CityBeat | May 4-17, 2022

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NEWS

Matt Noonan is on the Appalachian Trail.

P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY M AT T N O O N A N

Milford Man Hikes Appalachian Trail for Mental Health Awareness Matt Noonan plans to launch an outdoors-based nonprofit to share what he’s learned about coping with dark times

BY K AT I E G R I F F IT H

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very year, more than 3 million people walk a portion of the Appalachian Trail, the world’s longest hiking-only path. A fraction of them are “thru-hikers” who set out to complete the trail, end to end, in one trip.

Making the 2,194-mile journey is a feat in its own right. A Milford man set out March 15 with a mission to not only complete the trail but also to lay a foundation for creating a non-profit that raises awareness for mental health issues and suicide prevention.

Matt Noonan began the northbound, 8-mile approach trail in Georgia with two things on his mind: Maine — where the trail ends — and Eyes Opened Outdoors, the non-profit he’s developing.

“Right now I’m trying to just create a foundation,” Noonan says. “When I finish the trail and get to Maine, that will give me credibility. I did do this. It wasn’t just a thought; it was a thought that turned into a dream, a dream that turned into an action and that action got completed. So once I’m done with that, I’ll take the steps to do the actual paperwork side of making it an official

non-profit.”

When CityBeat speaks to Noonan on April 21, he’s about 130 miles into his journey and is settling into a hostel for a night at Nantahala Outdoor Center’s Basecamp in Bryson City, North Carolina. As a Class A CDL driver, Noonan covers a lot of ground daily, but he hadn’t done so quite like this. He lacks significant hiking experience but uses that as a source of motivation rather than a deterrent. Noonan’s personal struggle with depression and mission to aid others experiencing it is what fuels him, and he says facing the various challenges of the trail can be used as a metaphor for fighting depression.

“Never give up on a bad day,” Noonan says. “Persistence beats resistance.”

He frequently repeats this to himself and to the social media following he’s gained since setting out on the Appalachian Trail, emphasizing that even the smallest accomplishments — like getting out of bed (or your tent) or taking a shower — can be life-changing for someone who is experiencing depression. In order to get people excited for

the eventual launch of Eyes Opened Outdoors, Noonan produces live videos on Facebook from the trail almost daily.

He keeps his followers updated on his location, mood, snacks and beard upkeep while answering questions and inspiring viewers on and off the trail.

Noonan says he averages 8-10 hiked miles daily, going 13.2 miles on his most productive day as of press time.

He anticipates finishing the trail in the fall, but will be dictated by his daily pace.

“You realize out here that nobody is going to help you but you,” Noonan says. “You are the controller of your own destiny. The other day I was gassed, could barely move, I didn’t have enough calories in me. But here’s the thing: there’s no one to call. You can’t call an Uber. It’s you. You are the one that’s in control, and so you have to persevere. You have to learn to be self-reliant, and you have to just know that you’re the only one that’s got your back.”

Noonan exudes raw emotion in his video segments, sparing no details about what he’s feeling. The range is real and is affected by the treacherous nature of the Appalachian Trail, which is almost never flat. According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s website, the total elevation gain and loss is 464,500 feet, equivalent to hiking Mt. Everest from sea level and back 16 times. It takes the average hiker 5-7 months to complete, weaving through 14 states.

A person could expect to spend

$5,000-$7,000 to hike the trail comfortably, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Noonan is averaging $100 a week and relies mostly on donations to refuel financially.

No matter if Noonan is discouraged, having a bad day or feeling positive and (literally) on top of the world, viewers know about it. He has connected with viewers before even getting out of his sleeping bag, while felling dead and dangerous trees with his bare hands and while nearing hypothermia when on a mountain during heavy snow.

On April 4, Noonan posted an hour-long video showing what’s inside his backpack and answering viewer questions to educate to-be hikers about what to bring on the trail. He says a few random hikers have even recognized him in passing from his Eyes Opened Outdoors social media accounts, though it also could also be due to his signature look: a long, red beard in a ponytail, born out of necessity to keep it from turning into a dread, he says.

Noonan’s jovial spirit and ambition shine during monologues in which he shares 360-degree views from mountaintops. The hiker says how you overcome the bad days, even a little at a time, can reframe perspective. It’s always, “just one foot in front of the other,” he says. His words are seemingly one of the most important tools he brought with him to the Appalachian Trail, even among the necessities in his pack, which weighs about 45 pounds.

Unlike many hikers, Noonan didn’t decide to complete the Appalachian

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Trail out of a passion for hiking.

Instead, the motivation harkens back to a trip that made him realize that being in nature was one of the only things that soothed the bout of depression he had been going through.

“It all started in 2017, when my buddy ended up taking his life. It put me in a super dark place where I almost ended up taking my life in 2019,” Noonan says, “I went hiking out in the Red River Gorge and ended up wanting to go live in Alaska or something like that. I just wanted to be out in nature because I felt so free when I was out there. So I made that comment to a friend and he said, ‘Why don’t you try to hike the Appalachian Trail or something before you go live in Alaska’? And I said okay, I’ll hike it.”

“I wanted to make it for a purpose,” Noonan continues. “That’s where Eyes Opened Outdoors was born, giving reason behind my hiking and trying to spread mental health awareness. That’s how I came up with the name, too. My eyes were opened to the therapeutic properties the outdoors had to offer.”

Noonan says spending time in nature makes a big difference in taking control of his mental health.

“When you can ground yourself and become a part of nature, it’s one of those things that just releases endorphins. At least for me it does,” he says.

“Like when you sit next to a river and can hear water rolling or listening to the wind blow through the trees, the birds chirping, there’s life all around you, you

gotta be thankful for what you have.

It humbles me and makes me a much more thankful person, and I’m thankful that it makes me thankful.”

According to an article by the American Psychological Association, Noonan’s theory about nature’s positive effect on his mind and emotional state could be useful to others.

“In a review of the research, Gregory Bratman, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Washington, and colleagues shared evidence that contact with nature is associated with increases in happiness, subjective well-being, positive affect, positive social interactions and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress,” the article, published in April 2020, says.

Noonan’s networking and social media presence have not only afforded him followers, but also a sponsorship from local outfitters Roads Rivers and Trails. Co-owner Bryan Wolf supported Noonan even before he started the Appalachian Trail, offering advice and gear.

Wolf says he immediately wanted to work with Noonan after learning about his purpose and drive.

“I have the utmost faith that he can succeed (on the trail),” Wolf says. “He’s a driven and confident person. He knows he can do it and doesn’t want to let himself give up. I don’t know how many times he told me it’s going to take a serious injury to force him off this trail, and when he says it, you totally

believe it. It’s just who he is and what he’s capable of.”

Wolf introduced Noonan to Joe Solomon, who kayaked the Mississippi River last year to raise awareness for mental health awareness and stigma.

Noonan picked Solomon up from the river in Louisiana, where a hurricane cut his trip short. Noonan happened to be traveling on a job, transporting generators to New Orleans, where he met Solomon. Their friendship was virtual until that point, with Noonan talking to Solomon during his kayaking trip regularly.

Solomon decided to join Noonan on the Appalachian Trail’s approach trail in Georgia and a few miles beyond, which Solomon says includes a staircase adjacent to a waterfall with at least 700 steps — an intimidating initial climb.

Noonan and Solomon hope to collaborate in the future, an idea that came naturally because of their shared focus on mental health — something called “surf and turf,” Solomon jokes, because he is a kayaker and Noonan is a hiker (Solomon plans to start the remainder of his Mississippi River trip in May).

Many people who have experienced parts of the Appalachian Trail will mention “trail magic,” a phenomenon that even The Appalachian Trail Conservancy recognizes. Trail magic is defined on the organization’s website as finding what you need when you least expect it, grand acts of generosity from fellow hikers or rare and extraordinary natural

occurrences.

Noonan says he was blessed by trail magic before he started his journey, when Wolf introduced him to Solomon. But one of the most impressive examples so far, he says, was camping next to a couple and finding out that the woman was a mental health professional, who also is on the trail to raise awareness for mental health. She granted him his trail name — a common practice of renaming oneself with a title that matches your trail identity — and is now part of his “tramly” (trail family).

The woman dubbed Noonan “Mind Well.” Noonan says it’s now interchangeable with his given name, and he’ll carry it proudly on the rest of his hike and in his journey to develop Eyes Opened Outdoors into an official non-profit. When he eventually returns home, Noonan plans on flipping a school bus that he purchased into a traveling office and home that will take him around the country to further benefit his mission.

“I’ve been through the swamps. I’ve been in some dark places,” Noonan says. “If I can just help one person not be in the place I was, then I’ve done something great.”

For more information or to donate to Matt Noonan’s journey, visit eyesopenedoutdoors.com. Watch his live videos at facebook.com/ eyesopenedoutdoors.

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The Terrace Plaza Hotel’s rooftop Gourmet Room restaurant was a five-star eatery.

P H OTO : E Z R A STO L L E R / E STO

BY MAIJA ZUMMO

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historically significant Cincinnati building that people either love to love or love to hate soon will receive the final hearing in its journey toward gaining designated local landmark status.

Or maybe not.

After making its way through Cincinnati’s Historic Conservation Board — which voted to approve it — and the City Planning Commission — which voted against it — the case to bestow official landmark status upon the Terrace Plaza Hotel will soon go before Cincinnati City Council, which has the final say (the hearing date has not been determined as of press time).

Constructed in 1948, the plaza was the first International Style hotel built in the United States and was one of the first hotel construction projects launched after World War II, with a majority of the design work completed by a 24-year-old female architect, Natalie de Blois.

If you’re unfamiliar with the 20-story structure at 15 W. Sixth St., it’s the building that looks like a big brick box with a skinnier brick box sitting on top of it, to inelegantly describe it. The mixed-use skyscraper features a mostly windowless seven-story base, once home to department stores Bond and JCPenney, with a 12-story structure on top. That had been the location of the former avant-garde Terrace Plaza Hotel and its once grand five-star rooftop restaurant.

