will walk you around the market, if that’s what it takes, and I have done that for some people, but give yourself some grace and don’t be ashamed.”
The green tokens are not only a lifeline for SNAP recipients, but also the vendors who accept them at their booths.
“These guys that come on the weekend are farmers. They come from Indiana, from Northern Kentucky, they come from Ohio all over,” Hayes said. “It helps keep the money local to Findlay Market, and it just continues to allow those vendors to keep growing produce, to keep coming here and making items to provide food access.”
Speaking to Reuters, David Ortega, professor of food economics at Michigan State University, warned even large grocery store chains may have to raise prices to maintain thin margins amid the SNAP pause, but he said smaller grocery stores will be hit the hardest.
“Especially if you’re looking at a small-size grocery store in a low income area, this is quite concerning for them,” Ortega said.
Hayes is concerned that Findlay Market shoppers may assume the prices will be lower at large grocery chains, but she said that’s not actually the case.
“There’s this misconception that shopping at Findlay Market is expensive,” she said. “If you price the certain cuts of chicken, it actually is less per pound here than it is from Kroger or from a bigger box store, […] it is also more fresh.”
food from these discounted services.”
For those in need, Foulkes said there are no requirements for proof of income or address to access the CAIN market.
“The majority of the people that come to visit us are working,” he said. “At the end of the long day, if you need some groceries to help put dinner on the table that night, we want that to be as easy as possible for you to do, and not have to prove and justify why you need that.”
HOW FINDLAY MARKET COULD FALL BEHIND
Of course, with more SNAP recipients being forced to rely on food banks, grocery stores will miss out on SNAP dollars, and that matters for some grocers more
than others.
Food giants like Kroger, which captures 8% of all SNAP dollars in the U.S., are expected to take a hit from the SNAP pause, but Findlay Market is also bracing for a severe gutpunch.
“Over 50% of the people that shop at Findlay Market are on some sort of nutrition benefit program,” said Outdoor Market Manager Carly Hayes. “It might not be SNAP, but we also run other nutrition benefit programs throughout the year…these are all affected by the USDA cuts and SNAP cuts as well.”
Many of these customers live in Over-the-Rhine, Hayes said. So far in 2024, Findlay Market distributed over $170,000 in SNAP benefits on site and through the Findlay Market shopping app. Those numbers don’t include individual SNAP transactions that are made directly at vendors’ stalls.
“That represents a large percentage of sales for many of our fresh food merchants,” Hayes said.
Then there’s the incalculable benefits. Hayes said shopping at Findlay Market is a community experience, and the loss of SNAP benefits puts that connection on pause.
“It weakens the bond between our community and the market that it feeds,” she said. “It forces you to go to Kroger and go to Walmart, because they have such a larger infrastructure and they can take the bigger hit without being affected to the same level that our vendors and our merchants and the farmers are…you’re taking away programs that are promoting healthy eating, farm-to-consumer produce. You get to meet the farmers here who grow the produce you eat; you don’t get that from Kroger.”
You can find a comprehensive list of food banks and pantries in Greater Cincinnati at thevoiceofblackcincinnati.com.
Yellow and green SNAP tokens used by customers at Findlay Market. PHOTO: EMILY WIDMAN
ARTS & CULTURE
Christmas Carols
Humbug or ho-ho, there’s a theater production in Greater Cincinnati for you this winter.
BY JULIE CARPENTER
Haul out the holly! It’s time to celebrate the season with an assortment of holiday theater productions. There’s no shortage of holiday favorites for the Christmas traditionalists. For the Scrooges among us, there are some non-seasonal offerings too. Grab your candy cane, don your red and green, and then follow the sound of jingle bells and ho-ho-hos to the closest theater.
Cincinnati Music Theatre kicks off the traditional familiar favorites with A Christmas Story: The Musical (Nov. 14-22), where the Red Ryder BB guns, leg lamps and unfortunate bunny suits are supplemented with song. Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol returns to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Nov. 21-Dec. 28) and NKU mounts their version of the show (Nov. 21-Dec. 7).
Fans of Bing Crosby’s iconic song “White Christmas” should check out the Covedale Center for the Performing Arts’ production of Holiday Inn (Dec. 4-28), a stage adaptation of the 1942 film where the song first appeared (the White Christmas film was released in 1954 to capitalize on the popularity of the song). Another film-to-stage production is It’s a Wonderful Life Radio Play (Dec. 9-10), featuring University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) students at The Carnegie. Theatergoers who prefer more music with fewer words can get their traditional jam on with Cincinnati Ballet’s
The Nutcracker (Dec. 18-28).
