L et Us Prey
FORMER MEMBERS OF THE RESTORED CHURCH OF GOD SAY THEY WERE LEFT FINANCIALLY AND SPIRITUALLY BAMBOOZLED.
BY MARK OPREA
UPFRONT CLEVELAND CITY COUNCIL PASSES ROLLBACK OF BIBB’S DOWNTOWN PARKING PRICE HIKES
PARKING IS ALWAYS ONE OF THE most contentious issues in Cleveland and that’s especially been true since January when Mayor Justin Bibb’s administration rolled out new policies for the duration and price of on-street parking downtown and the near west side in Ohio City.
Cleveland City Council on Monday, responding to what the body said were vociferous concerns from residents and visitors, passed amendments to Bibb’s policies to make parking downtown cheaper and with fewer hours of enforcement.
Paid parking will now end at 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. on weekdays and run 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays. Sundays will be free except during special events.
Council also mandated that cash and coin pay stastions be installed within at least 600 feet of parking spots, as to cater to those without smartphones who aren’t able to use the ParkMobile system.
“In the interest of all Clevelanders, we thought that these changes would bring more affordable parking, parking that’s predictable and more sensible and more practical,” Ward 2 Councilman Kevin Bishop, who sponsored the legislation, said at Monday’s Meeting of the Whole. “We want to make this affordable for Clevelanders to park on the streets that they help pay for and maintain with their tax dollars.”
Late last year, a team led by Bibb senior advisor Lucas Reeve pushed to modernize Cleveland’s on-street parking system to emphasize turnover and activity. That included demand-responsive rates that shifted based on the day, hour, and what was going on at the time. A base rate of $1.50-$1.85 an hour was instituted with certain streets climbing to $8 an hour during certain special event days (mostly centered around East 9th St.)
Which is partly where the pushback came from, Council said Monday. Some people were paying $8 an hour when they had no intentions of setting foot in Progressive Field or Rocket Arena.
“I’ve gotten calls from people who go to Cleveland State at night, or get a haircut at East 12th and St. Clair, those having to pay $8 an hour because [their car’s] in the Special Event Zone?” Ward 15 Charles Slife said.
“I mean, no one’s parking at St. Clair and East 12th to walk to [Rocket Arena],” he said.
Council President Blaine Griffin said he experienced some of the price hikes, and a mistake, himself, once paying $55 to $60 to park for two hours.
“Those are things that alarm me,” he said. “Because we want people to come down and enjoy the central business district, not be dissuaded from coming to the central district.”
With Council’s changes, parking on dozens of streets would cost either $1 or $1.50 an hour all day, with no limits.
Also, any new zones or changes to existing zones will now have to be approved by Council, as well, not just the director of Public Works.
In an email, a city spokesperson bemoaned Council’s approval of the changes on Monday.
Celebrezze, who spent 16 years on the bench, stood motionless as Visiting Judge Mark Wiest from Wayne County handed down the punishment.
Wiest admonished Celebrezze for harming the hundreds of judges and public officials who do their best to serve with honor each day. Celebrezze’s actions lowered the public’s trust at a time when many have disdain for politicians, he said.
self-imposed house arrest, subjecting herself to electronic monitoring, since early February, at a cost to herself of more than $40,000.
Friendman also read a lengthy statement about Celebrezze serving the public for decades as a nurse, magistrate and judge. Friedman asked that she not be judged by this improper action.
“She has left a legacy of good,” Friedman said. “She gave years of energy and commitment to Cuyahoga County.”
“It’s crucial to have a dynamic parking system that can respond to actual demand by having tools in place that help balance affordability, availability and convenience,” they said.
“This ultimately means Clevelanders will suffer,” they added, “especially our small business owners and their customers, as we’ll no longer be able to adequately adjust rates to create turnover—which is needed to drive economic vibrancy, especially in high-demand areas.”
– Mark Oprea
Former Cuyahoga County Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze Sentenced to 60 Days in Jail and $10,000 Fine
Nearly six months after resigning in disgrace, former Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze was sentenced to 60 days in jail and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for falsifying records to steer work to a friend.
“What makes it more serious is you held public office,” Wiest said. “That helped you facilitate the crime.”
Celebrezze faced a potential prison sentence of up to three years for the third-degree felony charge of tampering with records for steering work to Mark Dottore, a longtime family friend whom she’d repeatedly appointed to oversee lucrative divorce cases.
Her sentence comes exactly three years after The Marshall ProjectCleveland first detailed her relationship with Dottore.
Moments before she was sentenced, Celebrezze choked up when trying to read a short, prepared statement.
“I am genuinely sorry,” Celebrezze said as she accepted responsibility.
She said she did not want any relatives or supporters in the courtroom because she wanted to stand by herself to face punishment.
Her attorney, Ian Friedman, told Wiest that Celebrezze has been serving a
Friedman urged Wiest to consider that Celebrezze accepted responsibility and resigned her judicial seat in order to not drag out the case and further burden taxpayers. He said Celebrezze hopes to return to being a registered nurse someday.
Friedman sought probation as punishment. Wiest acknowledged steps Celebrezze took but stressed he could not overlook the harm she caused to the Ohio judiciary system. Across multiple generations, the Celebrezze family built an enduring political dynasty that has wielded power and influence from Cleveland to Washington, D.C.
During disciplinary hearings before the Ohio Supreme Court, Celebrezze admitted to 15 violations of professional and judicial conduct rules. The court suspended her in January from the practice of law for two years, with one year stayed. She is now expected to lose her law license after being convicted.
In some complex divorce cases, judges appoint receivers to act as neutral parties to control a couple’s marital assets, including real estate, cash, equipment, deposit accounts and businesses. The receivers are paid by the divorcing couples.
In 2023, The Marshall Project - Cleveland reported that Celebrezze, the administrative judge at the time, directed case assignments to herself to help steer more work to Dottore — but stated in court entries that the cases had been randomly assigned to her.
She approved nearly $500,000 in fees to be paid to a company, Dottore Cos.
Photo by Mark Oprea
LLC, between January 2017 and June 2023, The Marshall Project - Cleveland reported. The judge appointed either Dottore or his daughter to be the receiver in six cases she handled during that time, according to Cuyahoga County court records.
At the start of The Marshall Project - Cleveland’s investigation, while Celebrezze was still the administrative judge, the staffers she oversaw took months to release public records and often weeks to respond to numerous calls and staffers.
After Celebrezze resigned, two court staffers said they had to follow orders to delay releasing records because Celebrezze simply called the multiple requests an “unfair attack against the judge that would go away.”
Since the 1920s, Celebrezze family members have occupied an extraordinary sweep of public offices, from Cleveland mayor and state attorney general to the state Supreme Court, appellate courts and county benches.
In 2009, Leslie Celebrezze became the first female member of her family to run and the first to win an election when voters tapped her to replace her father as a Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court judge.
In 2023, Celebrezze scoffed at the idea that she had done anything improper while steering work to Dottore. After a private investigator filmed Celebrezze kissing Dottore outside a
steakhouse, both denied a romantic relationship.
“I’m Italian,” Celebrezze said in an emailed statement to The Marshall Project - Cleveland, “and I frequently kiss my family and friends on the lips when I greet them or say goodbye.”
– Mark Puente, The Marshall Project – Cleveland
University Circle Aims for More Cohesive, Walkable Neighborhood With Ambitious Master Plan
University Circle may be one of the most culturally and institutionally dense neighborhoods in Cleveland, but it’s one of the most beguiling to navigate.
Its streets curve or zigzag. Others are dangerous to cross. Parks and green spaces can feel like islands amid concrete and traffic. Attractions feel disconnected from each other.