At the opening, Harper’s Magazine said the Terrace Plaza Hotel represented the “elegance of this postwar era,” and former Ohio Governor Thomas J. Herbert called it “an insight into the future.” Architectural Forum praised it as “one of the most unusual buildings in all the U.S.,” saying “its art and strikingly modern interiors have made it a name to be dropped by travelers from coast to coast.”

In a city stuffed with romantic and ornate Italianate architecture, the Terrace Plaza’s unadorned Modernist facade has always painted a striking contrast.

And it’s one with national significance.

While the hotel closed in 2008 and the structure has been largely vacant since then — save for a few groundfloor retailers — the Terrace Plaza was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. In 2020, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed it on its list of the 11 most endangered historic places in America, calling it “an architecturally innovative building that helps tell the story of ground-breaking female architects.”

And in 2022, Docomomo US, a nonprofit dedicated to documenting and conserving Modernist structures, called it one of the “11 most threatened Modern sites.”

But now the Terrace Plaza is up for sale, which is why the Cincinnati Preservation Association, a nonprofit whose mission is to “promote the appreciation, protection and appropriate use and development of the Cincinnati region’s historic buildings, communities and landscapes,” has applied for

Design details in the Terrace Plaza Hotel’s rooms were carefully thought through, including in the bathrooms.

P H OTO : E Z R A STO L L E R / E STO

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The first several floors of the Terrace Plaza Hotel building were once home to department stores Bond and JCPenney.

P H OTO : E Z R A STO L L E R / E STO

landmark designation.

“The ownership of the building has been in the courts for many years,” CPA Executive Director Paul Muller tells CityBeat. “And one of the reasons we went for the landmark designation now is because those cases have sorted their way out and it’s moving forward and it’ll be sold at the bankruptcy auction and somebody will be redeveloping it.”

Local landmark designation — which is separate from the Terrace Plaza’s nationally historic designation — is a zoning process, Muller says, and just provides guidelines for what renovations can and cannot be done to a historically significant structure.

“When a building is going to have a change to it in a historic district, or as a local landmark, to get a building permit you have to go to the Historic Conservation Board and show them the work you’re doing. And then they look at it and they decide if it’s consistent with the historic character of the building,” Muller says. “So it allows for a lot of change — you see rooftop decks all over

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Over-the-Rhine, you see people adding on to buildings that are historic — so it’s very flexible.”

Former Cincinnati City Council member David Mann originally began the process to seek landmark designation for the Terrace Plaza in 2019. Back then, the Historic Conservation Board voted to approve it. Then Mann put the motion on hold. The CPA took up the torch in February of this year.

As it did in 2019, the Historic Conservation Board deemed the Terrace Plaza landmark-worthy in March because it “embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period and method of construction” — one of the qualifications set forth in Cincinnati’s municipal code.

But the planning commission looks at different credentials. The commission, which does agree that the building is a historically significant Modernist structure, makes its decision in part based on the “effect of the proposed designation on the surrounding areas and economic development plans of

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The Terrace Plaza Hotel, seen here in 2022, is for sale.

P H OTO : ST E P H A N I E S CA R B RO U G H

The lobby of the Terrace Plaza Hotel featured a mobile by artist Alexander Calder.

Saul Steinberg’s “Mural of Cincinnati” was located in the hotel’s Skyline Restaurant.

P H OTO : E Z R A STO L L E R / E STO

P H OTO : E Z R A STO L L E R / E STO

the city.” A majority of members felt the landmark designation would hinder all of the work that needs to be done to even stabilize the building.

Cincinnati Terrace Associates LLC — an affiliate of the New York-based firm JNY Capital — is the current owner of the Terrace Plaza and bought the building in 2018 with plans to renovate it. It has not. And the “failure of the building to be maintained” by Cincinnati Terrace Associates and multiple previous owners has resulted in serious structural and code compliance issues, according to Cincinnati’s Director of the Department of Buildings & Inspections, Art Dahlberg.

In the planning commission hearing held on April 22, Dahlberg detailed the many issues facing the Terrace Plaza: the roof has failed, rain pours inside, the ceiling and walls have collapsed, there’s no fire alarm and some of the masonry is crumbling. He noted an incident that occurred in 2018, when a portion of the facade fell off the roof and lodged itself in the windshield of an occupied car. That resulted in nuisance charges of roughly $60,000 against Cincinnati Terrace Associates LLC — not the first fine the city has leveraged against it. According to Dahlberg, the company has been issued at least 175 civil citations for around $1,000 each.

Cincinnati Terrace Associates LLC has since filed for bankruptcy. Qualified buyers have until May 20 to submit a purchase bid on the Terrace Plaza “equal to or in excess of $10,500,000,” according to court documents. If more than one entity meets or exceeds that $10.5 million bid, the “Hotel Property shall be sold at a virtual public auction” on June 3, per an order from the United States Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of New York. If no one bids, ownership reverts back to the bank/ lending institution.

Based on the April planning commission hearing, there are at least two interested redevelopers: Indianabased Birkla Investment Group, whose Anthony Birkla has said he’s spent nearly $1 million already in federal court fighting JNY Capital for ownership of the Terrace Plaza, and Bloomfield/ Schon, a Cincinnati architecture and redevelopment firm that has tackled

historic renovation projects like the Peters Cartridge Factory in Maineville and American Can Lofts in Northside.

The main difference between the two redevelopers is that Birkla Investment Group is against landmark designation, while Bloomfield/Schon is for it.

Both firms agree the cost to stabilize the building would be around $3-$5 million, with an additional $30-$50 million investment for redevelopment.

Being able to access state and federal historic tax credits would help offset those costs, which might otherwise need to be subsidized in part by the city. As it is already on the National Register of Historic Places, the Terrace Plaza qualifies for federal tax credits.

That designation also allows developers to apply for state of Ohio historic tax credits; being “listed as a local landmark by a Certified Local Government” would be a bonus for that.

“The state historic tax credit in Ohio is really powerful,” CPA’s Muller says.

“You can get 25% of your cost back.

And that’s on top of the federal tax credit, which is 20%. So you add these two together (and) a developer can get 45% of their costs if they do a historic tax credit redevelopment. The Cincinnati Renaissance Hotel was done that way. The City Loft Apartments. The Mercantile building has been done that way. The Tri-State Building, American Can building — all of the major redevelopment of older buildings have been funded by this mechanism. And we think the Terrace Plaza should be funded by that.”

Using either state or federal historic tax credits to help fund a project comes with its own renovation guidelines. But Birkla Investment Group feels that if the Terrace Plaza is made a local landmark, following any guidelines put forth by the Cincinnati Historic Conservation Board would impede their ability to modernize the structure in what they say is a “financially viable way.”

“We don’t dispute the historic nature of the property — we recognize that it’s on the National Register,” said Doug Moormann, who represents Birkla Investment Group, during the April planning commission hearing. “In fact, Mr. Birkla has actually committed to recognizing and honoring the history

The exterior of the Terrace Plaza Hotel, shown here circa 1949, was striking.

P H OTO : E Z R A STO L L E R / E STO

of this building with public displays.

But we will say, if you choose to impose these (landmark) guidelines, you will preserve the idea of the Terrace Plaza, but not the building itself. The imposition of these guidelines will preclude or prevent any redevelopment or adaptive reuse of the Terrace. The building will continue to deteriorate. In just a few short years, the only thing that’s going to be on that site that has any value will be the land.”

Conversely, Steven Bloomfield, principal at Bloomfield/Schon, said during

the hearing, “We believe that this landmark building can be revitalized into an important contributor to our downtown. We are prepared to move forward to bring this building back to life,” with Ken Schon, co-owner, adding, “We’ve dealt with buildings way worse than this.”

Bloomfield said the landmark designation would be a boon to help get historic tax credits to assist in renovating the structure.

“Someone once told me that development’s a simple business: Numbers

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Museum Worthy

BY MAIJA ZUMMO

Terrace Plaza Hotel architect Natalie de Blois stands near a mural by Joan Miró and a mobile by Alexander Calder at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Both previously had been displayed at the hotel.

P H OTO : S H AW N T U B B S

have to add up,” he said. “It’s not an easy business, but if you don’t use tax credits, which total a significant number of the development costs, where’s the money going to come from? It’s going to be someone coming to the city and asking for a significant contribution. It can’t be done otherwise.”

And CPA’s Muller agrees that without the historic tax credit savings, it might not be possible to redevelop the plaza.

“The planning and economic development staff missed a key factor when they speculated that landmark designation would harm or delay redevelopment,” Muller tells CityBeat after the planning commission decision. “In the hearing, there was testimony from a highly qualified developer (Bloomfield/ Schon) that a historic redevelopment was the most feasible way to fund the project. Without historic tax credits, the city will need to add millions of subsidies to replace this lost federal and state funding.”

Muller does not believe the Terrace Plaza is in any way on the chopping block for demolition, regardless of how city council comes down on the vote.

He believes redevelopers would still use the physical concrete structure in place and then build “a new skin around what there was.”

“It can still be redeveloped, and we’re supportive of that,” Muller says. “And it’s going to be changed. You know, buildings need to change — we’re not trying to fix it. (But) the changes need to be done in a way that’s sensitive to its history.”

Redeveloper Schon is of the same mindset. He told the planning commission, “We think the historic designation as a landmark is appropriate and it would mean that the city and the people would maintain control of the design of the building, or redevelopment and reimagination of this building. And we think that’s

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appropriate, whether it’s us or somebody else (who redevelops it).”

The biggest drama around the Terrace Plaza — outside of the deteriorating conditions — is the somewhat awkward lower base. Redevelopers seem to be obsessed with its lack of windows, with a large portion of the conversation during the planning commission hearing devoted to them.