If you love all the traditional shows but are so busy you can only pick one, perhaps Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of Every Christmas Story Ever Told (Dec. 10-28) will do the trick. It’s irreverent, but it covers everything from Dickens to the Grinch, with Rudolph, Charlie Brown and George Bailey thrown in for good measure.
Silencing years of silly debate, Die Hard is a Christmas Movie (Nov. 28-Dec. 21) at the Know Theatre definitively puts the argument to rest. Die Hard is, indeed, a Christmas movie. Perhaps not traditional, but still a Christmas movie. When Gen X is finally in charge, it will be officially added to the canon.
Another new, less divisive addition to the Christmas canon is Elf, the 2003 film starring Will Ferrell, which will be screened by the Cindependent Film Festival during Snowtime Cinema (Dec. 6). To quote Buddy the Elf, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati takes that to heart with Elf, the Musical (Dec. 5-21) in its new space at the Emery Theatre. Cincinnati stages ring with the sound of music this holiday season. Cincinnati Arts Association presents a seasonal musical and two holiday concerts. In ‘Twas A Girls Night Before Christmas: The Musical (Nov. 29), a sequel to Girls Night: The Musical, the girls take a break from visiting in-laws and holiday
stress for a night on the town. Christmas Together (Dec. 5) features Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and CeCe Winans performing holiday favorites, followed by Jim Brickman’s concert The Gift of Christmas (Dec. 13). Cincinnati Arts Association is also hosting an unexpected blend of genres with ABBA Holly Jolly Christmas (Dec. 7), a revue mixing ABBA classics and Christmas carols.
If you’re looking for inspiration to work off all those Christmas cookie calories, Exhale Dance Tribe celebrates with Hollapolooza (Dec. 5). Cincinnati Arts Association has two performances that’ll get you moving: Campana Sobre Campana: Christmas in Mexico (Dec. 2) features musicians and dancers from Mexico sharing their Christmas traditions, and the variety show A Magical Cirque Christmas (Dec. 12) includes acrobats, jugglers and more.
For those looking to make new traditions or have a not-for-children holiday outing, make the drive up the road to The Human Race Theatre Company in Dayton. Seasonal Shorts (Dec. 10-21) features six short plays of holiday humor for grown-ups, including one by Cincinnatian Torie Wiggins. By the time the holidays roll around, it’s easy to be already over it, after all, the decorations have been in stores since July. Luckily, for those looking to escape the Christmas chaos, there are plenty of options where the holiday is not part of the story.
Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati
presents It’s Fritz (Dec. 3-31). Fiona might be the most famous hippo in the world, but her little brother is still figuring out his place in Hippo Cove. His journey of discovery is the heart of this musical for all ages.
Because You’re Mine (Dec. 3-23) brings country music to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in a revue that showcases famous pairings. The music features songs by Johnny Cash and June Carter, George Jones and Tammy Wynette, John Prine and Iris DeMent and more.
Emerging talent on stage and behind the scenes enters the spotlight over the holiday season. Cincinnati Playwrights Initiative presents An Evening of Short Plays (Nov. 18) featuring staged readings of four plays. NKU highlights student talent with the First Year Showcase (Nov. 7-8) and Emerging Choreographers’ Showcase (Nov. 23-24). CCM’s The World Goes ‘Round (Dec. 4-6) is a revue featuring music by Tony Awardwinning duo John Kander and Fred Ebb, known for Chicago and Cabaret. Broadway in Cincinnati brings Hamilton (Dec. 16-Jan. 4) back to Cincinnati, so you can avoid the holidays and get a jump on your 2026 United States Semiquincentennial celebrations.
Give yourself the gift of theater this holiday season. Get more information on holiday shows and tickets by visiting theater websites.
Alexx Rouse and A.J. Baldwin
PHOTO: MIKKI SCHAFFNER
CULTURE
Arts & Culture Briefs
The latest arts & culture stories in Greater Cincinnati
BY KATHERINE BARRIER
Operation Adopt Tony Hawk: Cincinnati Animal CARE Seeks Adopter for Beloved Shelter Dog
Cincinnati Animal CARE (CAC) is on a mission to find one of its longest-time residents (and one of the most unforgettable) a forever home before the new year.