This has long been obvious to Elise Yablonsky, the chief place management officer at University Circle Inc. and the brains behind a master plan that could bring the Circle’s walkability factor into the 21st century.
Cleveland’s Planning Commission agreed on Friday afternoon, when it gave a unanimous thumbs up to UCI’s new master plan.
Over 15 months, Yablonsky and her team heard feedback at 15 public events and almost a thousand comments from an
online survey.
That feedback that was unanimous: We love University Circle, but it’s in dire need of a design upgrade.
“What we heard time and time again is the Circle is indeed home to treasured gems, but the experience of getting to them, or trying to move between them, is often difficult to navigate,” Yablonsky said during Friday’s meeting. “Sometimes dangerous.”
“Connecting The Circle,” a $750,000 study and proposal, aims to change that.
It would better link together five “spines” of University Circle, including new street infrastructure and traffic-calming measures.
Euclid Avenue and East 105th, for example, needs a safer intersection, which could be accomlished with street painting and an actual park instead of an isolated median. The same goes for what is dubbed South Rockefeller, which could use new seats, lighting, trails and recreation areas—making it a “true public space,” the plan says.
Wade Oval, the “civic heart” of the Circle, should be remade as a “preserved central green” more so than a lawn with space for the occasional festival. A multi-purpose pavilion, surrounding by restrooms and restaurants, could help liven up the Circle’s largest park on a consistent basis.
And lastly, the Harrison Dillard Trail, the oldest bikeway in Cleveland that runs from Gordon Park to University Circle’s
southern edge, simply needs more Harrison Dillard. Meaning more signage that publicizes the trail’s namesake, the Cleveland-born Black track and field star once dubbed the “World’s Fastest Man.”
“We don’t tell the full history yet of University Circle,” Yablonsky told the CPC, “particularly of our Black history.”
Commissioners August Fluker and Andrew Sargeant agreed in the comment portion: University Circle is surrounded by majority Black neighborhoods and Black history, and the Circle should do a better job of capturing and reflecting that fact.
Yablonsky said her team consulted with ThirdSpace, a Black-led literary arts nonprofit off East 105th, which helped illuminate some of the Circle’s Black past. Just as “how we might remedy it for the future,” she said.
Overall, the plan is one dedicated to making University Circle one both safe and inviting for the public.
The Planning Commission agreed.
“We in Cleveland have a big problem with treating public spaces that are passive spaces that are utilized versus programmed,” Fluker said. “However, I think there’s an opportunity for UCI, because you have the ingredients. You have people.” – Mark Oprea
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ON A FRIDAY IN THE SUMMER OF 2013, Marc Cebrian put on a nice white shirt and a clean pair of slacks for his shift working campus security at the Restored Church of God in Wadsworth.
This wasn’t any typical shift, however. David Pack, the church’s founder and pastor general, had told his flock that Jesus Christ himself would be returning that evening—not just to Earth and not just to Wadsworth, Ohio, but this church. Like thousands of members around the world that night, Cebrian was waiting, waiting for the “fiery chariot of angels” he was told would wrangle everyone together at one location. And that location was 1000 Ambassador Drive.
For Cebrian, a videographer in his forties who’d been hired by the Restored Church of God to help produce an ongoing series of videos to publicize church doctrine, the evening was one of elation and anxiety. Unmarried, Cebrian had sold his home in Oakland, California, and liquidated his retirement fund to help spread the “one and true gospel” on David Pack’s campus. He was thrilled.
“I finally had a purpose in my life,” Cebrian recalled. “To come and work and serve in headquarters and prepare the entire world for the arrival of Jesus Christ?” he said. Cebrian scoffed. “I mean, there was no bigger calling on the planet.”
The sun went down. An hour or so passed as Cebrian and fellow security guards studied the Wadsworth sky. It was quiet. No flaming chariots would show. “I remember feeling, ‘This is a test of faith and we’ll see what happens,’” Cebrian recalled. “But what it really was, was the first sign that I should’ve gotten out of Dodge.”
Cebrian didn’t. Like many others, he remained a member of the Restored Church of God for years before finally leaving the congregation for good in March of 2021. Since then, Cebrian has led a public campaign devoted to outing the Restored Church of God and its pastor general over what he claims is a worldwide scheme to financially enrich the church and its leaders while selling RCG as the oracle for when the Kingdom of God will return to earth.
Pack has failed to prophesize the date, Cebrian reminds followers of his blog and social media channels, “at least 140 times” over the past decade. (144 times as of late
LET US PREY
Former members of the Restored Church of God say they were left financially and spiritually bamboozled
By Mark Oprea
May, when another date Pack had prophesied came and went without note.)
But for that insider information, the flock prays—and pays: All baptized brethren sign up to give ten percent of their gross annual income—a tithe—to the church. Another ten percent is given for the Restored Church of God’s annual weeklong, luxury vacation at its Feast of Tabernacles. And, in certain years, yet another ten percent, ex-members told me, is handed over as a “poor tithe” given to church for “the widow, the orphan and Levite,” as Deuteronomy orders. Then, there’s the extra $50 or $100 on the seven Holy Days and maybe more after a particularly moving Saturday service.
But the most intense offering, ex-members explained, is referred to as Common. And it’s the most proving financial test of faith: an ongoing, supposed free-will offering resting in the belief that every single thing you own belongs to God. And if you don’t pay? “Oh, there’s a risk of eternal death,” one ex-member said.
The Common and the yearly tithes around it add up. And it gets spent.
Today, the Restored Church of God’s global headquarters in Wadsworth sits on a lush campus of 100 acres sandwiched between I-76 and a Giant Eagle. There’s the 40,000-square-foot Hall of Administration. The 12,000-square-foot Mail Processing Center. The 4,000-square-foot Media Center. The gardens. The lake. The nine homes for David Pack and his ministers down the road.
To an outsider, RCG’s grandeur might not compute. But for members, tithing means having access to the “one true” church of Christ and Pack’s prophecies—a church with a campus to back it up—as well as salvation once the Kingdom of God arrives. One the Restored Church of God foretells as a “future, world-ruling government that will bring peace, restoration and righteous leadership to the Earth, in which faithful Christians will ultimately rule and reign,” according to its website.
“It’s not the fact of men telling you what to do. You’re sending that money to God, not to men,” former member Peter Baerg, a 47-year-old farmer outside Saskatchewan, Canada told me. “And if you don’t, you’re gonna burn.”
Plus, who needs money when Jesus Christ is coming back to deliver the Kingdom? That second home, retirement account, or high-yield savings nest will be worthless when it all ends.
“Ministers would call me saying, ‘Jesus Christ is going to return soon,’” Baerg recalled, “‘You don’t have to worry about tax breaks.’”
RCG’s pitch worked in spades. Baerg, who joined with his wife and two daughters, sold off farmland near Saskatchewan to help wire more than a half a million dollars to the Restored Church of God since 2011. Like many who have joined the church, Baerg grew up religious (a Mennonite) and felt compelled to join a group with like principles and religious fervor. RCG, he felt, was “the end all be all.”
But those who have left the church say they have finally seen reality as it is, including about a dozen who spoke to Scene, and they’re not shy about sharing.
“It took me years to do this, but I can clearly and easily say, and I do, that God and the Holy Spirit is not guiding David C. Pack or what happens at the Restored Church of God,” Cebrian said.
As for what he thinks is behind Pack’s mission: “Some say demons. Some say his own ego,” he said. “What I do know is that it’s carnal and it is wicked.”