Anthony Birkla of Birkla Investment Group said to make the space appealing to modern-day tenants, they’d need to put in giant windows on those first seven floors and above, which he doesn’t think the Historic Conservation Board would approve.

Schon said during the hearing that’s probably true, but he finds the windows to be “adequate,” especially for his group’s plans to use the lower levels as a garage and upper levels as luxury apartments with Midcentury design.

CPA’s Muller tells CityBeat, “structural engineers who have studied the building and the floors say it can support parking.” He also references similar renovation projects that saved and restored Midcentury hotels like the Statler Hotel in Dallas or the Loews Hotel in downtown Philadelphia.

“There’s a creative way to approach the building, get the tax credits, and have it be very successful and then build on its legacy. Legacy has asset value,” Muller says.

And what a legacy the Terrace Plaza has.

The aforementioned architect de Blois — who launched her career working for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which built the plaza and is now a major architectural firm — was before her time.

“She’s now considered one of the pioneers of modern architecture in America and never got credit in her life,” Muller says. de Blois constructed a vision for a

MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022

building filled with Modernist art, futuristic push-button elevators (Architectural Digest says the plaza was the first hotel without human elevator operators) and space-age conveniences, like motorized beds that unfurled from the walls and guest-operated thermostats.

A prescient nod to the coming Atomic Age design of the 1950s, the hotel decor incorporated organic shapes and Formica, terrazzo and metal finishes. “(She) pulled together fabrics, dinnerware, uniforms, Modern art and she went and worked with the Modern artists — (Joan) Miró and Saul Steinberg. I mean, it was just such a comprehensive view of how to create a place in the world,” Muller says.

Two iconic site-specific commissions for the Terrace Plaza — one by Miró and one by Steinberg — are now part of the Cincinnati Art Museum’s collection, as is a mobile by Alexander Calder that once hung in the eighth-floor hotel lobby. Miró’s work graced the top-floor Gourmet Room and Steinberg’s “Mural of Cincinnati” was located in the Skyline Restaurant in the lobby.

And while perhaps whatever the Terrace Plaza becomes will not be as groundbreaking as its first iteration, its past still has a future in Cincinnati.

“There was a time in Cincinnati when people viewed it as a choice, you know, historic preservation or economic redevelopment,” Muller says. “We’re past that point now. Historic preservation has been our biggest driver of economic redevelopment in Cincinnati.”

A date for the Terrace Plaza Hotel’s Cincinnati City Council hearing has not been set (as of press time). Twothirds of council will need to approve landmark designation for it to pass.

Nick Swartsell contributed reporting to this story.

In 1956, Hilton Hotels Corporation purchased the Terrace Plaza Hotel and in 1965, Jack Emery — of the hotel’s original owner and developer group Thomas Emery’s Sons Inc. — negotiated the donation of three iconic artworks to the Cincinnati Art Museum: murals created specifically for the hotel by Joan Miró and Saul Steinberg and a mobile by Alexander Calder.

According to the Terrace Plaza’s application for the National Register of Historic Places, “Hilton had apparently not cared much for the artwork during the nine years it was caretaker. When the Cincinnati Art Museum came to pick up the pieces, the Calder mobile had been painted various colors (from its original black and red). (And) 14 feet of the Steinberg mural had mysteriously disappeared.”

The museum has restored the artworks and says they have been on display in various places since they arrived.

“Each of these works is a masterpiece of singular importance to the artist’s work in its own right, but together they tell a story of a particular moment in which Cincinnati was at the forefront of modern design,” says Julie Aronson, the Cincinnati Art Museum’s curator of American paintings, sculpture and drawings. “It is remarkable that these works were commissioned for this hotel, which was a pathbreaking ensemble of art and architecture. The three works still make such strong aesthetic statements today. Many people of older generations recall fondly events in the hotel’s restaurants with the murals setting the tone for their memorable experiences.”

The Miró mural, which once was located in the five-star rooftop Gourmet Room restaurant at the plaza, and Calder mobile, which once hung in the hotel lobby, are currently on display outside of the museum’s Terrace Cafe, where they have been located since 2003.

Saul Steinberg’s “Mural of Cincinnati” was on view in fragments prior to the renovation of the museum’s second floor in 1990. The 75-foot-long artwork was restored in 2007 and put on special display that year and has been on view in its full splendor in the Schmidlapp Gallery since 2018. “(These three works) are among the favorite works of art of so many of our visitors. People tend to think of Cincinnati as rather old fashioned and conservative in taste compared to cities on the coasts — these adventurous works of art prove otherwise,” Aronson says.

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APRIL MAY 4,6,2022 2022--MAY APRIL 17,19, 2022 2022| | CITYBEAT.COM CITYBEAT.COM 131

ARTS & CULTURE

Cincinnati’s Mark Neeley is creating artwork for the upcoming Faul! The Musical.

P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY MARK NEELEY

The Intersection of Sound and Vision Cincinnati-based animator and illustrator Mark Neeley has found a niche in the West Coast multimedia scene

BY M AC K E N Z I E M A N L E Y

T

he beauty of animation is that it’s always evolving.

Cincinnati animator and illustrator Mark Neeley is experiencing that now, as he prepares a new episode of his video series The Aquarium Drunkard Picture Show. An offshoot of L.A.based online music magazine Aquarium Drunkard, the series launched in 2020 as half-hour episodes that blend music videos, live footage, animated

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sequences and tunes. Neeley – who lives here in Cincinnati – is tweaking the format for the newest batch, which will be released in May. The newest episode will not only feature new animation from Neeley, but also will bring in work from other animators and filmmakers, including claymation by Owen Summers.

“The format will be similar to a special previous episode we did called

MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022

‘Autumnal Equinox,’ which also featured film by experimental filmmaker Jodie Mack,” Neeley tells CityBeat in an email. “It will feature a combination of modern music videos and older live performance footage.”

Neeley develops the series – along with other Aquarium Drunkard content – with the site’s founder Justin Gage.

The duo even had a quick taste of national fame when the minds behind Adult Swim, Cartoon Network’s animation programming block, came calling.

Well, until the nation began grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, that is.

“We started on the show because Adult Swim was interested in making it a series,” Neeley tells CityBeat by Zoom.

“Some people in their programming (department) had been fans of Aquarium Drunkard and had been talking to Justin about doing it for years, and they finally approached him. I thought it was

going to be our big break. I thought we had it locked in, and then COVID-19 hit immediately after.”

Cartoon Network halted production as the pandemic ramped up, but Neeley and Gage’s pilot episode of The Aquarium Drunkard Picture Show aired anyway on Adult Swim’s app just before Neeley’s 30th birthday in 2020. To celebrate, Neeley stayed up with friends until midnight to watch the show go live.

Despite the pause from Cartoon Network, Neeley and Gage decided to keep releasing episodes on Aquarium Drunkard, each one its own unique sonic styling of music and art. Episode 5, for example, opens with a spinning record morphing into a cloud before becoming the black eyes of a skull. The animation zooms out as rain pours, sun shines and colorful flowers grow over a trio of skulls. The animation is paired with a mashup of songs from Indie,

Rock and Avant-Garde acts like Silver Jews, Stereolab, Broadcast, Spacemen 3, Nico, Brigitte Fontaine, Richard Swift and John Cale. Neeley and Gage are now exploring bringing the series to other streaming platforms in addition to Aquarium Drunkard’s website and Vimeo channel.

Much of Neeley’s work resides here at the intersection of what he calls “sound and vision,” coined after a David Bowie song of the same name.

“I’m really fortunate with what I get to do. I think visual art, animation and music have always been a huge part of my life,” Neeley says. “I never really saw them coming together the way that they have. And it just seems like a lot of my projects end up that way.”

Though Neeley resides in the Midwest, his projects often are collaborations with people on the West Coast.

Many of his pieces are inspired by midcentury psychedelic music like The Beach Boys and The Byrds along with the art that came out of that era and place.

“I have a weird relationship with L.A.,” Neeley says. “When I did my short film called Fragments, it was based on a trip I took out there and for whatever reason, the spirit of that stayed with me.”

Fragments premiered in March 2020 at the Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles. Since then, it has been shown at a number of film festivals across the country and in Europe. On his website markneeley.com, Neeley describes the short as the “story of how sporadic individual events synchronize with each other due to peculiar timing and ongoing nostalgia.”

Fragments mixes hand-drawn and painted frame-by-frame animation with 35mm film from Neeley’s trip to L.A. with his wife, Jaclyn. The film also juxtaposes Southern California’s warmth and laid-back scenery with rainy gray days back home in Cincinnati. Accompanying it all is a breezy soundtrack by Neeley’s frequent collaborator, Yohei Shikano.

The film opened the door to more opportunities, including his work with Aquarium Drunkard. Neeley also has worked on a number of music videos for acts like Dance/Chamber Pop purveyor Maston, Folk-Rock outfit Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection, Indie Country act Cactus Lee, Indie band Psychic Temple, Electronic Folk artist Frankel and Yohei & Nels Cline (the guitarist for Wilco). His animated music video with Canadian artist Michael Rault is scheduled for release on May 6.

The Beatles are at the center of Neeley’s recent collaboration with Samuels & Scott Ltd., a Pop-Rock duo from Long Beach. Their upcoming Faul!

The Musical explores the ever-persistent Paul-McCartney-is-dead conspiracy,

Faul! The Musical, with artwork by Mark Neeley, will explore the Paul McCartney-is-dead conspiracy.

P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY M A R K N E E L E Y

an unfounded urban legend that the rockstar died on Nov. 9, 1966, and was replaced by a lookalike. Neeley’s contribution is animated backdrops that will be projected behind the stage.

“I’m pulling really funny things from Beatles history,” Neeley says of his research process. “Like, in London, they had started Apple Records right toward the end (of the band). It was kind of a mess because nobody knew what they were doing on the business side of things.”