Tony Hawk is a wheelchair-using dog with a big personality and even bigger fan club who has been with the shelter for over four years. CAC says resources and foster options are no longer sustainable long-term solutions, and it’s launching a full-scale, all-hands-ondeck campaign, dubbed “Operation Adopt Tony Hawk,” to find him a safe, loving and structured home.
“Tony has overcome so much, and he’s become an animal that everyone here has grown to know and love,” CAC Shelter Director Meaghan Colville said in a press release. “He’s been adored by dozens of staff and volunteers, captured hearts online and he’s inspired us every single day. Now, we just need one
Holiday ‘Miracle’ Pop-Up Coming to Galaxie in Covington
Amiracle is coming to Covington this holiday season: The Miracle on Madison pop-up will open in bar and restaurant Galaxie on Nov. 18. Miracle on Madison is an immersive Christmas-themed pop-up bar with original cocktails, over-the-top decorations, holiday-themed food, Christmas movies, karaoke and a merchandise lineup. The pop-up is open to all — no ticket required.
“We are so excited to bring Miracle on Madison to Covington,” Galaxie owner Thor Morgan said in a press release. “Miracle is a holiday destination for family, friends and coworkers to gather and celebrate the season. Imagine your favorite crazy Christmas party happening every night! We’ve hosted Miracle in Louisville for the past eight years and can’t wait to bring holiday joy, kitsch and nostalgia to our friends in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. Dig out your ugliest Christmas sweater and come celebrate with us!”
This year, Miracle on Madison’s cocktail selection includes favorites like the Snowball Old Fashioned, Christmapolitan and the Jingle Bells Nog. There
person to take that final step and give him the home he’s been waiting for.”
CAC says Tony’s story is both heartbreaking and hopeful. He was once a discarded and behaviorally misunderstood dog, but with the love and structured care of his foster, Alaine, he has gained confidence and learned to trust again.
Tony now loves lounging on the couch and prefers quiet evenings to chaos. Because of his needs, Tony’s ideal adopter is a patient and experienced adult who can give him consistency, calm and a routine. He’s also best-suited for a single-family, adultsonly home (no children under 18), but he can coexist with low-energy dogs who will respect his space. A fenced yard is preferred, but not required. You should also be able to lift 50 pounds when needed.
If you adopt Tony, you will also receive full support from CAC’s Behavior and Training team, as well as guidance from Tony’s current foster and medical staff. You will also receive a special waiver that summarizes his history and outlines his care plan.
“Tony Hawk may not be for everyone, but for the right person, he’s everything,” said shelter staff. “He’s easy to love, easy to care for and he makes every single day brighter. You don’t need to be a superhero to adopt him — just someone who believes in second chances.”
Operation Adopt Tony Hawk will feature weekly stories and video content that highlights Tony’s journey, including a “Tony Hawk’s Cribs” video filmed in his foster home and “Taking Care of Tony,” a discussion with medical staff on how easy it is to take care of Tony. There’s also a “Hot Tony” fitness challenge where you can display your strength and compassion and “Let’s Talk About Tony,” with testimonials from staff and volunteers who love Tony.
“We’ve done everything we can for Tony within the walls of this shelter,” Colville said. “Now we’re calling on the community — his village — to help him finish his story with the ending he deserves.”
Tony will also appear at several upcoming adoption events, including the Black Friday Adoption Extravaganza and Silent Night at CAC.
Operation Tony Hawk will run through Dec. 31. Interested adopters can email D.Tung@cincycare. org to learn more and schedule a meet-and-greet.
More info: cincinnatianimalcare.org.
are also non-alcoholic options like Snow Day Sipper, crafted with chocolate hazelnut and coconut syrup, coconut whipped cream and cacao dust and served hot. To eat, try the roast turkey, Swiss cheese and cranberry sliders; poutine; loaded fries and “Roast Beast”
Wakatakas (flatbread tacos that Galaxie is famous for).
The pop-up is open daily Nov. 18 through Dec. 28. Hours will be Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to midnight; 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday; noon to 2 a.m. Saturday; and noon to midnight
Sunday. Guests under 21 are welcome until 9 p.m. each night.
Learn more about the Miracle pop-up bar at miraclepopup.com. Galaxie, 815 Madison Ave., Covington. More info: galaxiebar.com.
Tony Hawk is available for adoption at Cincinnati Animal CARE.