***
Herbert Armstrong was a boy from Des Moines, Iowa, who wanted to sell. And he was good at it, selling and designing ad space for the Des Moines Daily Capital. Then, at the onset of World War I, Armstrong married. He moved his family to Eugene, Oregon, where he fell in with Seventh-Day Adventists. He left the ad business to become a minister. In 1934, after disputes over scripture, Armstrong founded his own church. Leveraging the media of the day, he called it the Radio Church of God.
What grew into the Worldwide Church of God in the late 1940s soon became America’s go-to church of prophecy. Christ was to return—to the United States—in 1975, Armstrong belted over the airwaves, and only WCG members, those subscribers to the “World Tomorrow,” would have a front-row seat to his homecoming. Armstrong was as strict in his convictions as
The Restored Church of God’s headquarters in Wadsworth. | Photo by Mark Oprea
his own theology: members must keep the Sabbath and Holy Days just as they must pay their tithes. And they must ignore false prophets (and doctors). “If a man tells you what’s going to happen, wait and see!” Armstrong voiced in one broadcast. “If it doesn’t happen, he’s not speaking the word of God—he’s speaking out of his own mind!”
By the 1970s, WCG had exploded. Thousands attended Armstrong’s Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, hoping to become ministers like him. Proceeds from tuition, along with donations and tithes from its 150,000 members around the world, brought Armstrong’s organization roughly $80 to $100 million a year. It was a religious refuge to many who survived the 1960s and the Vietnam War. They would become “immortal” one day, Armstrong promised, and “become God” themselves.
But 1975 came to America and Christ did not. Two years later, as Armstrong’s son Garner Ted battled sexual assault allegations, six ex-students of Ambassador College accused Armstrong of being a fraud in a 92-page magazine exposé. An ensuing lawsuit accused Armstrong and WCG of “pilfering” church funds, “mishandling $1 million in weekly tithes”—some $70 million a year—and spending church dollars on lavish expenditures for ministers, including homes, paintings, jewelry, gold bullion and private jets. Protests erupted in Pasadena. WCG’s bank accounts were frozen by the state of California. Armstrong fled to Tucson, though he “feared God more than the Attorney General of California.” Six years later, he was dead.
David Pack was in his twenties at the time. An All-American swimmer from Lima, Ohio, Pack passed on a scholarship to Dartmouth to study the Armstrong way in Pasadena. Pack was hooked. He had become a “school outcast,” and had been scrutinized by his family for forgoing an Ivy League education for what was essentially West Point for Bible thumpers. “I was going to continue recording the full biblical proof of absolutely everything,” he says in his biography. So, when California took control of WCG’s bank account, Pack was unflappable in his defense. He chuckled at a reporter trying to out Armstrong. Accusations of his mentor “pilfering” church funds, he said, “were utterly baseless.”
But Armstrong died, Christ didn’t return, and the church lost nearly 100,000 of its members. Pack was one of them. After helping minister at a few WCG offshoots around the Midwest, Pack relocated his wife and three kids to Northeast Ohio. By 1999, he started his own splinter group, calling it the Restored Church of God. Membership ballooned so fast
that, by 2007, Pack sought to move from cramped office space on Park Center Drive in Wadsworth to a larger plot. He found 100 acres on the east end of town, rolling greenery covered in forest.
Around the same time, ex-members told me, Pack began peppering his sermons with “clarion” calls for more donations. By the time construction began in 2012, RCG had more than doubled tithe money year over year, Pack’s biography details. Money that would be used, ministers told reporters at the time, to gild David Pack’s Wadsworth palace. Plans included an auditorium with four crystal chandeliers and three miles of wood
“I envisioned a shimmering jewel befitting the Great God that would be visible—as a biblical ‘city set on a hill’—to literally hundreds of thousands,” he told a reporter at the time. The campus allowed RCG to “explode in size,” he said, “in taking the gospel of the soon coming Kingdom of God.” ***
That Kingdom, ex-members told me, begins and ends with Pack.
Now in his late seventies, Pack is sixfoot-seven with an image that brings to mind the pitchfork-wielding farmer in American Gothic. Like Armstrong before him, he preaches at a desk, in a form-fit-
trim; Versailles-styled gardens; a lake and streams with waterfalls; lit-up walkways and a horse barn. And, by the end of the decade, a nearby cul-de-sac with nine homes to be occupied by RCG’s highest-ranking ministers.
RCG moved into its new headquarters on June 23, 2013. Pack christened the move, funded by bank loans backed by Common collateral, several ex-members said, as the church’s watershed moment. It was “perfect,” he told the Akron Beacon Journal, “for all of our rapidly expanding needs.”
Restored Church of God as the “one true church” and trust that only its pastor can decipher “the world to come.”
“You have to know everything about him,” Elizabeth O’Leary, who left in 2022, told me. “You have to actually admit that David C. Pack is an apostle before you can join the church. You have to verbally admit that” to a minister.
Cebrian recalled his own recitation from 2012. “‘He’s the voice of God and God is using him alone to teach end-time knowledge, to prepare the flock for the arrival of the Kingdom,’” he said. “And you believe it.”
The rules and regulations for members are many, I was told. Some strictures are common to Christianity in general or other religions. Pork and shellfish are “unclean.” Easter and Christmas are “pagan” holidays; RCG members celebrate Hebrew ones instead. (Until last January, members weren’t allowed to observe their birthdays.) Men’s hair can’t be too long or too buzzed. Women can’t wear makeup or nail polish, can’t show too much skin, or don heels higher than two inches. A minister must approve of all marriages.
Others are more unique and restrictive. No one can date or seriously befriend anyone outside of church limits (“the world,” as RCG calls it). Want to marry outside of your race? Forget it, several ex-members told me, as it’s against church doctrine.
Breaking rules has consequences, as one might find in the Amish community. Anyone caught celebrating Christmas or engaging in premarital sex could risk losing their membership and be shunned. Which means no seat at Christ’s government when it’s finally formed.
“It’s almost like information control,” Tabitha, a member who left last summer who didn’t want her real name used because she’s still married to a member, told me. “I feel like Dave Pack uses fear to make people stay where they are because they’re told not to question things. It’s very isolating.”
Another woman, a former RCG employee who gave tens of thousands over the years, said her life was turned upside down after she departed in 2018.
ting suit, wire-rim glasses and striped tie. He emphasizes Bible verses or sets Christ’s return dates with furrowed brows and wild gesticulations of his hands. As he preaches, which he does for at least two hours in his main hall every Saturday, his voice booms and wails with the timbre of a rollercoaster.
And he commands absolute devotion, namely to himself. To be admitted and baptized into the church, ex-members told me, one must read and study thousands of pages of church literature and Pack’s own 1,200-page biography. You vow to hold the
“In one day, I lost my job, my friends, my family, my connections, my church,” she wrote in an email. “No amount of money can fix the broken relationships, the missed opportunities or the fear I had as I walked away.”
Alexandre Desmarais, an ex-member who lives in Montreal who gave more than $100,000 to the Restored Church of God, said he’s had trouble even considering another congregation.
“My faith in God is unshaken,” he said. “But in human institutions? Not so much.”
Marc Cebrian, a former member of the church. | Photo by Mark Oprea
Others described similar feelings. Shame. Confusion. Anger.
And that includes Pack’s own daughter and son-in-law. Kevin and Jennifer Denee played a long version of tug-of-war before finalizing their decision to leave the Restored Church of God in June of 2016. Both grew up surrounded by Armstrongism. Both tithed tens of thousands since the church’s inception. And besides being family members of the pastor, both were once employees or high-ranking ministers.
On a recent visit to their home in Wadsworth, on yet another day Pack predicted Christ would be returning, Kevin characterized his father-in-law as a man consumed by his own prophecies. One who danced around dates just as he continued to prod those around him for more money. For the Denees, that meant selling Dutch paintings or gold heirlooms because, Kevin told me, “we didn’t have a house to sell at that time.”