Neeley’s passions go back to childhood, he says. He grew up in the mid90s at the cusp of the pre-digital era, teaching himself to draw by reading books at the library like The Illusion of Life by Disney legends Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston and The Animation Book by Kit Laybourne. Published in

the 1970s, the latter had a huge impact on forming Neeley’s style as a kid.

Neeley still animates in analog today; everything is hand-drawn, colored and painted, he says.

“I just love that aesthetic. I love when you can see the artist’s fingerprints on the work, essentially,” Neeley says. “The other side of that is that I love that era of art in general, whether it’s music or visual art.”

But Neeley’s art isn’t just for those in California. With a studio here in Cincinnati, he offers workshops to creators of all ages at community spaces like the Cincinnati Art Museum, library branches, the Taft Museum of Art and more. The workshops are on pause for now, but he’s looking at bringing them back to life soon.

The artist also is working on a book

that will be published through the Cincinnati-based risograph printing studio Cereal Box. Neeley describes the project as an animation sketchbook that will feature storyboards and sketches of the work he’s done, from short films to music videos and freelance work.

“I’m really fortunate with what I get to do. Visual art, animation and music have always been a huge part of my life,” Neeley says. “I never saw them coming together the way they have. It seems like a lot of my projects end up that way.”

See more of Mark Neeley’s work at markneeley.com.

MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022 |

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ONSTAGE

Struggling to Survive: Know Theatre’s ‘The Twunny Fo’’ Portrays Discontented Convenience Store Workers R E V I E W BY R I C K P E N D E R

Jasimine Bouldin (left) and Eli Lucas perform in The Twunny Fo’.

P H OTO : DA N R . W I N T E RS

Decoding the title of the world-premiere show The Twunny Fo’, currently onstage at Know Theatre, isn’t a big challenge. It’s a workplace comedy about a convenience store — “The 24,” open 24/7 — and a group of employees who are resentful about working there, especially since its acquisition by a company that operates numerous locations.

Playwright A.J. Baldwin lays out in fast-talking contemporary jargon how each employee feels about their coworkers, several unseen customers, the around-the-clock work schedule, the corporate owner and the gentrifying neighborhood.

The events swirl around pragmatic Tyra (played by Baldwin), struggling to complete her MBA as a ticket to leave the neighborhood behind. She works nights at The 24 to make ends meet, trying to study during the bleak, empty, third-shift hours when customers are few and far between. However, her co-workers distract her with constant chatter and unwelcome flirtation.

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The Twunny Fo’ initially was conceived as a Fringe Festival production, but Baldwin was encouraged to expand it into a full-length script. It’s currently available to other theaters through the National New Play Network.

Rissa (Jasimine Bouldin) plays Tyra’s self-centered co-worker and chatty, opinionated friend who offers a nonstop stream of opinions and observations about everything and everyone. She keeps things interesting, even though she’s not a terribly dependable coworker. Rissa has derogatory nicknames for people she doesn’t care for, and she thinks nothing of showing up late or taking off for a nail appointment or other activity she deems more important than work.

Kingsley (James Creque) was the store’s owner until The 24 bought him out. He wanders in frequently as a nosy and judgmental customer, often acting as if he’s still in charge. He straightens products on the shelves, chastises the staff about their lackadaisical,

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(Left-right) James Creque, A.J. Baldwin and Eli Lucas share a scene in The Twunny Fo’.

P H OTO : DA N R . W I N T E RS

A.J. Baldwin (left) and Eli Lucas rehearse The Twunny Fo’.

P H OTO : DA N R . W I N T E RS

irresponsible attitudes and offers his own wisdom about how things should be run.

Tyra, Rissa and Kingsley are Black.

Shaw (Eli Lucas) is an empty-headed, self-centered blond white guy, replete with supposedly smooth moves. He repeatedly hits on Tyra, who treats him with contempt. Despite his cavalier ways, he gets preferential treatment from the new company, which irritates both women.

The first act of The Twunny Fo’ ends with a shocking and traumatic event that serves as a catalyst for action in the second act, when we find Kingsley back as an employee in the store he once owned. Tyra is angry and grieving, Kingsley is resentful and overbearing, Rissa’s whereabouts are unclear and Shaw is his usual obnoxious self.

An oblivious conference-call pep talk from The 24’s corporate office sharpens the focus and infuriates Tyra. She

concocts a take-charge plan, drawing on her business acumen, to address her anger with Kingsley’s patronizing behavior and changes in the neighborhood that make it increasingly tough for long-term residents. The Twunny Fo’ explores some serious questions about responsibility to self-respect and to the broader community.

Andrew Hungerford’s scenic and lighting designs support the story.

The convenience store looks familiar, although perhaps not quite shopworn and neglected enough; bagged snack products are hung too neatly, one by one, and the overall ambience is a bit too antiseptic (The staff repeatedly sweeps the floor, which has no visible grime or debris). But Hungerford’s lighting effectively conveys several moods, especially pensive moments between scenes as the story unfolds.

Director Candice Handy might have done more to contain the energy and

anger onstage, keeping a tighter focus on where the show’s message eventually lands. After two hours of angst, sarcasm and bickering, things wrap up a little too neatly and simplistically.

Nevertheless, there are some meaningful, thought-provoking lessons to be garnered from this show.

In an interview posted online by Know Theatre, Baldwin explains her intention to write about the commodification of Black women in American society.

“When I started writing The Twunny Fo’, I was working in a convenience store myself, so there was lots of inspiration there,” she says. “I honestly had no idea what I wanted the finished product to look like, I just knew I wanted to write something that spoke to the commodification of Black Women in this society. Then I was bombarded (like many of us were) by all the chaos that was happening in America in 2020,

and learned I had plenty of things I needed to say.”

That issue is in the show, but it gets entangled and often diluted with some of the larger social issues. That being said, Baldwin’s performance as Tyra, the role she developed and brings to life in this production, has an earnest commitment that feels commendable and real.

The Twunny Fo’, presented by Know Theatre (1120 Jackson St., Over-theRhine), continues through May 8, both onstage and via livestream at knowtheatre.com. In-person tickets start at $15 and streaming starts at $10; tickets for both are $5 during the theater’s Wednesday Welcome Experiment shows. More info: knowtheatre.com.

MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022 |

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NOW THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 2022

METAL, WOOD, PLASTIC, AIR…YES, AIR! Sean Derry The Breath of a Thing Join us for an immersive experience at the Weston Art Gallery, where Derry (Indiana, PA) examines the potential for amateur solutions to complex problems by repurposing objects and transforming materials into quasi-mechanical sculptures.

Alexandra Hutchinson and Derek Brockington | PHOTOGRAPHY: Rachel Neville

Exhibition Co-sponsors: Helen and Brian Heekin, Barbara and Gates Moss

Sean Derry, Historical Drift, 2022, aluminum Jon boat, bugle, military socks, basketballs, Mountain Dew, umbrellas, steel, s. steel, soft brick and misc. hardware, 10’ x 13’ x 5’

*See Weston Art Gallery’s website for COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.

May 17-18, 2022 ● 7:30 PM

Aronoff Center · Procter & Gamble Hall

CincinnatiArts.org or CBallet.org Aronoff Center Ticket Office (513) 621-ARTS (2787) Groups (10+): (513) 977-4157 MEDIA SPONSORS

FREE

and open to the public Tue-Sat 10am-5:30pm Sun noon-5pm

Aronoff Center for the Arts / 650 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 / www.WestonArtGallery.com 2021-22 Season Sponsor: Dee and Tom Stegman The Alpaugh Foundation Florist, Inc.

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MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022

NOVEMBER 10 - NOVEMBER 23, 2021

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Caring For Our Watersheds is a program that empowers students to imagine, develop and create solutions in their local watersheds. The program promotes watershed awareness and stewardship, values student ideas and offers support when turning theoretical ideas into action. Judges in the environmental field score student entries and ten projects are selected to compete in the final competition which was held on April 30th. $10,000 in implementation funding (up to $1,000 per project) is available to all participants, allowing each and every idea to be turned into reality. At the final event, students presented their projects and finalists received cash awards and matching grants for their schools

Caring For Our Watersheds is a joint program of the Hamilton County Conservation District, Nutrien and Nutrients for Life.

MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022 |

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CARING FOR OUR WATERSHEDS FINALISTS

1st

First Place: Sonya

Loveland HS Contact Lens Recycling

OUT OF OVER 130 ENTRIES submitted this year, these ten teams advanced to the Final Competition where students competed for $12,000 in awards for themselves and their schools.

Project: The Butterfly Effect: Wildflowers and Watersheds Student: Malena & Linnea School: Wyoming High School Description: Common milkweed, which is a native perennial plant that serves as important habitat for monarch butterflies, has been in sharp decline over recent years due to habitat destruction. To combat this issue, Malena and Linnea partnered with the City of Forest Park to plant milkweed gardens in local parks, thereby setting an example other communities can easily replicate. The milkweed gardens will also absorb rainwater, which will reduce runoff and help keep our watershed clean.

Project: Drug Take Back Day Student: Ollie & Ashley School: Loveland High School Description: Flushing unwanted medications down the drain can contaminate our watershed and, ultimately, our drinking water. To raise awareness about the harmful effects of pharmaceuticals in the ecosystem and to inform the public on how to properly dispose of them, Ollie and Ashley ran an educational campaign within the community that culminated in a ‘Drug Take Back Day.’ Loveland residents were encouraged to drop off unwanted medications during a drive at Loveland High School where they would be properly incinerated.

Project: Conservation Stewardship Certification Student: Garrett School: West Holmes High School

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2nd

Description: The challenges of producing enough food, fuel, fiber and fuel to meet the needs of our growing world are becoming increasingly complex, especially while conserving our planet’s natural resources. Garrett worked with his local SWCD and the Ohio Farm Bureau to create an on-farm conservation stewardship certification modeled after the Field to Market Alliance’s FieldPrint Calculator, which allows farmers to identify the value-added conservation practices that make their farms sustainable and use them as objective marketing tools.