PHOTO: CINCINNATI ANIMAL CARE
Miracle on Madison opens Nov. 18. PHOTO: PROVIDED
FOOD & DRINK
Greater Cincinnati Restaurants, Bakeries and More Helping SNAP Recipients
Several local restaurants are offering free meals for kids.
BY KATHERINE BARRIER
With the federal government shutdown heading into another month, recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will not receive their benefits (or at least the full amount of their benefits) for the month of November. Food banks and pantries are working overtime to ensure Greater Cincinnati’s families will be fed, but local restaurants, bakeries and organizations like the public library are stepping up to help fill in gaps as well. Within the last few weeks, some of these places have announced offers on free kids’ meals, no purchase required, while others have offered to donate proceeds from orders. This is a running list and we will update it accordingly. If you know of any restaurants, bakeries or other
organizations offering similar free meals (for kids or adults) or donating meal proceeds toward food banks and pantries or collecting donations, please reach out to our digital editor, Katherine Barrier, at kbarrier@citybeat.com.
The Works Pizza
114 Park Place, Covington; 5901 E. Galbraith Road, Kenwood; 20 Grear Millitzer Place, Loveland
Kids can eat free at any of The Works Pizza Co. locations until SNAP benefits are restored. Every kid who visits gets one free Kid’s Meal, no purchase necessary and no questions asked; kids must be present to receive the free meal, however. Just say “SNAP KID’S MEAL” to receive the offer, says the restaurant.
The Works Pizza Co. has also kicked off its holiday food drive. If you bring in five non-perishable items, you’ll get 25% off your meal. And, if you buy a kid’s meal at half price, they’ll pass it on to a child in need.
By Golly’s Bar & Grill
714 Lila Ave., Milford; 8112 Beechmont Ave., Anderson Township; 313 Greenup St., Covington
By Golly’s, like The Works Pizza Co. is also owned by Epic Eats Restaurant Group, so they’re offering the same deal: Kids can eat free at any By Golly’s location until SNAP benefits are restored. Every kid who visits gets one free Kid’s Meal, no purchase necessary and no questions asked; kids must be present to receive the free meal, however. Just say “SNAP KID’S MEAL” to
receive the offer, says the restaurant. By Golly’s has also kicked off its holiday food drive. If you bring in five non-perishable items, you’ll get 25% off your meal. And, if you buy a kid’s meal at half price, they’ll pass it on to a child in need.
Greek to Me
3415 Dixie Highway, Erlanger
Greek to Me is offering free kids’ meals to SNAP recipients until benefits are restored. Each meal includes one Kid’s Gyro, one Kid’s Fry and a drink. The offer is for dine-in and carryout guests only — not valid through delivery or pickup apps. Children must be present and the deal is limited to one meal per child 16 and under per visit. Just ask for the Kid’s Gyro Meal and show your SNAP card.
Pickles & Bones Barbecue
PHOTO: FACEBOOK.COM/PICKLESANDBONESBBQ
Café Zara
7125 Liberty Centre Drive, West Chester
Owner Ally Delmendo writes, “If there is any way we can help get food on your family’s table during these tough times, please e-mail us at ilovecafezara@ gmail.com. I promise it will be confidential and I’m the only one who sees company emails. No judgement. No irrelevant questions.”
Jenny’s Signature Bakehouse
Jenny’s Signature Bakehouse (also known as Jenny’s Homemade) in Amelia is offering a free 6-inch round cake (serves eight people) or a dozen cupcakes for anyone on SNAP who needs a treat for their child’s birthday in November. Cakes and cupcakes come with vanilla icing and rainbow sprinkles in chocolate, vanilla or confetti flavors. Cakes will feature a “Happy Birthday” message with your child’s name and a number candle for their age. Cupcakes will have birthday toppers and a number candle. Pickup will be in Amelia, about two minutes from West Clermont High School. Email signaturebakehouse@gmail.com or send a direct message on Facebook. You will need to present an EBT card at pickup with a name matching the recipient.
Cincinnati & Hamilton
County Public Library
Select branches
The Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library partners with UMC Food Ministry to offer a free after-school meal and snacks at select branch locations Monday through Friday.
Pickles & Bones Barbecue
887a Business 28, Milford
While the shutdown continues, barbecue joint Pickles & Bones will offer complimentary pulled pork sandwiches and a side to any student in the Milford School District, no ID or any other purchase necessary and kids do not need to be present. You can stop in or call 513-317-2214 to order; just say you want the “student special.”