Eventually, as Jennifer’s two siblings before her did, they turned on the church.
“That combination of a focus on endtime prophecy and the finances meant coming up with more teachings to get more people to give more money,” Kevin said. “I tried to bury it. But it just felt too extreme. Like, I think deep in my soul or my subconscious, this man is asking for too much.”
When I described all of this to Ashlen Hilliard, a cult recovery specialist who left a religious group in her twenties, she explained how people like David Pack can gain the trust of thousands.
“What makes these characters really interesting is not only do they have some sense of charisma, but a spiritual grandeur only they possess,” Hilliard said.
But “it’s hard to know if these characters actually believe what they’re saying, or if they’re just saying it as a greater path to manipulating people to achieve their goals.”
Ex-members aren’t hesitant to say what they think it is.
“I see it as completely illegal behavior,” Baerg, the farmer, told me. “That’s a fuckin’ cult, that’s what that is.”
Neither Pack nor anyone at the Restored Church of God agreed to speak with me or let me attend a sermon in person. The church’s communications department, in response to a detailed list of questions regarding mandatory giving and end-times prophecies, responded generally on RCG’s philosophy.
“We teach biblical tithing and voluntary giving principles based on scripture, consistent with longstanding Christian teachings,” they wrote. They teach of the “soon-coming Kingdom of God, a future, world-ruling government that will bring peace, restoration and righteous leadership to the Earth, in which faith ful Christians will ultimately rule and reign with God.” These teachings help
members “live more stable and successful lives.”
I shared the response with Cebrian. He reminded me membership is roughly half of what it was circa 2013, in the ballpark of 1,300 members. “It’s a facade,” Cebrian said. “RCG is a baitand-switch.”
That weekend, Cebrian returned, like he does most weekends, to his computer at his kitchen table, to parse the David Pack sermons that week and analyze them for inconsistencies that he posts meticulously on his website. He cuts videos and writes lengthy summaries using Pack’s words “against him.” When asked when he might stop, Cebrian ironically doesn’t have his own end date in mind.
“I don’t want vengeance against him. And I’m certainly not asking for justice to be put upon him,” he said. He paused then added, “I mean, I just want mercy for all of us.
“It’s not up to me. God can handle
Kevin Denee, Pack’s son-in-law, in his Wadsworth home.
Photo by Mark Oprea
GET OUT EVERYTHING TO DO IN CLEVELAND FOR THE NEXT MONTH
MON 06/01
The Winchester Presents Locals Only
This event that takes place the first Monday of the month at the Winchester in Lakewood will showcase local bands. The $5 cover will go directly to the band. Doors open at 7 p.m 12112 Madison Ave., Lakewood, 216-600-5338, facebook.com/ TheWinchesterMusicTavern
TUE 06/02
Freak the Mighty
The Seattle Rep and the Cleveland Play House team up to present this special musical about two friends who become superheroes. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the Allen Theatre, where performances continue through June 21.
1407 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org
WED 06/03
Matilda
Academy Award–nominated composer David Newman conducts the Cleveland Orchestra as it plays the score to the movie about a little girl with a magical secret. Director Danny DeVito will be on hand to narrate. The event
begins at 7 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com
FRI 06/05
Ali Siddiq
The comedian who famously honed his act while serving hard time brings his Custom Fit tour to Connor Palace. Expect him to debut brand new material during the set. The show begins at 7 p.m. 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org
SAT 06/06
Cleveland Pops: 250th Celebration
The Cleveland Pops Orchestra pays tribute to American styles of music such as Ragtime, Dixieland and Big Band at this special concert that takes place at 7:30 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com
Pride in the CLE 2026
Expect live performances, food trucks, a beer garden, local vendors and family-friendly activities at this free event that begins at 10 a.m. at Public Square. 17 Public Square, lgbtcleveland.org/pride/
Road To 26: Brazil V Egypt
The World Cup comes to Cleveland as Brazil, one of soccer’s most storied teams, takes on Egypt in this qualifying game at Huntington Bank Field. The game begins at 6 p.m.
100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, huntingtonbankfield.com
MON 06/08
Guardians vs. New York Yankees
The New York Yankees have once again emerged as one of Major League Baseball’s best teams this season. Home run machine Aaron Judge is just one of the superstars who anchors this group. The Yankees come to Progressive Field today for a three-game stand. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m., and there will be a Pride Celebration. 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb.com/guardians
TUE 06/09
The Great Gatsby
The Tony Award-winning musical based on the classic F. Scott Fitgerald book set in the Roaring Twenties comes to Connor Palace. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30, and the play runs through June 28. 1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org
THU 06/11
Josh Gates Live! An Evening of Legends, Mysteries, and Tales of Adventure
The explorer, talk show host and author who famously hosts the Discover Channel show Expedition Unknown brings his live show to the Ohio Theatre. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. 1511 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org
FRI 06/12
Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers
The Guardians take on their division rivals, the Detroit Tigers, for the first time in Cleveland this season. The three-game series begins today at 7:10 p.m. at Progressive Field. 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb.com/guardians
SAT 06/13
Parade the Circle
The theme for this annual event that takes place at Wade Oval outside of the Cleveland Museum of Art will center on “momentum” in conjunction with the current CMA exhibit American Printed Silks, 1927-1947. Expect the usual assortment of creative floats, puppets
Parade the Circle returns to Wade Oval. See: Saturday, June 13. | Courtesy of Marketing CMA
and masks. It takes place from noon to 4 p.m. 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org
SUN 06/14
Crocker Park Block Party
This annual event at Crocker Park in Westlake kicks off with the Crocker Bark 5K & 1‑Mile Walk. A portion of the registration proceeds to benefit the City of Westlake’s K‑9 Unit. The event will also include police and fire engagements, live K 9 demonstrations, face painting, food and vendors. The race begins at 9:30 a.m., and the party runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
189 Crocker Park Blvd., Westlake, crockerpark.com
TUE 06/16
Max Richter
The contemporary music star brings his Blue Notebooks and in a Landscape tour to Mandel Concert Hall. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. 11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com
FRI 06/19
Third Friday
From 5 to 9 p.m., many of the 78th Street Studios resident artist studios and galleries will be open as part of this monthly event. There will be live music, and Local West, a Gordon Square sandwich shop, will serve food. BARneo will have a selection of adult beverages as well. Admission is free. third Friday of every month.
1300 West 78th St., 78thstreetstudios.com
SAT 06/20
C.S. Lewis on Stage
Max McLean brings his one person show about the author of The Chronicles of Narnia to the Hanna Theatre. Performances take place at 4 p.m. today and at 3 p.m. tomorrow. 2067 East 14th St., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org
Solstice 2026
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s annual solstice celebration returns with a lineup of world music that will play both inside the museum and on the grounds outside. The event begins at 7 p.m. and runs until midnight. 11150 East Blvd., 216-421-7350, clevelandart.org
MON 06/22
Midnight Rental Presents Secret Movie Night
Hosted by Lenora from the internet hit series Midnight Rental, this movie night features what it deems to be the best in VHS horror, thriller and campy classics. The event begins tonight at 8 at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, and the club will feature a special movie night menu for the event.
2785 Euclid Heights Blvd., Cleveland Heights, 216-321-5588, grogshop.gs
THU 06/25
Tri-C Jazzfest
Tri C’s annual JazzFest kicks off today at 8 p.m. at the State Theatre with a performance by Sheila E. The percussionist started her career back in the 1970s and famously played with Prince during the 1980s. She’s also known for her philanthropy and activism. 1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org
FRI 06/26
Considering Matthew Shepard
After a week long intensive for singers, conductors, and collaborative pianists, the Cleveland Orchestra Summer Choral Institute presents this concert that features passages from the late Matthew Shepard’s personal journals. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall.