Project: Guide to Being a Watershed Superhero Student: Crysta & Bailey School: Mount Notre Dame High School Description: Crysta and Bailey recognized the importance of educating younger generations about how to care for our watersheds, so they created a children’s book called Guide to Being a Watershed Superhero. They also visited a grade school to share their story with kids K through 3rd grade. By exposing children to environmental stewardship at a young age, they hope to create a trickle-up effect in families and communities.

Project: Saving the Earth in Style Student: Tabitha, Emily & Natalie School: Mount Notre Dame High School Description: Emily and her team found that many Mount Notre Dame students throw away their school uniforms after they graduate even though they are often still in good condition. To improve their school’s sustainability, the students started a uniform resale program where all students can donate used uniforms for a small incentive. Not only does their program reduce the cost of uniforms for new students but also the water, land and air pollution that comes from their production and shipment.

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Second Place: Ollie and Ashley

Loveland HS Drug Take Back Program

3rd

Third Place: Tabitha, Emily & Natalie Mount Notre Dame HS Saving The Earth in Style

Project: The Unspoken Problem Student: Alana School: John Marshall School of Engineering Description: Every year, millions of pounds of plastic found in tampons ends up in landfills. To help limit the plastic waste that ends up in the trash, and, potentially, our watershed, Alana created care packages containing reusable, eco-friendly menstrual products and provided them to a women’s shelter.

She also created a series of educational videos on how to use and create the products, hoping to empower more women to think consciously about hygiene products.

Project: It’s a Barrel o’ Fun! Student: Kate, Grace, Lexi & Kat School: Ursuline Academy Description: Because most of Cincinnati’s storm sewers are combined with sanitary sewers, the excess runoff ends up polluting our watershed during periods of heavy rain. To help mitigate this issue, Kate and her team held a rain barrel decorating contest at their school, afterwards they donated the barrels to public buildings in their community.

They hope these functional works of art will catch the eyes of pedestrians and inspire them to decorate and install rain barrels of their own.

Project: Aer-It-Out Student: Eli, Andy & Wyatt School: Wyoming High School Description: Outdated faucet heads can be a major culprit when it comes to wasting water in residential and commercial buildings. To reduce both water bills and water waste, Andy and his team installed aerators in the sinks throughout their high school.

To help inform the public about the water efficiency savings of aerators, they put up fliers around town and created educational TikTok videos.

Project: Implementing a Contact Lens Recycling System Student: Sonya School: Loveland High School Description: After years of flushing used contact lenses down the drain, Sonya decided to pilot a multi-brand recycling program in her community to reduce the amount of microplastics entering our watershed. She worked with several local eye care facilities to install contact lens recycling bins in their offices, and she also started a petition to require manufacturers to add recycling instructions on their packaging. Although each lens is tiny, Sonya hopes the cumulative efforts of her recycling program will benefit all aquatic life in our watershed.

Project: Clean Up for Candy Student: Busy, Semi, Roman & Gavin School: Loveland High School Description: Gavin and his team noticed tons of trash getting left behind after numerous sporting events at Loveland High School. This trash contributes to pollution in our watershed, so they created an incentive-based program where students get rewarded with candy for staying late to clean up trash after sporting events.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Milkweed For Monarchs Reese & Sophia (Loveland High School) Reducing Stream Bank Erosion and Harnessing the Power of Mushrooms Anthony & Dharmin (Loveland High School)

SAVING THE EARTH IN STYLE In the age of social media, teenagers often shape their ideas of what is fashionable around the examples set by their favorite influencers on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Unfortunately, a rising trend among social media influencers is the idea of fast fashion, which Tabitha describes as “the creating of clothes that we don’t necessarily need, wearing it for one day, and throwing it away. That’s what a lot of these brands have built themselves on.”

With young people learning from an early age that clothing is disposable, our landfills are filling up. A recent survey from Savers, a global thrift retailer, found that Americans on average throw away 81 pounds of clothing each year.

And as the textiles industry booms, water used in the production process increasingly goes to waste. According to the Water Footprint Network, it takes 650 gallons to produce the cotton required for one T-shirt.

Tabitha, Emily and Natalie saw the effects of fast fashion at their school and decided to act. Mount Notre Dame requires all students to wear uniforms, but once uniforms don’t fit or are no longer needed after graduation, many students just throw them away. To increase awareness about this issue and make their school more sustainable, Tabitha and her team created a used uniform drive. Now students can donate unwanted uniforms, which are then washed and resold at a fraction of their original cost in the school spirit store. All proceeds from the sale go to the MND Environmental Action Team, funding cleanups in the local community. Once the three girls graduate, MND parents will take over the sale to ensure that it continues for years to come. Tabitha argues that “it’s such an easy solution; many grade schools have done this before. So, it will create a lasting impact that many people will notice.”

THE UNSPOKEN PROBLEM Alana Betancourt, a senior at John Marshall School of Engineering, sees menstrual products as necessities - not luxury items, which is how they are taxed in Ohio. This “tampon tax,” as it is frequently called, disproportionately affects women, especially women of color. And for women living in homeless shelters for whom every penny matters, many must go without every time their period starts.

Alana knows firsthand the struggles many homeless women face. At age 14 she found herself bouncing from couch to couch without a stable living situation.

Today, her experiences motivate her to give back to women in need, one menstrual product at a time.

“When I think of people in immediate need, I truly think of mothers of children that are left to fend on their own. Most of the time, the baby comes first. A mother will put her all into a child and not have the time to care for herself. This goes for just about anyone, especially considering how expensive single use pads and tampons are.”

A budding environmentalist, Alana wanted to combine her interest in women’s health with sustainability.

Reusable pads and menstrual cups seemed to be the perfect solution. “I want to offer an outlet to people that don’t have the money or resources to get pads or tampons immediately. Not only is it a sustainable way of eradicating the use of plastic in that aspect of life, it’s also cheap and reusable.” Considering that the Absorbent Hygiene Products Manufacturers Association estimates the average menstruating person will use 11,000 feminine products in their lifetime, going green can have a huge impact on natural resource use.

Alana discovered June, a menstrual cup company, and a sewing machine and got to work. She hopes to sew enough reusable cloth pads to make 30-40 kits to pass out at her local women’s shelter. Not only will these kits be good for the environment but also, Betancourt hopes, for a woman’s wellbeing. “Cloth pads and cups are safer, healthier and help get rid of the stigma around periods. You get more comfortable with your body and this normal function. I want to help people that have been in an unfortunate circumstance with no resources just like me.”

AER-IT-OUT Most of us don’t think twice about the water that comes from our faucets. Where it comes from. How much we use. It’s just one of the many miracles of modern life. But, as it turns out, making one small change can have an outsized impact on your wallet and the environment.

Aerators are simple round attachments that can be screwed onto the end of most faucets and, as the name implies, they add air bubbles to or “aerate” the flow of water as it leaves the faucet. Just like low-flow showerheads, aerators act to reduce water usage without sacrificing functionality.

Eli, Andy and Wyatt found that many faucets at their school were outdated and inefficient, wasting water which adds to Cincinnati’s already overflowing sewer problem.

Because the majority of the city’s sewers are combined, meaning they transport wastewater and storm runoff,

they often overflow during times of heavy rain and pollute local creeks and streams. After a few quick google searches, the three Wyoming students decided aerators could be a cost-effective way to tackle this problem.

Aerators are so easy to use, they can be installed without a plumber. They are also inexpensive, typically costing only $5-$20. Eli estimates the aerators they installed will reduce Wyoming High School’s water consumptions and costs by 10%. Better yet, less water used means more for our local watershed and ecosystem.

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CARING FOR OUR WATERSHEDS

PARTNERS PARTNERS IN EDUCATION Organizations dedicated to creating the next generation of land stewards in Hamilton County Nutrien and The Hamilton County Conservation District understand the importance of protecting our watersheds and conserving natural resources. But it’s equally important to cultivate future land stewards and tomorrow’s advocates for the environment. That’s why the Hamilton County Conservation District has partnered with Nutrien to establish Caring For Our Watersheds in Ohio, a unique program that enhances classroom learning through the practice of environmental research, writing skills, public speaking and hands-on stewardship. The program, which is funded by Nutrien and run by Hamilton County Conservation District, asks high school students to propose ideas on how to improve local watersheds. Students with strong proposals have the opportunity to put those ideas into action. As projects are planned and implemented, students develop strong leadership skills, learn sustainable practices, and contribute to creating a healthier ecosystem. Students also have opportunities to connect with environmental professionals who volunteer and mentor the students as they learn new skills and develop deeper connections with the community in which they live. Caring For Our Watersheds is open to all high school students who live in or go to school in the state of Ohio.

Caring for Our Watersheds is sponsored by Nutrien, a worldwide producer and retailer of fertilizers and other agricultural products and services. As the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, Nutrien plays a critical role in Feeding the Future by helping growers increase food production in a sustainable manner. With nearly 20,000 employees, operations, and investments in 14 countries, Nutrien’s crop inputs and services reach every major growing region of the world.

The Hamilton County Conservation District (HCCD) is responsible for the conservation of natural resources within Hamilton County, Ohio. They have a special emphasis on soil and water with a focus on assisting landowners in planning and applying conservation practices on the land. HCCD is dedicated to the sustainable use of our natural resources and to encouraging positive behavioral changes that produce a higher quality of life for our citizens. The District assists all Hamilton County residents, schools, and jurisdictions through their services and dynamic partnerships that continually provide innovative solutions for the challenges of our region.

The Nutrients for Life Foundation is a global organization consisting of members and collaborative partners that develop and distribute sciencebased materials to improve plant nutrient literacy, soil health knowledge and promotes fertilizer’s role in sustaining a growing population. Plant nutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, are also required to keep our parks, gardens, playgrounds, sports fields and golf courses green and healthy in communities from coast to coast.