Forever Kings
3270 North Bend Road, Monfort Heights
This nonprofit that aims to empower young men of color is bringing back its weekly “Dinner on Us” series, which it launched in response to the COVID pandemic. Each Wednesday from 6-8 p.m., Forever Kings will offer free meals to the community at its headquarters on North Bend Road.
Richie’s Chicken & Soul
110 Woolper Ave., Avondale; 8265 Colerain Ave., Colerain Until Nov. 30, kids ages 1-13 can eat for free daily at Richie’s Chicken & Soul
in both Avondale and Colerain. You can get one free kid’s meal per child per day when you dine in or take out, no ID required. Kids’ meals ages 1-6 include one chicken leg (regular or spicy), three potato wedges, one roll or piece of cornbread, a Mandarin orange and 16-oz. water or lemonade. For ages 7-13, kids get two chicken legs (regular or spicy), three potato wedges, a roll or piece of cornbread, a Mandarin orange and a 16-oz. water or lemonade.
Mad Anthony’s Pizza
401 Greenup St., Covington
Show your EBT card at Mad Anthony’s Pizza at Covington Yard and receive a free slice or half off a cheese pizza.
Cassano’s
Pizza
4761 Dixie Highway, Fairfield
Until SNAP benefits are fully restored in Ohio, Fairfield mom-and-pop pizzeria Cassano’s is offering kids one free six-inch kid’s pizza. You must be dining in and kids must be present. Orders are limited to one pizza per child.
Sidewinder Coffee
4181 Hamilton Ave., Northside Sidewinder Coffee has a collection barrel for the CAIN food pantry where customers can drop off non-perishables. They also have a QR code at the counter if you would like to make a monetary donation.
The Bookery
3704 Eastern Ave., Columbia Tusculum Every Sunday, bookstore The Bookery will donate all its profits from the day’s sales to the Freestore Foodbank.
Roebling Point Books & Coffee
306 Greenup St., Covington; 601 Overton St., Newport; 301 Sixth Ave., Dayton
While the shutdown continues, Roebling Point Books & Coffee will also be donating its Sunday profits to food pantry Be Concerned. You can also drop off food donations for Covunity Fridge at all three Roebling Point locations.
Hierophany & Hedge
19 W. Pike St., Covington Throughout November, bespoke arcana shop Hierophany & Hedge is giving 10% of every dollar it makes to food pantry Be Concerned and the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky. There is no upper or lower limit on your purchase either; if you buy $100 worth of products, the shop will donate $10.
Downbound Books
4139 Apple St., Northside Downbound Books will donate its Sunday sales during the shutdown to Northside nonprofit and food pantry CAIN.
MUSIC
Rebecca Cole Unplugged Cole’s resume is
a who’s who of indie rock
greatness.
BY BRIAN BAKER
If Rebecca Cole’s name doesn’t spark immediate recognition, you might be tempted to sleep on her upcoming appearance at MOTR Pub on Nov. 13, appearing under her performing sobriquet of Clay Cole. But deep-cut indie rock zealots know that Cole has strong ties to the legendary Athens/Denver Elephant 6 collective and has recorded and toured with a diverse array of renowned alternative rock talent, including Sleater-Kinney and Pavement.
Cole’s musical journey began in earnest with piano lessons at age 7. She may not have been a prodigy, but she made up for it with a fiercely dedicated work ethic.
“It became apparent pretty quickly that I might not have had a ton of musical aptitude, but I did have a tenacious streak,” says Cole. “I would practice every day and that was unusual for a kid. I like to solve riddles. After I started lessons, it was, ‘Oh, there’s a little bit of skill here. Let’s get her a better piano and take the lessons more seriously.’”
After a post-high school move to Denver, Colorado, Cole found her expectation of studying music in college was not in the cards. Additionally, for the first time in her musical life, she didn’t have access to the instrument she had been classically trained on and played for over a decade. Her next experiences would fundamentally alter her focus and trajectory, beginning with a fortuitous encounter with the co-architect of the Elephant 6 collective.
“I met Bill Doss, who was in Olivia Tremor Control,” Cole recalls. “We got hired the same week at an art house theater called the Esquire Theatre [in Denver]. We became friends and he introduced me to some of his friends, and one of those guys was Martyn Leaper. He was starting a new recording project and he needed a drummer, and he was like, ‘Your vibe is alright and we don’t need keyboards just yet, but I bet you can do the drums.’ I wanted to join the band and that
was the seat that was available. Piano is a rhythm instrument as well, so some of the rhythmic training helped me get started on the drums. I had a lot of fun having a super blank beginner’s mind on a whole new instrument.”