11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com
Guardians vs. Seattle Mariners
The Guardians took a series from the Seattle Mariners at the start of the season. The Mariners will undoubtedly hope to do the same when they come to Progressive Field to play the Guardians in a three game series.
First pitch is at 7:10 p.m.
2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb.com/guardians
MON 06/29
Guardians vs. Texas Rangers
The Guardians square off against the Texas Rangers for the first time this season. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m., and the series continues through Wednesday.
Progressive Field, 2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb.com/guardians
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UPENDING EXPECTATIONS
Chef Andrew Gorski is dishing up surprising and elevated fare at Edacious in the western burbs
By Douglas Trattner
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT THE three most important factors in a restaurant’s likelihood of success are location, location and location. Edacious opened its doors across the street from a decommissioned power plant, next door to a gas station, and in a sleepy bedroom community of just 26,000 residents. In place of scenic glimpses of nearby Lake Erie, diners enjoy unobstructed views of a car dealership.
And yet, chef-owner Andrew Gorski is sailing through his third great year in Avon Lake.
“We’ve done really well with support from the communities of Avon Lake and Avon and word has kind of spread from there,” he explains.
We rolled in at 7 p.m. on a Wednesday and were fortunate to grab seats at the bar. The restaurant is not much larger than a storage container, with a shotgun layout that can accommodate a trim 45 guests. But that compact design manages to concentrate and dial up the energy emanating from the bar and peekaboo kitchen. The vibe is chill, neighborhood-y and convivial, but beneath that veneer is a chef-driven bistro that could succeed in the heart of downtown.
We’ve all heard the tropes about diners in the burbs being guarded, wary and unadventurous when it comes to food, but the menu at Edacious would argue otherwise. Sprinkled throughout the
broadsheet are items such as octopus, tinned fish, char sui pork and other “audacious” ingredients, preparations and presentations.
“From day one we put things on the menu that people said would never work out here – things like foie gras, caviar, wagyu – and we haven’t stopped,” Gorski says. “I think in 2026 people are more open to different food experiences.”
Gorski, a CIA-trained chef who has worked at a dozen great restaurants, knows how and how much to push the clientele. His are dishes that sound familiar on the menu but arrive with unexpected mods and twists that make them memorable. Octopus is currently trending, but the version served here ($24) is far from common. In place of the ubiquitous chargrilled tentacle are tender medallions in an earthy brew redolent of smoky paprika and spicy nduja. The meat is garnished with bright herbs, citrus and olives.
When you see roast chicken ($24) on a menu, you pretty much know what to expect. The version served here, again, upended expectations. More like an elaborate paprikash, the hearty dish pairs juicy chunks of roasted chicken with
plush ricotta gnocchi in a rich, savory, creamy sauce. The chef sometimes gilds the proverbial lily, as in the case of grilled broccolini ($11) with a savory tonnato sauce, grated parmesan and crunchy, zippy giardiniera.
The menu ignores convention in format as well, jumping from entrée to salad to vegetable to starter like the ball on a roulette wheel. When the ball lands on the farmhouse salad ($12) you’re treated to a textbook bistro salad with jammy eggs, sweet beets and baby greens in a bright vinaigrette. If the ball stops on patatas bravas ($9), the kitchen sends out a texturally compelling version of that classic Spanish tapa. Crispy new spuds are glazed with a spiced – if not spicy – sauce.
Gorski’s menu covers a lot of ground for a pint-sized bistro. A diner can start with a summery slice of flatbread ($28) topped with butter-slicked Maine lobster, stracciatella, mango and pickled red onion. From there a person could hop to lamb meatballs or pork belly steam buns. There’s steak, there’s scallops, there’s salmon, there’s veg-friendly pasta.
At Edacious you can still score $10 glasses of French rose, $12 glasses of Napa Valley red and a zippy pisco sour ($13) with a lingering cloudlike froth.
If you’re looking for your next rising-star chef, you might overlook Gorski, a chef’s chef who keeps his head down and labors modestly. But I’m willing to wager that you’ll be hearing his name a lot more in the coming months. Gorski has worked for some of the biggest names in hospitality – Keller, Ducasse, Burke – and he will be leveraging that experience in some exciting new projects. This week, he opened William Fine Sandwich Shop in Avon Lake, a gourmet deli that also happens to make its own hard-pack ice cream. And soon, the chef will be announcing something new and interesting.
I for one am excited to see what he cooks up next.
dtrattner@clevescene.com @dougtrattner
Courtesy Photo
EAT BITES
Cleveland Burger Week kicks off June 22nd
By Douglas Trattner
EVERYTHING IS MORE EXPENSIVE these days and it’ll be more expensive by the time you read this since the time we wrote it. Gas, food, lumber – you name it, the price is going up.
Which is why Cleveland Burger Week is arriving at the perfect time. For seven days starting June 22nd Clevelanders can enjoy $10 burgers at dozens of Northeast Ohio’s best restaurants. Ten bucks. That’s it. You can barely make your own burger at home for that much.
Enjoy gourmet blends and chef specialties from east to west during this week instead. Be sure to download the app and track your progress for a chance at winning $250 in gift certificates to local restaurants.
Find the full lineup of participants and specials at burgerweekcleveland.com.
William Fine Sandwich Shop and Creamery Opening in Avon Lake
Approaching his third anniversary at Edacious in Avon Lake (see our review in this issue), chef and owner Andrew Gorski is expanding. Sometime this week he will open William Fine Sandwich Shop & Cold Creamery Co. (140 Lear Rd.), also in Avon Lake. The location has previously been home to Isla’s Ice Cream and Divine Scoops Ice Cream.
Gorski says that the neighborhood shop will offer artisan sandwiches, a handful of salads, and housemade hardpack ice cream. That ice cream will also get blended into milkshakes, plopped into root beer floats, and scooped onto bananas in a classic split. Shoppers can expect to find eight ice cream flavors at any given time.
The chef is working with both local and regional bakeries for the sandwiches, which will be offered by the half or whole. The Gabagool is an Italian hoagie packed with cold cuts, cheese and vinaigrette. There’s a Cleveland Philly starring ribeye, cheese wiz and giardiniera, a porchetta with rappini and salsa verde, and the Edacious, a mixture of prosciutto, stracciatella, arugula and oil and vinegar. Others feature quality tuna, roasted turkey and mortadella. There also are vegetarian creations.
The spot has a liquor license and Gorski plans to offer uncommon beers and wines alongside craft sodas.
Birdietown Owners Take Over Forest City Shuffleboard, Aim for Late Summer Reopening
Late last year, Jim Miketo announced the closure of Forest City Shuffleboard (4506 Lorain Ave.) in Ohio City, which he founded in 2017, after the termination of a lease with an out-of-state operator. At the time, Miketo said that he was working to secure a new, local owner who would give the brand the love and attention that it deserved.
He found that person in Tim Frazee, who operates Birdietown Mini Golf and Lounge (12501 Madison Ave.) in Lakewood with his wife Erin.
“We’ve known Jim forever,” Frazee says. “He owns the building that Birdietown is in. He reached out and said that he loved what we were doing there and asked if we would we be interested in taking over. I really love this place, and it would have been a shame to see it go.”
Forest City Shuffleboard is approach-
kitchen at Forest City, where she’ll create a new menu of well-crafted pub fare.
“So we’ll have incredible food here – elevated bar-style food that fits the concept,” says Frazee.