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PARTICIPATING TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS Mary Brown - John Marshall School of Engineering Joe W. Carstensen - Clay High School Mary Dudley - James N. Gamble Montessori High School Kelly Dye - West Holmes High School Melissa Kowalski - Put-In-Bay High School Tracy Majors - Wyoming High School Bret Miller - The Summit Country Day School Tonya Nkhata - Loveland High School Monika Nuñez - Ursuline Academy Mary Beth Rieth - Mount Notre Dame High School Stephanie Rammacher - Spencer Center for Gifted & Exceptional Students Kira Rucker - Spencer Center for Gifted & Exceptional Students William Schnure - Walnut Hills High School Kat Sickinger - The Summit Country Day School JUDGES AND VOLUNTEERS Jeffrey Baker - Nutrien, Inc Renee Boronka - Western Reserve Land Conservancy Steph Bradford - Cincinnati Recycling & Reuse Hub Pat Bruns - OH Board of Education, retired Jessica D’Ambrosio - The Nature Conservancy Lori Dorn - Greenacres Foundation Elise Erhart - Hamilton County R3Source Sara Fehring - Hamilton County Conservation District Gia Giammarinaro - Cincinnati Parks Cory Gonya - Nutrien, Inc Lauren Gottschalk - Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Kirk Hines - ODA, Div of Soil & Water Conservation Emily Horne - Greenacres Foundation Scott Huber - Hamilton County Conservation District Sarah Kitsinis - volunteer Erin LeFever - Civic Garden Center Sheryl Long - City of Cincinnati Christen Lubbers - Architectural Foundation of Cincinnati Anne Lyon - volunteer, retired Adam Mahler - CFW Intern Heather Mayfield - Kenton County Conservation District Judy Mouch - Cincinnati Nature Center Joe Phelps - Greenacres Foundation Tony Staubach - Hamilton County R3Source Mike Sustin - Summit Metroparks Kat Zelak - Clermont Soil & Water Conservation District

CULTURE

Cincinnati’s Own ‘Fluke Skywalker’ Radiates ‘Star Wars’ Magic

BY ALLISON BABKA

Cincinnati’s “Fluke Skywalker” wields his lightsaber as a Luke Skywalker cosplayer.

P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY “ F L U K E S K Y WA L K E R ”

There’s no disturbing lack of faith when it comes to Force followers in Cincinnati.

Star Wars Day – held each year on May 4, or May the Fourth (be with you) – typically brings out the region’s Jedi, Sith and creatures from a galaxy far, far away, delighting fans of George Lucas’s space saga.

But local legend “Fluke Skywalker” seems to have a few Midi-chlorians to spare, especially when it comes to supporting charities for children.

Cincinnati’s own version of Luke Skywalker has been cosplaying since 2017, after people began commenting that

he looked like Mark Hamill, who has portrayed the character throughout the film saga. This eventually spurred him to ask his wife for a replica of Skywalker’s Jedi costume for his birthday so that he could distribute toys to children at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati that holiday season while in character.

“The kids love running around, beating each other up with lightsabers, as kids will do, and the parents started something that has never stopped since I’ve been doing this,” he reveals. “They walk right up and say, ‘Mr. Hamill, can I get a picture with you?’”

“Fluke” – who has asked CityBeat to withhold his name in order to keep the attention on his craft and on the charities he helps – tells everyone that he’s not the real deal, but admirers insist on capturing moments with their favorite Force user anyway. With his tattered Jedi robes and top-of-the-line lightsaber, “Fluke’s” resemblance to the beloved character is uncanny enough that even Hamill himself has tweeted about it, saying, “He looks more like me than me” in 2019 after seeing a photo of “Fluke” at San Diego Comic Con. Since beginning this adventure, “Fluke” has grown his Skywalker

costume collection and frequently appears at Ronald McDonald House and other children’s charities along with friends who portray Star Wars characters Rey, C-3P0 and the Mandalorian.

“Fluke” says that his entrance into cosplay was a little different from the norm.

“They (other cosplayers) are like Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars first, and then they find out at the end they can join (cosplay organizations) the Rebel Legion and the 501st Legion and do charity work around town. I’m the inverse of that,” he says.

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“Fluke Skywalker” P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY “ F L U K E S K Y WA L K E R ”

The charity aspect is the draw for “Fluke,” who has been volunteering with his family at Ronald McDonald House for years even before his Star Wars cosplay began. A former educator, he greets kids at the hospital as Skywalker and frequently brings a collection of Star Wars toys for the youngsters. “Fluke” doesn’t charge for any appearances there or at the many events he’s invited to, instead insisting that hosts donate to the charity.

On his website imflukeskywalker.com, “Fluke” features links to donate directly to Ronald McDonald House or to a GoFundMe for Star Wars toys that are be distributed there during the winter holidays.

But those who don’t frequent the Ronald McDonald House can still find “Fluke” around Cincinnati. He’s often asked to be part of major Star Wars events throughout the region, including pop-culture conventions, comic book shops and theme nights for the local sports teams. “Fluke” credits Cincy Shirts co-owner Josh Sneed with booking him for his first charity fundraiser when the Star Wars film Solo: A Star Wars Story was released.

“I owe Josh big time. That kind of gave me the courage to continue on, making my cosplay better and doing more events,” he says.

“Fluke” says he’s looking at involving more businesses and corporations

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in his charity work, and he’s trying to make plans to surprise a few local celebrities who are Star Wars fans.

“You can’t name a single demographic that doesn’t love that movie. It always blows me away,” he says, adding that he saw the original Star Wars film in 1977 when he was age 13. “It’s a universal appeal.”

For more information about “Fluke Skywalker” or to donate to children’s charities, visit imflukeskywalker.com.

WHERE ‘FLUKE’ WILL USE THE FORCE NEXT

May 4 • Fan gathering, Washington Park, 1230 Elm Street • Star Wars Night, FC Cincinnati, 1501 Central Parkway, fccincinnati.com July 20 • Star Wars Night, Cincinnati Reds, Great American Ball Park, 100 Joe Nuxhall Way, reds.com Sept. 23-25 • Cincinnati Comic Expo, Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., cincinnaticomicexpo.com

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FOOD & DRINK

A variety of dishes at Pho Lang Thang P H OTO : H A I L E Y B O L L I N G E R

Findlay Market Features Nationally Lauded Food and Drink CityBeat dining critic Pama Mitchell explores Over-the-Rhine’s surprising variety

BY PA M A M IT C H E L L

I

remember when Newsweek named Findlay Market as one of the ten best markets in the whole world. That was in 2019, and Findlay was the only U.S. market to make the list. We knew the market was special, and it was terrific to see this acknowledgment.

The market has blossomed so much in recent years that the surrounding neighborhood has boomed, too.

Along with the development of new apartments, condos and commercial buildings, the area has experienced a remarkable expansion of dining options.

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For starters, Findlay occupies the only area of Cincinnati with restaurants owned by Cincinnati’s two superstar chefs, Jean-Robert de Cavel and Jose Salazar. De Cavel’s French Crust and Salazar’s Goose & Elder both hit a sweet spot of being perfect for the Over-theRhine neighborhood and a draw for folks from the entire region.

At a recent Sunday brunch at French Crust (1801 Elm St., frenchcrustcafe. com), we enjoyed a meal that featured one scrumptious dish after another. We had six in our party, and every item laid on our table was completely satisfying

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– and that was without any of us ordering the best-in-the-city quiche. De Cavel’s private collection of framed posters and other decorations express his personality and create a spot-on Parisian bistro ambiance. Chef de cuisine Carla Heiert creates omelets, soups, salads and casseroles that complement the glorious croissants and sweets of pastry chef Jean-Philippe Solnom.

I adore the quiche Lorraine and don’t usually resist it. But at this recent brunch, I discovered the “Le Creuset” casseroles. My salmon casserole with tomato, corn kernels, shiitake mushrooms and a creamy lemon sauce was wonderful, as was my friend’s steak casserole with potatoes, carrots, peas and a demi-glace (each $16). The lemon sauce on the salmon dish couldn’t have been more delightful.

At the opposite end of the market sits Goose & Elder (1800 Race St., gooseandelder.com). While French Crust opened almost 10 years ago, G & E has only been around since 2019. It was one of my favorite spots for carryout during the first year of COVID-19. With front and back rooms and several outdoor seating possibilities, the restaurant felt

spacious enough to patronize last year when we started going back to in-house dining.

Serving from late morning until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. every day except Tuesday, Goose & Elder excels at a variety of offerings. I can never get enough of the duck leg confit with grits and baconbraised greens ($19). Lighter, wonderful options include a veggie burger based on falafel ($11.75) and avocado toast perked up with jalapeno and sliced radishes ($12.25). You can’t go wrong with the burger and fries, either ($8.50 for a single patty; $12.50 for a double). The back room with a bar and well-spaced tables is a welcome place to linger, while the front dining room is livelier.

Pho Lang Thang (1828 Race St., pholangthang.com) completes a triumvirate of truly outstanding restaurants adjacent to Findlay Market. If fragrant, savory and vegetable-forward Vietnamese cooking rings your bells, this establishment down the block from Goose & Elder has you covered. The restaurant quickly outgrew its original location inside the market several years ago, moving into a roomier spot across Race Street in 2019. Two COVID years later,

Meals at Goose & Elder P H OTO : H A I L E Y B O L L I N G E R

the eatery still dishes out impossibly fresh salads, salad rolls, banh mi sandwiches and noodle bowls. Come dinner time, a couple of especially creative offerings might pop up. The expanded location includes an adjacent carry-out storefront, a much larger kitchen and a full bar.

Cheese fans—which probably includes just about everyone— shouldn’t miss The Rhined near the French Crust side of the market.

Although you can find a lot of excellent cheese among the vendors in Findlay Market proper, The Rhined (1737 Elm St., therhined.com) has unique charms.