Cole’s tenure in the Minders lasted for well over a decade before her 2008 departure, a period that included tons of positive press for the band’s 1998 debut Hooray for Tuesday and her marriage to and divorce from Leaper. She was also a full collaborator on 2006’s It’s a Bright and Guilty World and a primary contributor to 2016’s Into the River.
“It was just a nice day in the studio,” says Cole. “It wasn’t the old times of the Minders.”
Cole enjoyed her highest profile to date with the hypercharged indie rock quartet Wild Flag, featuring Sleater-Kinney vocalist/guitarist Carrie Brownstein and drummer Janet Weiss, former Helium bassist Mary Timony and Cole on keyboards and backing vocals. The band’s 2011 eponymous debut and subsequent live shows were an instant sensation, but the band was doomed by simple logistics.
“The biggest hurdle we had was we didn’t live on the same coast, so everything was very intentional about practice and writing,” says Cole. “Carrie started doing Portlandia the year we did the Wild Flag record, so that was her limiter. We all had other ones too, but being geographically distant made it hard to keep it going.”
In the wake of Wild Flag’s unfortunate dissolution, Cole kept busy with occasional session contributions, largely on recordings done by friends in her then-base of Portland, Oregon. She also became a touring member of Michael Benjamin Lerner’s indie rock/shoegaze band Telekinesis.
“I’ve never recorded with Telekinesis, but I’ve done several tours,” says Cole. “It’s like trying on someone else’s musical thinking, virtually.”
Around the time of Wild Flag’s demise, Cole began hitting the road as a tour manager and crew member, a grueling way for most people to make a living. If it isn’t crystal clear, Cole is not most people.
“I think I’m aging out of it, but I love touring. I love it,” says Cole. “When I’m on tour, I feel like I could do this forever. And I enjoy it better, out in the world, doing shows. But even from a tour manager’s perspective, it feels like magic. I’m sending all the emails before the show, then we show up and go into this empty venue and we pop it up and do a whole evening with people, then we close it out and we’re the last people out. It’s so cool.”
Cole did several crew gigs for Stephen Malkmus’ post-Pavement group, the Jicks. Being a huge fan, it hardly felt like work to Cole.
“I was like, ‘Pay me whatever as long as I can have a glass of wine behind the merch table and enjoy the show,’” says Cole with a laugh. “I had more responsibilities as the
years went on, but in all the time Stephen and I traveled together, I never dreamed he was considering me for something like Pavement.”
In 2022, Malkmus emailed Cole and asked if she was available to play keyboards with Pavement on their two Primavera shows, which led to her staying on for every subsequent tour; she recently played the band’s show in Mexico City.
“I’m so glad Stephen thought of me for this because it has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life,” says Cole. “There aren’t many bands like Pavement, where every person is fully artistically themselves and there’s so much joy. A lot of people couldn’t believe it when I told them what I was going to be doing. It was hilarious. And when they recovered, they said, ‘Oh, that’s going to be so easy.’ It wasn’t easy. I didn’t want to be the reason we couldn’t do a song, so I learned every song. But there’s an energy behind every song that’s almost more important than the notes. Keeping the feel in it is the trick with Pavement.”
All this leads inevitably to Cole’s solo persona and current tour. She doesn’t have too much traveling to do for the MOTR show; she moved to Cynthiana, Kentucky, two years ago. She has demoed a lot of songs but has yet to officially release much of them outside of a cassette a few years back and some SoundCloud postings.
And Cole works diligently to integrate her influences into her personal work without borrowing too heavily. She was working out a bridge for a song she’d written and after a few recording sessions, she burst into laughter at the realization that she was playing Pavement’s “Spit on a Stranger.”
“I like to hear my influences from other
people, and I’m sure there will be something that takes a page from something I’ve been doing,” Cole notes. “When I do a Clay Cole thing, I’m more like checking in with myself and seeing where I’m at. I’ve been in my house for two years and I finally took a few keyboards out of the boxes. I want to play some of these songs out and make sure I like how they feel and, hopefully, get into the studio early next year.”