Toasted, a New Breakfast and Lunch Café, Opening in Lakewood
Sofia Syed opened her first Roasted café (2275 Professor Ave.) in Tremont in 2022. The quick success of that coffee shop lead to the opening of a second location in Lakewood (13417 Madison Ave.) the following year.
And soon, Syed will open a food-focused extension of the Roasted brand with Toasted, a breakfast and lunch café.
“When I first opened my Tremont store, I wanted people to sit down and hang out,” Syed says. “We offered regular pastries and snacks, but I felt that a lot of people would hang out until they wanted more food.”
In response to that behavior, Syed developed her sandwich concept, created the
ing its ninth birthday, and its new owners are working hard to make it look like it did nearly a decade ago.
“We want people to know that we put some time and effort into restoring the place,” adds Frazee.
When the doors reopen later this summer, regulars will find the same general look, feel and layout, but it will all be restored to its original luster. Crews have refinished the wood floors, sanded and repainted the shuffleboard courts inside and out, and scrubbed down the kitchen. The seating in the barroom will be updated and reconfigured and a pair of 100inch TVs will be mounted.
“Seeing as though it’s already an arena vibe in here, the space lends itself to being a nice spot to catch a Guards or Browns game,” says Frazee.
Frazee recently brought in Rachelle Murphy, formerly of Rood in Lakewood, as the new executive chef at Birdietown. She will also turn her attention to the
“When I started planning this, I felt there were no quick, easy and healthy breakfast options that weren’t fast food,” she says. “I do feel that there’s a shift away from fast food and fried food and that people are more aware of what they’re putting in their body.”
There will be breakfast burritos and build-your-own breakfast sandwiches. In addition to avocado toast, there will be toasts topped with whipped ricotta and fig jam and lox and chive cream cheese. The lunch roster offers soups, salads, sandwiches and wraps including grilled cheese, chicken Caesar, ham and cheese, Caprese and turkey jalapeno. There are vegan options and fresh-squeezed juices as well.
Syed says that the plan is to be up and running in the first week of June.
Aria Wine Bar Opening in Little Italy in Mid-July
“Friends have been pestering me for years about opening my own wine bar,” says Sarah Halko, a level-two sommelier. “I love wine and I love this industry.”
Come July, Halko will do just that when she opens the doors to Aria Wine Bar (12304 Mayfield Rd.) in Little Italy. The relatively new space in the La Collina building has been home to two wine bars in its brief existence. Halko plans to be a part of the community for much longer, she says.
“I sat on the idea for years because I hadn’t found a space that I felt resonated or had great energy,” she explains. “I wanted to be part of a really nice community and I felt that what Little Italy has is something that I would love to be a part of.”
Halko is giving the space a refresh in anticipation of a mid-July opening. She is working with an importer to assemble a one-of-a-kind selection of wines that is designed to expand one’s appreciation of varietals.
“The menu is really, really stunning, featuring predominantly Italian wines, but also some good global representation as well,” Halko adds. “I’m going to keep it really tight and curated. I want to expose people to the things that you would never buy anywhere else.”
menu, even purchased some of the kitchen equipment, but ultimately decided that she didn’t want to shoehorn the food concept into her coffee shop.
“Because we need every inch of that space for coffee, I didn’t want to cram a whole food operation into the same space,” she says, “so I put that idea on pause.”
But then destiny came calling. Syed says that she was asked by her landlord in Lakewood if she wanted to expand. A space two doors down became available after Tost Sandwich Café departed. The answer was yes and she quickly got to work transforming the space to better fit her vision.
“Toasted is an extension of Roasted,” she says. “The space feels very similar to all my cafes. I just try and make them as comfortable and warm as possible. A lot of plants. All of my locations have a mural, so I added one.”
Syed describes Toasted (13427 Madison Ave.) as a health-conscious breakfast and lunch spot.
Rather than be a destination for a meal, Halko wants to be that place where people come before and after dinner on the restaurant-rich strip.
“I tell everyone in the neighborhood that I’ll happily be your waiting room,” she says. “Send them to me to grab a drink and I’ll send them right back to you for dinner.”
On offer will be small plates and shareables like meat and cheese boards, peppers in oil (a nod to Halko’s Youngstown roots), and other wine-friendly fare.
The owner also intends to host a full calendar of events such as wine tastings, poetry slams, author readings, art openings and more.
dtrattner@clevescene.com
Photo courtesy of Gunselman’s
Mediterranean Burger
6 oz patty topped with an olive tapenade, feta cheese, housemade tzatziti, served on a leavened brioche bun.
MONDAY–THURSDAY
11:30am–9pm/Bar 10pm
FRIDAY & SATURDAY 11:30am–10pm/Bar 11pm
Reuben Burger
6 oz patty topped with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, housemade thousand island dressing, served on a leavened brioche bun.
MUSIC
AN EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER
Local folk rockers AJ
&
the Woods explore the theme of resilience on new album
ByJeff Niesel
WHEN IT CAME TIME TO WRITE songs for a new album, AJ & the Woods singer Alison Tomin and guitarist Joshua Alan Collins had plenty of real-life experiences that they could reference. Both have experienced significant emotional turmoil during the past few years.
“I went through a very miserable divorce,” says Collins over beers at Suds Maguire’s Bar & Grill, a watering hole near his Berea home. Tomin, who lives in Twinsburg, has joined him for the interview. “I now have full custody of my 9-yearold daughter, and I lost my grandmother who raised me. That all transpired while we put this record, For Her, together. That’s why it’s named ‘for her’ because it’s about the important women in your life.”
Tomin says the songs could also be for a woman’s younger self or for a female family member.
“We wanted to reflect on [women and family] with the songs and the album art,” she says, adding that the album art features a photo of Collins’s daughter taken with a 1907 camera. The gatefold includes a collage of photos of family members.
For her part, Tomin channeled her feelings of frustration coming out of COVID into the songs.
“After COVID, I was trying to build the band back up and get national attention,” she says. “I asked myself, ‘Should I keep doing this? Or should I just move to the woods and not deal with people?’ The song ‘Send Me on My Way’ is about that. I wrote the lyrics, and Josh wrote the melody for the mandolin. The songs aren’t on the album in the order we wrote them, but if you think about it, there is anger, sadness and then hopefulness. The overall theme of the record is resilience. Not everything is sad. There are happy songs and angry songs and songs that will make you dance.”
The tunes all have a moody, Fleetwood Mac-meets-Appalachian vibe to them. Album opener “Hope” balances electric guitars, mandolin and soaring vocals, and the title track has a haunted feel to it as Tomin sings about being dragged down to hell and back. The twangy “Send Me on My Way” features a veritable choir and evokes the folk hymn “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”
The group recorded the album locally with producer Mike Brown at Lava Room Recording.
“We really like working with him,” says Tomin. “He’s super-professional and really good at pulling out something from you if you are not sure of what to do. If you
really want something, he’ll make it work. He just wants to make the best songs for our records.”
“And he lets you create in the studio,” says Collins, who handled some production for the record as well.
The group has already released a music video for each of the songs.
“We wanted to do the videos more as a publicity campaign,” says Tomin. “When we started doing that, our monthly listeners on Spotify were just in the double digits. Now, we’re at almost 8,000. That fluctuates, but our streaming numbers are up. Many of the music videos were filmed on our phones. I edited them, and Josh has the artistic eye.”
Both Baldwin Wallace College graduates, Tomin and Collins first met through a mutual friend back in 2014. When they wound up at the same open mic night at the Eastland Inn in Berea, they realized it might be fun to jam together. At the time, they were both looking for writing partners, and it just kind of worked.
They did their first show at one of [local singer-songwriter] Brent Kirby’s 10X3 showcases. It was ’80s night, so they played two originals and a cover of the Phil Collins track “In the Air Tonight.” Eventually, they’d formally christen their band AJ & the Woods. After releasing an EP in 2017, the group put out its first fulllength, Stay Steady, in 2022.