You can relax at the little shop’s counter or in a back courtyard to sample cheese flights with or without a glass or two of wine. The shop sells those goodies and more to enjoy at home, too and specializes in regional cheeses, often made in small batches.

Cleverly and aptly named, Mighty Good: Meat n’ Three (1819 Elm St., mightygoodotr.com) serves Southernstyle comfort food at reasonable prices.

The place also does good by staffing its kitchen with students from the Findlay Culinary Training Program in which students are ready for employment in area kitchens after 12 weeks of preparing dishes such as garlic chicken, Mississippi pot roast and blackened redfish, along with all kinds of sides and scrumptious desserts. Mighty Good patrons pick a meat and add three sides from a list of almost a dozen, all for $11; three pieces of fried chicken with two sides will cost you $15. I’ve had lunch there twice and enjoyed both meals, especially the fried chicken, braised greens, mashed sweet potatoes and cornbread. Pie slices, cobblers and banana pudding (each $4) come off pretty much like grandma used to make. There’s booze, too, including a few bottled beers ($3-$5), five wines by the glass ($8) and several cocktails such as bourbon and other whiskey drinks

($8-10).

For those who prefer to focus on libations, the neighborhood has several enticing watering holes. Just a couple of blocks from the market is La Ofrenda (30 Findlay St., laofrendatequila.com), which specializes in margaritas and other tequila or mezcal cocktails, plus a wide selection of tequilas and other spirits. A friend tells me that when La Ofrenda has Latin dance nights, the place is packed.

A bit farther from the market, in two separate directions, are OTR Stillhouse and Somerset. The former (2017 Branch St., otrstillhouse.com) is a combination distillery, brewery, bar and performance venue with oodles of space both indoors and out. There’s a menu of light bites, meaty grilled skewers, a burger with fries and a couple of noodle bowls.

Somerset (139 E. McMicken Ave., somersetotr.com) received a shout-out from Harper’s Bazaar in April as one of a handful of OTR establishments it recommends for out-of-towners (Pho Lang Thang also earned a nod). The restaurant is a bit of a walk from the market, but it may be worth the effort to see what made a national magazine pay attention. The place has beautiful ambiance, with a feel that’s both spacious and intimate. It’s also crazy-popular, but you can reserve space in advance via the website. Plan ahead, though: you’re not likely to nab a table lastminute. Reservations aren’t necessary, but without them you may have to hang out in a line for a while.

There are plenty of places to eat or drink within a short walk of Findlay Market, but these are some of my favorites. Next time you’re in the neighborhood, save room for a snack or meal in this historic part of Cincinnati.

Selections at Mighty Good: Meat n’ Three P H O T O : C AT I E V I OX

For more information about Findlay Market, visit findlaymarket.org.

Inside the dining room at French Crust P H OTO : H A I L E Y B O L L I N G E R

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Voted Best Smoke Shop

Voted Best Green / Sustainable Goods Store

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EATS

Mad Cheese Offers Vegan Alternatives for Cincinnati Charcuterie Addicts

BY M AG G Y M C D O N E L

Heather Donaldson and her husband Reggie went vegan in 2019 to lower their carbon footprint, but like many people, they really didn’t want to give up cheese and charcuterie.

Donaldson says in an email to CityBeat that she “wasn’t thrilled with the commercial vegan options available,” so she set out to learn how to make her own plant-based meats and cheeses.

Charcuterie is a French term describing a type of cooking that focuses on processed meat products, namely items like bacon, cured ham, sausages and pâtés.

In recent years, charcuterie also has been used to describe extravagant boards filled with meats, cheeses and other finger foods in the United States. Donaldson’s venture Mad Cheese creates vegan versions of these items as well as made-to-purchase boards filled with imaginative ingredients.

Like so many others, Donaldson and her husband moved back home to Cincinnati in 2020, leaving Los Angeles once the COVID-19 pandemic shut down both of their jobs in the film industry. Donaldson had worked as a food stylist, designing and creating food eaten by actors on camera, while Reggie did lighting and camera work for shows like Shameless.

With her job on hold, Heather suddenly had the time she needed to further develop and perfect the vegan meat and cheese recipes that she already had been toying with.

About six months into COVID-19 lockdown, the couple flew to their hometown of Cincinnati, where they had both attended The School for Creative and Performing Arts, to visit Reggie’s parents; that fall, they bought a home in Madisonville.

While the house was being renovated, Donaldson continued to make her cheeses. She soon began sharing them with friends, who in turn gave them to other people, “Within a few months, strangers were contacting me and asking to buy cheese,” she says.

Feeling uncomfortable selling food products to strangers without proper licensing, Donaldson tells CityBeat that she decided to go for it and start a business. In March of 2021, she officially launched Mad Cheese.

Donaldson says that at first, she hadn’t even planned on creating a website, but within five days of marketing her new business on social media, she had more than 100 orders.

For a while, Donaldson and her husband operated Mad Cheese out of the kitchen of Walnut Hills’ New Thought Unity Center. The duo recently received a LEAP (Leveraging Education Assistance

Heather Donaldson’s Camembert is completely vegan.

P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY H E AT H E R D O N A L D S O N

Mad Cheese offers vegan versions of common charcuterie foods.

P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY H E AT H E R D O N A L D S O N

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Mad Cheese’s Gouda Vibes is an aged smoked gouda.

P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY H E AT H E R D O N A L D S O N

Program) grant from Main Street Ventures, though, with funding that allowed them to hire a part-time employee and move into a new fully-equipped kitchen at 5909 Bramble Ave. in Madisonville.

Donaldson says that to perfect each product and bring them as close as possible to the dairy and meat tastes and textures that they are imitating, she will test “over 100 different versions of a recipe before I feel like it is close enough.”

The recipes vary greatly for each product that Mad Cheese produces. Donaldson says that the cheese bases vary from nuts to seeds to pea protein. The general process involves combining the ingredients, cooking them and then chilling them in molds. “Fresh” cheeses can be made within one week and are packaged as soon as they are set. Some cheeses like Brie, blue and blue-gouda are aged using vegan cheese cultures shipped from France. Donaldson says the process for aging these cheeses are controlled and can take up to eight weeks.

While Donaldson is open about her cheese processes, she keeps her “meat” making a little more secretive, as she has developed a fairly unique style of vegan meat that also is gluten-free. She says that the process is similar to the one she uses to craft the cheese. To make the meats both vegan and gluten-free, she uses pea protein, which Donaldson says differs from the typical vegan meat that is created using wheat gluten. This process creates a meat-like product loved by many — even non-vegans enjoy it, she says.

Donaldson notes that she has heard from several meat and cheese eaters that they prefer her Greener Pastures ($13 per six-ounce wheel) over traditional goat cheese. She says that Greener Pastures is an herbed chevre and is Mad Cheese’s most popular creation.

Donaldson says her current favorite of Mad Cheese’s offerings is the company’s version of Brie, La Ferme Rustique ($15 per four-ounce wheel). She is also a fan of Mad Cheese’s take on ricotta, called Euphoricotta ($14 for a 16-ounce container).

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“It’s nut-free and super versatile — eat it solo on baguette toasts, swirl some into pasta, make lasagna, add it to soups to make them creamy,” Donaldson says of the Euphoricotta.

As for her husband, Donaldson says that Reggie loved their aged smoked gouda, GoudaVibes ($15 per 6.5-ounce wheel) as well as their walnut paté ($11 per four-ounce glass jar).

New products are always being developed in Donaldson’s kitchen. Recently, Mad Cheese released Fet-ahhh ($13), created with soy from Cincinnati-based soy sauce fermenter CinSoy Foods. In the works now is the soon-to-be-released Mad Parma, a vegan hard parmesan that can be shaved and grated.

Vegan charcuterie enthusiasts can also pick up pre-made charcuterie boards from Mad Cheese. Each Mad Cheese Board ($95) is made-to-order, Donaldson says, the company can even customize the colors, add a theme and deliver it straight to your door. Mad Cheese also occasionally offers seasonal boards, which feature limited-edition items and decor.

As of press time, Mad Cheese is sold out of every product in its online store, but its products can be found all over Cincinnati. Cork N Crust in Bellevue uses Mad Cheese’s vegan cheeses on its pizzas and sells the vegan cheese and charcuterie boards as well. The company’s mozzarella also is used in the vegan poutine that’s now offered at La Petite Frite in Oakley Kitchen Food Hall.

Additional Mad Cheese products are available at Rooted Juicery + Kitchen’s various locations, grocer Morsel & Nosh in Cumminsville, the marketplace at Oakley Kitchen and Food Hall, Spoon: Kitchen & Market in Covington and Madison’s at Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine.

Donaldson and Mad Cheese will be at Cincy VegFest in Burnet Woods on June 4.

To purchase Mad Cheese products or learn more about the business, visit madcheese.com.

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MUSIC

Kiss’ members are finally saying goodbye to their shiny platform boots for good.

P H OTO : B R I A N LOW E

End of the Road

Kiss’ farewell tour will “lick it up” at Wright State University’s Nutter Center in Dayton

BY A L A N S C U L L E Y 32

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A

s Kiss delves further into a farewell tour that was interrupted by the pandemic, lead singer and guitarist Paul Stanley knows what he’ll miss most about the band he co-founded with bassist/singer Gene Simmons in 1973 in New York City.

“There’s nothing really that can compete or come close to the combustive emotional nature of what we do on stage and the connection to the fans,”

he says in a phone interview. “That’s something that’s irreplaceable. That’s something that there’s nothing to compare it to.”

But fans won’t have to worry that they’ll see a mopey or overly sentimental Stanley on stage as he grapples with the reality that this is the final Kiss tour.

In fact, Stanley — in typical fashion for a band that has never been short on bravado — says this last outing, billed

as the “End of the Road” tour, is a festive occasion.