Cole’s set list on this run will likely include a song or two from the Minders’ catalog, along with selections from the aforementioned tape and SoundCloud releases. The bulk of the set will be comprised of new material that is still taking shape, both in composition and execution. She’s still debating on the live presentation; she’s fooled around with samplers but isn’t sold on the idea, and is leaning toward just herself and her piano.
“I have 10 fingers and one voice, so the maximum thing you might be hearing is 11 things sounding at once,” she says. “How scaled back can it be and still get the feeling across? It’s very vulnerable, singing with just one instrument. You can’t hide, and there’s no one to even share the experience with after. You’re the only one having it. When it’s just me, I have to rely on the people in the room. I wish I wrote really beautiful love songs, real personal content songs, because I feel like it would be easier to be in that vulnerable space if I was giving something emotional, but instead I’m feeling emotional and singing about particle physics. It’s hard to look someone in the eye and sing about an electron.”
Clay Cole plays MOTR Pub on Nov. 13 at 9 p.m. with guests Bridget Battle and Lisa Walker. More info: motrpub.com.
Rebecca Cole
PHOTO: EDWINA HAY
SOUND ADVICE
RHETT MILLER
Nov. 15 • Madison Theater
Rhett Miller is tireless. Need proof? Check the Texas native’s ceaseless creative itch over the last three decades: 22 studio albums between his work fronting alt-country mainstays Old 97’s and his poppier output as a solo performer. He even started offering songwriting classes and workshops in recent years. Yet a recent development interrupted the 55-year-old singer/songwriter’s ability to perform: Doctors found a cyst on Miller’s vocal fold in late 2023. Rather than having surgery immediately, Miller decided to record his recently released solo effort, A lifetime of riding by night, before undergoing a procedure to fix the issue.
“I was trying to put on a brave face during the (recording) sessions,” Miller said in a recent interview with NPR “And I love making music, so being in the studio was a joyful thing. But at the same time, I was really scared. I know that the success rate of the kind of surgery I had is pretty high, but I also knew that it wasn’t a 100 percent chance of success.”
The resulting songs on A lifetime of riding by night reveal a new level of vulnerability, as Miller’s voice struggles to reach notes previously attainable amid stripped-back, acoustic-laden tunes produced by Old 97’s bandmate Murry Hammond. There’s also a more personal element to Miller’s lyrics, which often address the listener directly about his move from untamed loverman to dedicated partner.
“I’ve learned to open up as an artist, as a songwriter,” Miller said in the same NPR interview. “I’ve learned to think in a more analytical way about
songwriting. Like, if I sing to a ‘you,’ if I sing the word ‘you’ in a song, it’s like this little spell that I cast on the listener.”
Curiously, it looks like Old 97’s songs dominate Miller’s current solo tour setlist, which will thrill fans of the conversational, ache-ridden flirtations that dominate his main band’s catalog. The casting of spells might also occur despite the sparsity of tunes from A lifetime of riding by night
Rhett Miller plays Madison Theater on Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. More info: madisontheater.com. (Jason Gargano)
DADDY LONG LEGS
Nov. 18 • Southgate House Revival
The guys in Daddy Long Legs are not happy with the state of the world. That’s not exactly a bold statement these days, but the New York City quartet — which includes guitarist Murat Aktürk, singer Brian Hurd, keyboardist Dave Klein and drummer Josh Styles — isn’t shy about proclaiming their impressions of modern living via elemental songs that often draw from the grimier aspects of rock and roll history.
Cue “Feelings” from their fourth and most recent studio album, 2023’s Street Sermon: “There ain’t no use to pretend/This world has come to an end/We’re livin’ a nightmare/And this world is condemned/I’ll see you if this nightmare ever ends.” Hurd’s manic vocal delivery and harmonica squawks are backed by a bluesy ruckus that recalls everything from Exile on Main St.-era Stones to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion minus (most of) the irony. Yet the album’s title track offers a way out, as Hurd sings amid a ramshackle arrangement marked by a persistent shaker, a circular acoustic guitar riff and backing vocals: “I’ve come to the conclusion/There’s only one solution/Work with one another/Not against each other.”
That’s not exactly a revelatory insight, but it’s right in line with Daddy Long Legs’ primal approach to music — say it (and play it) plainly and with feeling. The relatively recent addition of Klein on keys has injected an extra element into Daddy Long Legs’ sonic exorcisms.