For Her officially drops on June 5, and a free album release concert takes place the following day at Lake Affect Studios. You can RSVP at ajandthewoods.com. Local acts Lea Marra & the River Boys and Maura Rogers & the Bellows open.
“We’ll play the whole album plus three covers we’ve been working on,” says Tomin. “We always do [Johnny Cash’s] ‘Folsom Prison Blues,’ and we’re working on two others we just started playing. They’re wildcards.”
The group will also perform on June 27 at the City of South Euclid Food Truck Park, on July 24 and 25 at Frosty’s in PutIn-Bay, on Aug. 7 at 8th Day Brewing Company and on Aug. 22 at Gibbs Butcher and Brews in Olmsted Falls.
AJ & the Woods Album Release with Lea Marra & the River Boys and Maura Rogers and the Bellows. 7 p.m. Saturday, June 6, Lake Affect Studios, 1615 E. 25th St., 216-298-9018, Tickets: Free, lakeaffectstudios.com.
jniesel@clevescene.com @jniesel
The core three members of AJ & the Woods. | Courtesy of Mollie Crowe (Little Blackbird Photo)
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LIVEWIRE REAL MUSIC IN THE REAL WORLD
TUE 06/02
Claypool Gold
Singer-bassist Les Claypool brings several of his musical projects to the stage for this extravaganza that’ll feature sets by Primus, Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade and the Claypool Lennon Delirium. The show begins at 6:30 at Jacobs Pavilion.
2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com
WED 06/03
The Mekons
On tour to support the re-release of the 2025 album HORROR as well as a new accompanying album of dub remixes entitled HORRORble (mekons Vs. Tony Maimone in Dub Conference), the Mekons return to the Music Box Supper Club. The veteran punk band’s show starts at 7:30 p.m. 1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com
THU 06/04
Hot Mulligan
The Midwest emo band performs at 5:30 p.m. at Jacobs Pavilion. Joyce Manor, Saturdays at Your Place and Koyo open. The show begins at 5:30 p.m. The Sound A Body Makes When It’s Still, Hot Mulligan’s latest album, features catchy melodies as the group evokes acts such as the Used and the Wonder Years with vocals that alternate between crooning and screaming.
2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com
FRI 06/05
Iration
The reggae group performs at 6 tonight at the Agora. Tribal Seeds and Surfer Girl open. Recent hit singles from the group include their latest song “Roots,” a tune featuring Hawaiian reggae country crossover artist Maoli, and “Say Goodnight,” a tune that spotlights indie hip-hop duo Little Stranger. 5000 Euclid Ave., 216-881-2221, agoracleveland.com
Mt. Joy
The Philadelphia based band named after a national park in Southwest Pennsylvania performs at 6:30 p.m. at Jacobs Pavilion. The
tour supports their 2025 album, Hope We Have Fun, a release that shows off the group’s musical range as it veers from alt-country twang (“More More More”) to Beck-like romps (“Pink Lady”). Singer Matt Quinn’s distinctive upper register vocals hold it all together. 2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com
TUE 06/09
5 Seconds of Summer: Everyone’s a Star World Tour
The Australian alt-rock and punk-pop band brings its latest tour to Rocket Arena. For its latest album, Everyone’s a Star!, the group teamed up with producers and collaborators Jason Evigan (Maroon 5, Benson Boone, Papa Roach, Rüfüs Du Sol), Julian Bunetta and John Ryan (Sabrina Carpenter, Teddy Swims). The resulting album features rousing pop tunes such as “Not Ok” and “Sick of Myself.” The concert starts at 8 p.m.
One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketarena.com
WED 06/10
Southern Hospitality Tour:
The Black Crowes and Whiskey Myers
Two Southern rock acts — the Black Crowes and Whiskey Myers — team up for this double bill that rolls into Blossom. The show begins at 6:30 p.m. After a hiatus, the Black Crowes returned to the spotlight a few years back and even received a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album and put another new album, A Pound of Feathers, earlier this year.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com
TUE 06/16
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
You don’t have to like jazz to like Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. The group’s spirited live performances have won over crowds at alt-rock festivals like Lollapalooza. They perform tonight at 8 at Cain Park. Another lively New Orleans act, Tank & the Bangas, opens the show.
14591 Superior Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216-371-3000
THU 06/18
Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country with Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
Singer-guitarist Daniel Donato puts a psychedelic twist on his particularly style of country music. It should pair well with old school country singer-songwriter Marty Stuart, who shares the bill. The two will play individual sets and then play a few songs together. Tonight’s concert begins at 7 at Cain Park in Cleveland Heights.
14591 Superior Rd., Cleveland Heights, 216-371-3000, cainpark.com
FRI 06/19
The Strokes: Reality Awaits North America
In the late ‘90s, the Strokes heralded a new age of garage rock that included acts such as the White Stripes and the Hives. When that scene simmered, so did the Strokes. Singer Julian Casablancas pursued a solo career, and the group would reconvene to play the occasional festival. Just this year, the band returned with a new studio album, and this tour supports that release. Tonight’s show begins at 7 at Blossom.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com
SAT 06/20
Sammy Hagar
The Red Rocker returns to Blossom tonight at 7. Those who know their hard rock history
know that Hagar first became famous as with the hard rock band Montrose before replacing David Lee Roth as the lead singer of Van Halen for ten years. He’s continued to have a successful solo career and released his latest effort, Crazy Times, with his backing band, the Circle, two years ago. The concert begins at 6:30 p.m.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com
TUE 06/2
Paul Simon
A two-time Rock Hall Inductee, the singer-songwriter whose career dates back to the 1950s comes to Blossom. He’ll play two sets. The first will feature songs from his latest album, Seven Psalms, and the second will include hits from both his solo career and his days with fellow singer-songwriter Art Garfunkel. The show begins at 8 p.m.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com
THU 06/25
Post Malone
Post Malone’s stadium tour with Jelly Roll comes to Huntington Bank Field. An eclectic singer-songwriter, Post Malone recently embraced country music with singles “Guy for That” featuring Luke Combs, “Pour Me A Drink” featuring Blake Shelton and “I Had Some Help” with Morgan Wallen. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, huntingtonbankfield.com
Trombone Shorty | Photo by Emanuel Wallace
SAT 06/27
Alex Warren
Two years ago, this singer-songwriter had a bit hit with “Burning Down,” a song he even re-recorded with pop star Joe Jonas. He followed it up with the somber pop tune “Ordinary,” and he now brings his massive Finding Family on the Road tour to Rocket Arena. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketarena.com
SUN 06/28
The Guess Who: Takin’ It Back Tour 2026
Founders Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman have taken their classic roc group the Guess Who back on the road after 23 years. The classic rock group performs at 7:30 p.m. at Blossom. Don Felder (formerly of the Eagles) will open.
1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com
Post Malone brings his stadium tour to Huntington Bank Field. See: Thursday, June 25. | Photo by Adam DeGross
SAVAGE LOVE QUICKIES
By Dan Savage
1. I’m a woman living with a supportive, caring man. We’ve been together — on and off — for 20 years. The sex is always hot when we get back together. Then, after a year, the sex fades to nothingness. I believe the problem is that hot “reunited” sex only turns me on for a while and then I crave a more passionate, erotic connection, which is not his thing. He’s a wham-bam kind of guy. This time around, after we didn’t have sex for a year, he had an affair. I was devastated. Help?
Break up with him for cheating on you, get back together when (or if) you can forgive him for cheating on you, then dump him when the sex has started to fade but before he cheats on you again. Then start the cycle over again.
2. Will hooking up and having fun while single lessen my hunger for an LTR?
I’m horny!
I met my husband doing something fun and sleazy (drunken one-night stand in Seattle) and I met my boyfriend of 12 years doing something fun and sleazy with my husband (sex dungeon in Berlin). So, if you go into your hookups with the right mindset — your fun hookup partner might make a great life partner — you could wind up finding the LTR you want while you’re having the fun you need.
3. Should I take on a summer lover even though I really want a partner?
Yes!
P.S. Don’t use that word — it’s gross.
4. I got on a dating app and pretty much instantly matched with the couples counselor I saw with my ex. This feels unethical. Am I right?
It’s not unethical for a couples counselor to get on dating apps and — according to the American Psychological Association — it’s not unethical for a mental health provider to date a former client provided more than two years have elapsed since the client/provider relationship was terminated. (There are, of course, other considerations.)
P.S. I’m assuming this person “swiped right” on you and that weirded you out. If your pictures aren’t recent and/or aren’t representative, there’s a chance your former counselor didn’t recognize you. There’s also a chance your former counselor is a creep. You aren’t required to see this person just because you matched on an app. If this is giving you the icks, block ‘em.
5. What’s the most creative way you’ve ever heard of someone ending a relationship honestly?
I’ve seen some extremely dramatic breakup videos — people confronting
cheating partners with evidence of an affair, sometimes at the altar in front of family and friends — but those breakups strike me as performative, vindictive, and (perhaps) deeply satisfying, but not “creative.” And I’m not even sure what a “creative” breakup would look like or why someone would want to get creative with a breakup. Breakups should be simple and direct, not elaborate staged. The flashmob proposal fad was bad enough — do we want to live in a world with flashmob breakups?
6. Thinking about staging an old-school flashmob wedding proposal. Good idea or not? And if not, why not? Is there a reason people don’t seem to do them anymore?
“Do it,” said a good friend who staged a flashmob wedding proposal that went viral a decade and a half ago. “The worst that could happen is your partner says no and you’re humiliated in front of a bunch of people. The second worst is they say yes and then leave you for someone else after you’re married — you’ll still be humiliated, but in front of fewer people.” (Full disclosure: My friend’s partner said yes, married him, and then left him for someone else. Still, he has no regrets — not about his marriage or about the flashmob proposal he organized.)
7. What do gay men think of shirt-cocking? Women of all orientations seem to be united in our disgust of the practice, but are there any gay men who think it’s hot? I’m all for shirtless and naked men, but shirt-cocking is just...well, gross, in my estimation.
I have something of an in-house expert when it comes to shirt-cocking, aka “Donald Ducking,” which is when a man wears a t-shirt and nothing else.
“I love it,” said Terry Miller, my husband and a huge fan of shirt-cocking. “Maybe it was an old locker room moment that imprinted on me. But there’s something about a hot guy in a cropped tee and a Speedo or naked from the waist down. Fucking hottest thing ever.”
My husband, of course, speaks for all gay men everywhere.
8. What are your thoughts on the film Thanks for Sharing?
Do you mean the 2012 romantic comedy about sex addicts starring Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow? Haven’t seen it. No spoilers!
9. Navigating the kink scene online as a professional (educator)… is it possible? Is it silly to share pics?
Thomas Rosengren was an award-winning sixth grade teacher in Minnesota — he was one of eleven finalists for the state’s teacher of the year award — when a rightwing “news” website found some PG13 pics of him in leather and posted them. Rosengren was promptly fired. This didn’t happen in 1996 — it happened in 2026. So, while it’s definitely possible to navigate the kink scene as a professional educator, you’ll need to be very careful about where you post your pics and who you share them with.
10. I’ve never heard you talk about my kink: hotpast. Some people get turned on by listening
to their partners talk about the sex life they had before they met. Like most men, I started out jealous if my girlfriend mentioned anything about her past. But as our relationship progressed — my girlfriend is now my wife — it became a turn on for me. I know I’m not alone. It’s hotwifing light!
Since sharing stories about previous sexual experiences is sometimes a gateway to cuckolding, I shared your letter with Hopeful Cuck, one of the hosts of the Cuck My Life podcast. If this is a kink, Hopeful and his crew would know about it. If it didn’t already have a name, Hopeful and his crew could make it happen.
“I dropped this question into the hive mind,” said Hopeful. “’Complimentary Compersion,’ and ‘retrocompersion’ got tossed out as other possible names for this kink, but we all agreed that ‘hotpast’ is the best name for it. For some men, this might be a stand-in for ‘actual’ cuckolding. So many men can’t imagine their wives sleeping with someone new but get turned on by the idea that she used to sleep with new guys. It’s also a much safer option for women. Is it a gateway? Probably not for all, but it can be a first step for some! We love the idea!”
The Cuck My Life podcast — the podcast by cucks for cucks (and other adjacent people) — is available on all podcasting platforms.
11. Is it normal for my orgasms to get stronger the older I get?
It’s normal for you, you lucky bastard. 12. Dating a friend’s ex: out of bounds or fair play?
Fair play. Setting up a friend with your ex? God-level play.
P.S. Friends don’t blindside friends. If you’re dating your friend’s ex, do the right thing and tell them yourself. Don’t let them find out about it from a mutual or — even worse — from social media.
13. Great sex with my ex who says he could never be in love with me again? Yes or no?
I would be happy to have great sex with your ex — if he’s hot. (What’s his Insta?)
P.S. My editor gently suggested that you might be asking whether you should have great sex with your ex again and not whether I would like to have great sex with your ex. If that’s the case, my advice would be… as my advice so often is… it depends. Fucking an ex who doesn’t love you when you still love them keeps an already existing wound open and could leave you with another, even deeper wound when your ex inevitably moves on. For your own sake, having mediocre sex with someone else is probably a better idea than having great sex with your ex — assuming you were asking about yourself and not offering your ex to me.
14. Monogamous heterosexual here. I do anal with my GF and I wanna donate blood. Should I lie on the form?
If you’re having anal sex in the context of a monogamous relationship that has been going on for longer than three months, you’re allowed — gay or straight — to donate blood, no lies required.
15. I lived with a close female friend last year. Her boyfriend entered the picture while we were living together, and she started showing disordered traits. When she started having tantrums when she didn’t get her way, I moved out. When I returned to grab something I left behind, she was full on crying, and then got mad when I didn’t show her any empathy. I haven’t talked to her in six months, she reaches out monthly about other stuff I left, and I always tell her to give it away or toss it. Should I keep this friendship closed? She has no friends now, and the last friend she lived with also moved out early, and isn’t friends with her anymore, but she is friends with some of my other friends.
You aren’t obligated to stay in touch with someone you find unpleasant — even if the source of their unpleasantness is the result of an untreated mental illness you aren’t qualified to diagnose.
P.S. So, she has no friends… except for the friends you have in common?
16. I am a 70-year-old, cisgender, closeted bisexual man. I’ve been happily married to a woman for forty monogamous years. My wife is very accepting of gays but has no empathy for bisexual people, which is the reason I haven’t told her. She occasionally takes trips with family without me. During those trips I spend a lot of time with a friend of mine in a similar situation. My feelings for my friend are deep. My friend and I have agreed to no sex and to not doing anything that would be considered cheating. What is your opinion on what is possible for us — feelings or more — but wouldn’t be considered cheating?
Does my opinion really matter? The issue is the wife and her opinions — which have kept you in the closet for the last 40 years. If you don’t want to cheat, you’ll have to wait until you’re a widower to do anything remotely sexual with your similarly situated friend.
P.S. Bisexual and happily married to a biphobe for forty years?
P.P.S. No butt stuff.
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