“This is really a time of joy and for us to be up there and celebrate what we’ve done together,” Stanley says, adding that fans are a key part of the experience. “It’s much better than finishing a tour, let’s say, and then a year later deciding you don’t want to go out and two years later you decide you don’t want to go out. In that sense, you’ve called it quits, but this is so much better for us and better for the fans to go out there with the highest of spirits and the greatest of shows.”

The show, indeed, is bigger and bolder than any Kiss has taken on the road, Stanley says. That’s no small endeavor for a group that revolutionized the rock concert in the ‘70s by not only donning their famous makeup — Stanley as the starchild, Simmons as the demon, original guitarist Ace Frehley as the space ace and original drummer Peter Criss as the catman — but with stateof-the-art lights, enough pyrotechnics to light up a Fourth of July and even a few flashy stunts, such as Simmons breathing fire, all while decked out in elaborate costumes and high-heeled platform boots.

“The show this time really is the ultimate Kiss show,” Stanley says of the farewell tour stage production. “With that in mind, we wanted to put together something that really raised the bar, not just for us, but as happened over the years, raises the bar for every act out there. That’s a good thing because the fans win because of it.”

“This show is more bombastic.

There’s more pyro. The lights are stunning. The automation involved, the computer synchronization is unlike anything we’ve ever done, and yet it doesn’t lose, we don’t wind up with something that’s technical and sterile over something that’s passionate and gritty,” he continues. “So it’s a marvel, I’ve got to tell you. It left us speechless when we first saw the finished stage.

And for us to be silent is a miracle in itself.”

The show, which will head to Wright State University’s Nutter Center in Dayton on May 12, also will offer more for fans on a musical level, with a longer set than Kiss has played on recent tours and full of crowd-pleasing selections.

“I believe we’re doing 22 songs, I think, somewhere around that,” Stanley says. “I think the average on the last

tours has been about 16. It’s a diverse and really great overview of all the eras of the band.”

The wide-ranging setlist means fans will get a final chance to see Kiss perform core songs from each of the band’s three primary eras — the original edition with Frehley and Criss, the 1980s/ early-‘90s lineup with Bruce Kulick on guitar and Eric Carr (and later Eric Singer) on drums, and the current edition with Tommy Thayer on guitar and Singer on drums.

Each lineup had considerable success, with Kiss selling more than 100 million albums over the years. The original lineup was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

Stanley says he is open to former band members (such as Frehley, Criss and Kulick) participating during the farewell tour.

“To not have various former members be a part of it at some point, in some way, if it didn’t happen, it wouldn’t be of my choosing,” he says.

So why did Stanley and Simmons decide it was time to do a farewell tour and retire as a touring band? Simply put, they didn’t want to risk reaching an age or point with their health where they couldn’t deliver the kind of performance fans expect.

“We are not any other touring band.

If we were wearing t-shirts and jeans and athletic shoes, we could do this into our 90s. There’s no reason to stop,” Stanley explains. “But take any one of those bands and put 40 pounds of gear on them, and they wouldn’t make it through a tour. So it just has reached a point where we just felt, ‘Let’s go out there and be at our best,’ knowing we can be at our best, and not look to the future. Let’s stop when we believe we can deliver the best Kiss ever.”

Each lineup had considerable success, with Kiss selling more than 100 million albums over the years.

Kiss will perform at 7:30 p.m. May 12 at Wright State University’s Nutter Center in Dayton. Doors open at 6 p.m. More info: nuttercenter.com.

MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022 |

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SOUND ADVICE Leon Bridges

Friday, May 6 • Andrew J Brady Music Center Leon Bridges is the answer to every surly soul in the world who has ever lamented that “they just don’t make music like they used to anymore.”

Bridges’ warm version of R&B and Soul feels straight out of the 1960s while still being firmly planted in the modern world. There’s not a song on his most recent album, Gold Diggers Sound, that won’t make you feel. Last year’s “Why Don’t You Touch Me: Part 2” is both lyrically and musically emotional. It’s impossible to get through even the first verse and chorus without sinking back into your seat and riding a wave of insecurity and sadness. You don’t have to have been in a faltering relationship to understand the sentiment, but it certainly helps.

And then, of course, there’s the amazing stuff he’s released with Psych-Soul band Khruangbin, albums Texas Sun and Texas Moon. Bridges brings the emotion that often feels missing from Khruangbin’s music (Don’t @ me). Meanwhile, they offer a summery surf sound that we might never have known Bridges needed until they got together. Texas Sun was released in early 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic started, while Texas Moon came out earlier this year. Like two bookends, they each serve a purpose in their placement. But while Texas Sun is the perfect album for floating around in your above ground pool until you’re burnt to a crisp, Texas Moon is what you spin when your lover is spreading the chilled aloe onto your back. It’s cooler, cleaner and a little sexier.

Bridges is bringing all those throwback sounds and warm vibes to Cincinnati and, quite honestly, there doesn’t seem like a better way to kick off summer.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $59.50.

More info: bradymusiccenter.com. (Deirdre Kaye)

Garth Brooks

Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14 • Paul Brown Stadium After grumbling from several pandemic-related teases, Cincinnati already was stoked about Garth Brooks finally, truly, for real this time coming to town. But now the city will get even more of him — and in the house the Bengals built, to boot.

Just a few weeks ago, the world’s favorite Country star announced that he would add a second show at Cincinnati’s Paul Brown Stadium. Brooks has been breaking sales and attendance

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records at venues nationwide since his limited-city stadium tour began this spring, so scheduling another night in a venue that seats more than 65,000 comes as no surprise.

The Cincinnati performances will be Brooks’ first at the Cincinnati Bengals’ stadium and his only stop in Ohio or Kentucky, as of press time. The concert in the Jungle will be “in the round,” which means the stage will be set up in the middle of the field rather than at the field’s endzone.

Brooks originally was to perform at Paul Brown Stadium last September but canceled due to fast-rising COVID-19 rates at the time.

“In July (when 2021 shows were announced), I sincerely thought the pandemic was falling behind us. Now, watching this new wave, I realize we are still in the fight and I must do my part,” Brooks wrote in a website announcement last August.

That show, itself, was a reschedule from 2020, when the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic halted most activities.

Despite scheduling headaches, Brooks has been busy in recent years: the entertainer has received the Kennedy Center Honors, performed during the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden, celebrated the Grand Ole Opry’s 5,000th Saturday night broadcast, guest-hosted The Ellen DeGeneres Show a few times and announced plans to open a bar and entertainment venue in Nashville.

The show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets may be available on various resale websites. More info: garthbrooks.com.

(Allison Babka)

Garth Brooks P H OTO : ST E V E J U RV E T S O N , W I K I M E D I A C O M M O N S

The Who

Sunday, May 15 • TQL Stadium Find your squeeze box and hop onto the magic bus, because The Who finally is returning to Cincinnati. It will be the legendary Rock band’s first local performance since Dec. 3, 1979, when tragedy struck at Riverfront Coliseum. On that day, 11 people were trampled to death when an impatient crowd pushed its way through the doors at the Coliseum before the band’s performance.

The group says it plans to donate to the P.E.M. Memorial, named after Finneytown High School students Stephan Preston, Jackie Eckerle and Karen Morrison, who died during the 1979 incident. The memorial’s committee annually raises scholarship funds for graduating Finneytown seniors who plan to study music or the arts in

MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022

The Who P H O T O : P R O V I D E D BY L I V E N AT I O N

college.

Cincinnati’s performance will be part of a do-over after The Who’s tour had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the band originally had scheduled a Cincinnati concert for April 23, 2020.

“Pete (Townshend) and I said we’d be back, but we didn’t think we’d have to wait for two years for the privilege.

This is making the chance to perform feel even more special this time around,” vocalist Roger Daltrey said in a press release earlier this year. “So many livelihoods have been impacted

due to COVID, so we are thrilled to get everyone back together — the band, the crew and the fans. We’re gearing up for a great show that hits back in the only way The Who know how — by giving it everything we got.”

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be available on various resale websites. More info: thewho.com. (AB)

Faye Webster P H OTO : P O O N E H G H A N A

Faye Webster with Haim

Thursday, May 19 • Andrew J Brady Music Center There’s a particular lilt to Faye Webster’s voice. The Atlanta-bred singer/ songwriter conveys a lot without straining to do so, a laid-back approach that infuses her first-person tales with a unique intimacy, as if she’s whispering directly into your ear.

Now 24, Webster has been writing songs since age 14, the result of a musical childhood — her grandfather was a Bluegrass guitarist, her mother was a guitarist and fiddle player and her older brother was in Rock bands. Webster self-released a precocious debut dubbed Run and Tell at age 16 and followed it up with the selftitled effort Faye Webster in 2017. But it wasn’t until 2019’s Atlanta Millionaires Club that she came into her own — 10 songs in 32 minutes, each tune laced with a wry sense of humor, her modestly affecting voice and deceptively simple, Jazz-inspired Folk Pop arrangements.

Last year’s I Know I’m Funny HaHa is even better. Her introspective songs reveal multitudes through simple language and languid music anchored by acoustic and electric guitars and spare drumming, with the occasional flourish of strings, horns

and keyboards.

Webster’s new EP, Car Therapy Sessions, which dropped April 29, dives headlong into new sonic territory, each of its five songs backed by a 24-piece orchestra.

“The recording experience was beautiful, I was truly fighting tears,” Webster said in a press release. “I think I had actually even cried listening to the demos. I was put in a position where I could see the conductor as well as the producer, which I needed because I honestly couldn’t pick up on my cues sometimes even though I wrote the songs. I was so distracted in how beautiful the orchestra sounded I would forget to sing sometimes.”

Webster’s rising profile gets another boost as the opening act on tour with Haim, the Los Angeles-based group of sisters (Este, Danielle and Alana Haim) whose own musical trajectory continues to evolve.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $45. More info: bradymusiccenter.com. (Jason Gargano)

MAY 4, 2022 - MAY 17, 2022 |

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