“We wrote and recorded a new album (Street Sermon) while we had time off the road in 2020 and 2021, and our producer Oakley Munson played piano and organ on a lot of the tracks,” Hurd said in a 2022 interview with UnderTheRadar, a website based in New Zealand. “We really liked what it added to the sound. A little later when live shows started up again, we wanted to showcase the new material, so we got our good friend Dave the Wave to step in, and
Daddy Long Legs
PHOTO: ADAM JAMES SMITH
Rhett Miller
PHOTO: JASON QUIGLEY
he’s been a great addition. We boogie even harder these days thanks to him.”
And boogie they do, gyrating around the stage as they emit the sound of a band yearning for salvation in a world gone mad.
Daddy Long Legs plays Southgate House Revival on Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. More info: southgatehouse.com. (JG)
WILL LAWRENCE
Nov. 21 • The Loon Wine Bar New York-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Will Lawrence will be coming to the Queen City for an intimate performance at the Loon Wine Bar in Northside. Traveling from his home state with stops along the way in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Columbus, Lawrence is currently touring behind his fifth studio album, Rooftops in the Centerfold, released this past September. Lawrence, who has played with The Felice Brothers and Louisville native Ryan Davis, sounds particularly confident and composed on Rooftops. The songs evince a precision, a perfectionism – yet Lawrence never slips into the
studio obsessiveness of, say, Steely Dan.
The album ranges from solo numbers like opener “Unbound,” a delicately fingerpicked reflection on a relationship coming apart like “a book found in a bar,” to a more full-band sound on the standout track “Only a Dream I Had.” Lush harmony vocals lift with airy woodwinds as a jazzy saxophone winds through the chorus. The gentle vocal melodies and warm major-seventh chords recall Kings of Convenience at times, but Lawrence has carved out his own voice while still tipping his hat to the ‘60s troubadours who paved the way. Lyrically, elemental words – rain, moon, love, teardrops, dreams – match the tone of the music perfectly. There is a melancholic wistfulness running through Lawrence’s work, like waking from a dream feeling somewhere between happy and sad.
Opening the evening is Cincinnati duo Yokefellow. The duo is a natural counterpart to Lawrence’s music. Songwriter Ryan Wells crafts poetic, folky tunes about wayward love and friendships lost, with a
slight psychedelic bent, as if Mickey Newbury were backed by Brian Eno. Additionally, they’ll be joined by Matthew Wallenhorst of pity xerox on woodwinds and saxophone, adding a warm, textural shimmer to their sound.
The Loon is a fitting setting for these two acts. Small, relaxed and unhurried, The Loon is the kind of place where you can actually sit down and listen. So swing by, settle in with a glass of wine, and let the evening drift gently along, like a dream you’ll carry with you for a while.
Will Lawrence plays The Loon on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. More info: theloonwinebar.com. (Derek Kalback)
LEON THOMAS
Nov. 29 • Bogart’s Forget what you thought you knew about Leon Thomas. The former Nickelodeon actor, known for his role as Andre Harris on Victorious, has carved out a new lane for himself as a funk-influenced R&B star.
Thomas began his career on Broadway as a child, performing in musicals such as The Lion King and The Color Purple, as well as in films like August Rush. He met his future Victorious co-star and longtime collaborator Ariana Grande on Broadway. After Victorious ended in 2013, he began co-producing songs for
Grande’s debut album as a part of the production duo The Rascals, alongside Khristopher Riddick-Tynes. Thomas has produced for several artists, including Drake, Kehlani, Post Malone, Cincinnati native Arin Ray and many others. In 2024, Thomas received his first Grammy Award as a producer for Best R&B Song on SZA’s “Snooze. ” That same year, he would release his album, MUTT, featuring the popular single “MUTT,” which gave him his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 10 after a 38-week climb, becoming the thirdlongest climb in the chart’s 67-year history.
“I’m just putting my neck out there and daring to be different,” Thomas said in an interview with the Recording Academy of the United States. “I’m not doing basic concepts or attacking basic instrumentals. I feel like I’m doing my best to push the genre by taking chances and experimenting. I’m just hoping that it’s received because I genuinely love the R&B genre. I want to see it grow and evolve, and I want to be a part of that process.”
He released his most recent EP, PHOLKS, on Oct. 23. He began his “MUTTS DON’T HEEL” tour on Oct. 30.
Leon Thomas plays Bogart’s on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. More info: bogarts. com. (Kennedy Dudley)
Will Lawrence PHOTO: CHRIS MAY
Leon Thomas PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS
