Scene 08-05-26

july 2026 volume 58 issue 2

WHAT NOW?

Cleveland lost its prized downtown grocery store.

Can it attract another?

by Mark Oprea

CONTENTS AUGUST 2026 • VOL. 58 No 2

Up Front......................................4 Feature........................................6 Get Out......................................12 Eat �������������������������������������������� 14

Music.........................................22 Livewire.....................................24 Savage Love...............................26

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COVER PHOTO BY MICHAEL COLLIER. COVER DESIGN BY ABIGAIL ARCHER.

August 2026 | clevescene.com | SCENE

3

UPFRONT

HESSLER STREET FAIR RETURNING IN OCTOBER AFTER SEVEN-YEAR BREAK

NEW YORK HAS ITS WOODSTOCK. San Francisco, its Pop Festival. And Nevada its Burning Man. And for decades, Cleveland had its own counter-culture festival, the Hessler Street Fair, a weekend of good vibes and music nestled on the L-shaped, brick-laden street adjacent to Case Western Reserve University.

But not for the past seven years.

That’s about to change this fall, when the Hessler makes its welcome return to University Circle. On October 3, a handful of bands and some 40 artists will convene to usher in a new era of both the fest and what the fest means for the block.

“To put it briefly, we miss it,” Sydney Slacas, a board member of the Hessler Neighborhood Association, told Scene.

“You know, everyone’s in a good mood, people dance, look at art, run into people they haven’t seen in the past year,” she said. “It’s just that communal spirit of people coming together to enjoy themselves and have a good time.”

Started in 1969 by a tight-knit band of neighbors, the Street Fair was a community tool to protest Case Western’s expansion. It soon formalized as the Hessler Neighborhood Association, a body that refused to allow the street’s landlords to intentionally depreciate home values in a bid to profit in a deal to a land-hungry university.

The HNA scored a big win in 1975.

Hessler Street became Cleveland’s first official historic district, a title that allowed the block to fend off any major changes. The HNA’s annual fair fueled a way of promoting local culture that in turn helped fund ongoing maintenance and expected upkeep.

A dearth of organizers and money led to a ten-year hiatus, in 1985. Until the Hessler’s 50th anniversary in 2019, its hosts routinely balanced the work of the Street Fair’s upfront costs—permits, insurance, parking —with its beloved qualities: its kaleidoscopic buses, its jam bands, its iconic lemonade. (A family secret recipe.)

Typically a multi-day festival held close to Memorial Day weekend, this year’s Hessler will span seven hours on October 3.

“It’s why we’re calling it a soft reboot,” Timothy Smith, a produce salesman and bass player who grew up on Hessler Street, told Scene.

“It’s just one day, but we’re gonna try and bring as much of what you remember from the Fair back into as we can,” he added, “without overstressing our limited labor and funds.”

Along with holding an organizer role, Smith had lately played cane-wielding historian and advisor to a re-energized HNA committee, mostly twentysomethings that have some sort of connection to the street.

4

Photo by Mark Oprea

Jolted by the Cleveland Planning Commission’s okay of a new apartment complex—the first in a century—the HNA funneled irritation into a new pathway for Hessler’s upkeep. (The land was former host of the Little Hessler Museum.)

A community garden formed. New street trees were planted. Hessler Court’s famous wooden bricks were, after the HNA’s push, replaced in 2024.

In tandem with a new website, the team began accepting donations and grants, including one from NEOMA, to revive the Street Fair with an air of professionalism. This year’s the first ever performing bands “will be paid by and large.”

Slated for performance so far are Hello 3D, the Jim Miller Band, Charlie Mosbrook & Friends, Country Honk, Hoodoo BBQ and Austin Walkin’ Cane. About 40 artists and vendors will be set up throughout the day.

If October 3 goes well, the HNA told Scene the Hessler could expand back into a multi-day fest and grow its artist count.

But before any predictions are slotted, the team simply wants to put on a really tremendous party once again. While reminding themselves it isn’t 1969. Or 1995. Or 2019, for that matter.

“I think that Hessler as an organism does, like everything else around it, does kind of have to either evolve or die,” Kristina Collins, a board member who’s lived on the street since 2012, said. “Hey, I’m just

SCENE | clevescene.com | August 2026

excited for it to get together.”

“It’s going to be a family reunion,” Smith added.

Definitely for those who recall the first.

“There’s nothing wrong with tradition,” he said. “Tradition creates community. Tradition creates memory. And tradition creates connection.”

– Mark Oprea

Slavic Village to Vote on Project Finalists in $100,000 Participatory Budgeting Pilot Program Residents of Slavic Village will soon help narrow down the options of how to spend $100,000 raised to help better their neighborhood.

Starting August 1, residents high school aged and up will be able to vote online and by mail on ten proposed projects gathered in the People’s Budget CLE’s pilot plan. Those 10 were selected from an original 125 submitted to PB CLE’s team earlier this spring.

Three weeks of voting kicks off with pitches and presentations from the 10 project leaders at a Voting Expo to be held on August 1 at the Polish American Cultural Center.

Voters will pick their top three through ranked choice voting, with the ideal aim of funding up to five proposals

with that $100,000, program manager Najah Muhammad told Scene. Project heads publicized a ballpark budget in their expo pitches on August 1.

Two years after a citywide proposal for participatory budgeting failed by a slim margin at the ballot box. PB CLE launched the pilot program as a result, focusing on Slavic Village.

Though new retail has moved in in the past few years, the neighborhood’s main street, Fleet Avenue, still suffers from vacant storefronts and lots strewn with trashed furniture and overgrown weeds.

“There’s a lot more that could be done with the businesses on Fleet Avenue,” she said. “So I think the neighborhood would really be excited to pour into people who are actually trying to do things there.”

Attendees of PB’s Voting Expo will have a chance to scrutinize projects to decide which three they see best fit for the neighborhood. Voting closes August 22.

A report will follow, Muhammad said, with the goal of figuring out how to eventually pursue a sequel convincing city voters participatory budgeting can work on more than a neighborhood level.

“This is really, you know, again, something new for the City of Cleveland, really,” Muhammad said. “And yeah, so we’re just kind of giving it all we got.”

– Mark Oprea

NEON Workers Win Wage Theft Lawsuit Against Their Employer About a dozen employees of the Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services won wage theft suits against their current or former employer months after the healthcare company’s financial woes came to light.

Cleveland judges sided with those who sued, agreeing NEON owed 11 workers payments from $1,400 to a bit over $5,000, Signal Cleveland reported. Workers originally claimed in February that they were owed back pay stretching to December.

Andy Schumann, an activist at the Northeast Ohio Worker Center who helped NEON workers file the complaints in small claims, questioned the nature of wage theft cases just as he commended the court system.

“I’m proud of these workers for fighting so hard,” Schumann told Scene.

“Why is it that an employer can commit tens of thousands of dollars of theft against dozens of workers and get away with it?” he added. “Yet if a worker steals several thousand from their employer, boss can call the cops and get them locked up with a felony?”

This week’s judgement is a big score for wage theft organizers frustrated by how widespread the issue is for workers often unaware of the money they’re

owed or how to go to court to right the losses. Most wage theft cases are tied to daycares, restaurants, temp agencies and gas stations, according to Policy Matters Ohio.

Formed as a not-for-profit in 1967, and tax-exempt since 1969, NEON has provided low-cost healthcare from nine locations and a handful of mobile dental units. CEO Willie Austin took over in 2003.

It was under Austin that NEON seemed to have hit financial straits. A pandemic-era reliance on handouts, coupled with a fire in 2021 and a cyberattack in 2024 resulted, said Austin in an email to staff, to internal struggles—“bumps in the road,” he said—and difficulties keeping pay on schedule.

NEON’s cash reserves were depleted by the end of 2025, he said. Austin relied upon “emergency donors” and his own funds to keep the operation running.

Still, Austin recognized in his March 5 letter that he was “still on the hook for the payments that NEON is presently unable to make,” he said.

“I apologize to you for not being able to control the wolves in sheep clothing who have successfully been able to dupe many of our employees into railing against me,” he wrote. (Austin did not return a call from Scene requesting comment.)

Austin’s plea for understanding ultimately fell on deaf ears. In a flyer, workers questioned where the allegedly approved $28 million in funding “until 2027”

ended up.

“Where did it go?” the flyer stated.

“This is not just management. This is a betrayal of trust.”

Workers who won this week will have to maneuver a garnishment process, which means they’ll have to decide on yet another legal process to ensure that Austin and NEON actually pay them the money the court declared they are owed.

Regardless, Schumann, the organizer, said the judgment is at least a signal to other violators that wage theft is a no-go in the city.

“The local bureaucrats and lawmakers are in for a rude awakening as the working class recognizes that these systems that allegedly deliver justice actually oppress us,” he said.

– Mark Oprea

Girl’s Joint, Back After Hiatus, Brings Femme Touch to Smoke Shop Market What comes to mind when you picture your boilerplate smoke shop?

Neon-lit signage? Rows of glass casings? Aisles full of bongs? Dude behind the counter in dreadlocks or backwards trucker cap?

“They all look exactly the same, and you’re generally interacting with the same folks,” Mandi Cavano said. “And for us as women and femme-identifying indi-

viduals, it’s not a pleasant experience.”

That experience led Cavano, along with her business partner Judie Vegh, to open up The Girl’s Joint, a cannibis accessory boutique catering to feminine potsmokers and gummy indulgers.

Cavano and Vegh’s Gordon Square shop opened last November during an interesting time in Ohio cannabis culture.

Recreational weed was legalized in 2023 but since then Gov. Mike DeWine has led something of a crackdown on edible manufacturers imitating candy brands— Nerds, Gushers, Skittles—that could be marketed to minors.

Yet, for the women at The Girl’s Joint, the process to opening a boutique without even selling weed has been laden with bureaucratic red tape and financial obstacles.

Those started on February 9, when the city received an anonymous complaint alleging the two were operating as a smoke shop and selling weed without the proper credentials. They were shut down immediately. Come the spring, Cavano and Vegh had to testify to Cleveland’s Board of Zoning Appeals that not only were they not selling cannabis, but less than a fifth of their store was occupied by smoke shop products: bongs, lighters, papers.

The requirement fit in line with smoke shop laws that went into effect last year, following the city’s attempt to limit their growth and more closely monitor those operating already.

But Cavano and Vegh were stumped.

The BZA couldn’t give them an exact answer, Cavano said, on what exactly constituted a smoke shop product, just as it couldn’t verify the store’s space limits for paraphernalia.

“We were thinking ashtrays, batteries, pipes,” Cavano said. “But we couldn’t get a true answer from the city.”

The hearing led to another obstacle: the space The Girl’s Joint was leasing didn’t have an official occupancy permit tied to it. The store couldn’t operate without one.

By the time they reopened, on June 26, they were out $17,500. That, and the untold amount of revenue loss—all at the hand of an anonymous complaint.

“Would that have happened if we were men? Probably not,” Cavno speculated.

“But it’s one of those things. How can you prove it? You can’t.”

There’s the pastel-colored Zippos.

There’s the BYOB shelf, Build Your Own Bong, that resembles a shelf of perfume bottles. The cigarette cases covered in pinup girls or sparkling sequins.

Yet, no actual stuff to smoke in sight.

“We very much wanted to do this by the book,” Cavano said, standing behind the counter. “No gray area. We don’t touch it, because we don’t want to deal with the headache.”

“We’re already under a microscope,” she said.

– Mark Oprea

August 2026 | clevescene.com | SCENE

5

FEATURE WHAT NOW? How Cleveland lost its Downtown grocery store and how it’s working to attract the next one.

By Mark Oprea

WHEN HEINEN‘S ANNOUNCED IN June that it would close its Downtown Cleveland location in the historic Trust Building, the news hit the city like a shock.

Mayor Justin Bibb said he was “deeply disappointed” by the choice. Ward 5 Councilman Richard Starr grieved a “loss” of Downtown’s “vital anchor.” County Executive Chris Ronayne called it a “bummer.”

But, in reality, those officials knew years before the news broke that Heinen’s stunning spot at the corner of East 9th and Euclid was in serious financial straits.

In early 2024, two and a half years before his decision, Jeff Heinen approached Bibb about the health of what has been crowned one of the most beautiful grocery stores in America.

Despite the accolades, endless posts on social media, and a small but devoted customer base as Downtown continued to grow as a neighborhood, the past decade wasn’t exactly smiling on the company.

Delivery apps, including DoorDash and Instacart, hit phones in 2018, changing how Clevelanders bought groceries overnight. The Covid pandemic further upended in-person shopping.

The May 2020 George Floyd protests and riots left lasting and expensive damage. (And closed the store for five months.)

The company was losing about $1.5 million a year on the location, Heinen disclosed to City Hall, and had to decide

by June 2024 whether or not to renew a ten-year lease.

Jeff Epstein, Bibb’s chief of integrated development at the time, was assigned as the city’s liaison with Heinen. He asked Heinen for a complete financial breakdown. “It will be helpful to understand the situation and lay of the land and see what we may be able to

6

Trust Building. | Photo by Mark Oprea

do to help,” Epstein wrote to Heinen on

vacated the rotunda’s second floor.

bers still didn’t add up. The company

February 6, 2024. “We want to do every-

About half a million dollars in public

concluded

thing we can to keep Heinen’s operating

support would help fund that transi-

would never, in its current form, be prof-

downtown.”

tion, as long as the money was spent be-

itable at 9th and Euclid.

Heinen’s

paid

Geis

Companies

fore July 31, 2026.

the

Downtown

Heinen’s

“I could go on and on but the salient

$470,000 a year in rent, spent $320,000

Heinen seemed relieved at the deal.

fact is that our operating model does

on private security and $434,000 on

“We will do our best to make sure your

not fit that location,” Jeff Heinen wrote

property taxes, and carried a $3.2

investment of time, energy and money

in a letter in late June, “and no entity,

million payroll for 77 employees.

will help us be at Euclid and 9th for a

governmental or otherwise, is willing

long time,” he wrote to Epstein and

to write checks to cover our losses.”

The best option, Epstein and Heinen seemed to agree, was to convince Geis

crew.

Jackie Shultz, Heinen’s marketing

to lower the rent for a new, two-year

City and county officials bandied

director, framed the decision like one

lease deal and bide time to figure out

about ideas that Heinen’s hoped would

might the untimely death of a family

how to build up sales.

generate $600,000 in additional sales.

member. “We’ve been in business 97

If they did? “I am confident,” Epstein

Heinen’s could try curbside pickup or

years,” she told Scene, “and haven’t

wrote on June 11, 2024, “the financial

DoorDash. It could cater office lunches

closed a store since 1986.”

performance of the store will improve

or advertise directly to surrounding

dramatically.”

apartment dwellers. It could host wine

The headwinds aren’t great, and

Tom McNair, then the city’s econom-

nights, validate parking, run cam-

replacing Heinen’s won’t be easy, but

ic director who worked with Epstein,

paigns lauding home-cooked meals

the city said it’s working to find a

recalled the push. “I think they looked

instead of pricey restaurant dinners.

solution.

at their losses and said, ‘We obviously

And, at the behest of Downtown Cleve-

Lucas Reeve, one of Bibb’s senior

can’t continue to do this,’” he told Scene.

land, Inc., Heinen’s could leverage DCI’s

advisors, was recently selected to lead

“And we said, ‘No, we need to try and

Neighborhood Safety Specialists for

the city’s grocery task force to figure

see if there’s some way, shape or form

a new loss mitigation plan that could

out what should and could come after

we can, you know, figure out a different

slash security costs by half.

Heinen’s, either in the same space or

way and different path.”

By December 2024, plans were in

So what now?

somewhere else downtown.

On August 2, Heinen wrote Epstein;

motion for a 10th anniversary celebra-

Reeve’s work is starting with a data

Debbie Berry, a county development

tion for the following year. New signage

haul—a months-long, $70,000 study of

chief; and DCI head Michael Deemer

went up, including ads for comped park-

Downtown’s food sector led by Washing-

with good news: Geis okayed a two-year

ing (if shoppers spent $50). Curbside

ton, D.C.-based consultant Streetsense.

lease that lowered Heinen’s annual rent

pickup was arranged.

by about a quarter, as long as Heinen’s

SCENE | clevescene.com | August 2026

But a year and a half later, the num-

The goal is to determine what kind of store will work in today’s market—not

TOP: Lucas Reeve. BOTTOM: Rico Pietro and Austin Love. | Photo by Mark Oprea

in 2015’s—and meet the needs of downtown residents who depend on it. In other words, to figure out precisely why Heinen’s model failed downtown.

“There’s a lot of stones to unearth,” Reeve told Scene. “The goal here is to move quickly and be able to have an implementation pathway to start having real serious conversations as soon as the study is complete.”

But Downtown residents, as they told Scene time and again, know very well that Downtown needs a grocery store.

A survey of 532 residents conducted in partnership with the Downtown Neighborhood Association showed this clearly. Ninety-five percent of respondents said Heinen’s closure will have a “major or moderate personal impact” on them, three-quarters of whom shopped there “at least once a week.” Forty-one percent have “no regular car access.”

Eighty-eight percent simply demand a new “full-service grocery store Downtown.”

“Feels less like a neighborhood without [one],” one respondent wrote.

Nearly half said they might relocate elsewhere.

“I will not re-sign my downtown lease, and instead will look to move out of the area if there is not a timely replacement,” another answered.

Some of those same people gathered on the evening of July 15 in the Heinen’s rotunda at an event hosted by the Downtowners Club. (Disclosure: The author is an organizer of the group.)

About 60 came together to commiserate over glasses of wine and ponder what, if anything, will occupy 900 Euclid Avenue in the near future.

But the vibe wasn’t exactly a funeral. Guests reminisced about second-floor dates over Godfather wraps while others speculated about whether Whole Foods or Kroger could come. (A Walmart would be an abomination, someone quipped.) Some helped run the old coffee shop; others helped sell bottles of wine. “I spent the last 17 years of my life tied to this store in some way,” one woman said. She looked up at the rotunda. “I’m going to miss it here.”

Lucas Reeve was there too. A soft-spoken man in his forties, he’d come that night to both presumably comfort mourning downtowners and offer reassurance that Cleveland could attract another quality grocer. “If anything, it’s a total bummer,” he said, echoing Ronayne.

That same day, Reeve and his grocery task force received a 12-page proposal from Streetsense, titled “Grocery Market Opportunity & Attraction Strategy,” that will serve as City Hall’s road-

map to replacing Heinen’s. By the end of October, the guide will brief Reeve and the city’s team on which downtown buildings could best house the right kind of grocery based on residents’ current food needs. It will also recommend, the proposal says, “prospective grocery operators that represent strong candidates for future outreach.”

“We are in the moment, and we just wanna make sure that we get it right this time around,” Joevrose Bourdeau Small, the city’s director of economic development, told Scene. “We want to understand exactly what kind of format would work, what kind of food access would work for the demographics that exist downtown.”

“We are in the moment, and we just wanna make sure that we get it right this time around.”

When Scene presented all of this to a pair of real estate brokers, Rico Pietro and Austin Love, the two said they were “100 percent certain” another grocery would be coming soon to Downtown Cleveland—and one that could better serve those who live in the city center.

“I don’t think they need a pinwheel turkey sandwich with cranberry gravy,” Pietro said. “They were simply stocking the shelves for a different clientele than what it could be today.”

“It’s a non-traditional space,” Love added. “You can’t take the model of what you would do in Strongsville or Chagrin Falls or in Avon and try to plug it into downtown.”

Both brokers and three other retail analysts interviewed for this story said they envisioned another grocer occupying the corner of East 9th and Euclid.

“If I were Meijer, if I were Whole Foods, if I were Sprouts, I would sure as fuck take that location,” Pietro said.

“Think about the brand loyalty. You bet on Cleveland—there’s not a way you can become more visible.”

Heinen’s made that bet a decade ago. $18 million in losses later, the question is: Will anyone make another one?

scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene

August 2026 | clevescene.com | SCENE

7

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EVERYTHING TO DO IN CLEVELAND FOR THE NEXT MONTH

GET OUT WED

08/05

Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Festival

The event billed as “football’s greatest week” comes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton this week. The Arizona Cardinals will play the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game, and the country act Lainey Wilson will perform as part of the festivities.

Check the website for a complete schedule.

2121 George Halas Dr. NW, Canton, 330-456-8207, profootballhof.com

THU

08/06

The Lion King

Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, the play presents a story “filled with hope and adventure set against an amazing backdrop of stunning visuals.” The play also features the work of Tony Award-winning choreographer Garth Fagan and tunes written

by Tony Award-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice. Tonight’s performance takes place at 7:30 at the State Theatre, where performances continue through Aug. 16.

1519 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org

FRI

08/07

How To Train Your Dragon in Concert

The Cleveland Orchestra provides the live orchestral underscore to the screening of this kids’ films about a young Viking who teaches his family and friends that not all dragons are destructive. The event takes place at 7 tonight and at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Mandel Concert Hall.

11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com

SAT

08/08

Jon Batiste plays Blossom. See: Thursday, Aug. 20.

Photo: Courtesy of the Cleveland Orchestra

Civil War Weekend

This annual event at Hale Farm & Village in Akron features an immersive experience thanks to recreations of Federal and Confederate camps. Re-enactors, musicians and interpreters will be on hand to bring the Civil War to life. It begins at 10 a.m. today and tomorrow.

2686 Oak Hill Rd., Akron, 330-6663711, halefarm.org

Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Glow-N-Fire

The event featuring the giant tricked-out trucks that kids love comes to Rocket Arena this weekend. Today’s sessions take place at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tomorrow’s session is at 1:30 p.m.

One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketarena.com

SUN Reggae Sundays

08/09

This special Reggae Sunday Happy Hour

12

Concert series continues every Sunday through the end of the summer. The indoor/outdoor concert series will take place rain or shine with live music from 4 to 7 p.m. Music Box will also offer food and drink specials exclusive to the series.

1148 Main Ave., 216-242-1250, musicboxcle.com

TUE Cuyahoga County Fair

08/11

The Cuyahoga County Fair returns to the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds this week.

The Midway rides are back this year, and there will be arts and crafts, beer and wine gardens, bee-keeping exhibits, a demolition derby, dog shows, a draft horse pull, fireworks, harness horse racing and a livestock auction.

The event continues through Sunday, Aug. 16. Check the website for more info.

19201 East Bagley Rd., Middleburg Heights, cuyfair.com

SCENE | clevescene.com | August 2026

THU

08/13

A Night at the Opera

Grammy-winning soprano Latonia Moore, tenor Brandon Jovanovich, the Blossom Festival Chorus and conductor John Fiore team up to present this program of pieces

by Puccini and Verdi. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall.

11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com

FRI

08/14

Guardians vs. San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres, traditionally one of the National League’s tougher teams, come to Progressive Field this weekend to take on the Guardians. Tonight’s game is at 7:10, and the series continues through Sunday.

2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb. com/guardians

SAT

08/15

Music in the Garden These free concerts featuring local bands take place on the first and third Saturdays throughout the summer at the Ben Franklin Community Garden. You can bring a lawn chair, and admission is free. The music begins at 6 p.m.

1905 Spring Rd., 216-459-1000, benfranklincommunitygarden.org

Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet Conductor Tabita Berglund makes her Cleveland Orchestra debut and leads the orchestra as it plays pieces by Sibelius and Prokofiev. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Blossom.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com

THU

SUN

Browns vs. New England Patriots

08/16

Beachland Flea

Local vendors will be on hand with vintage clothes, vinyl and other rock memorabilia at this event that takes place at 10 a.m. at the Beachland Ballroom.

15711 Waterloo Rd., 216-383-1124, beachlandballroom.com

TUE

08/18

Guardians vs. San Francisco Giants

The Guardians play the San Francisco Giants for the one-and-only time this regular season.

The three-game series starts with tonight’s game. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. at Progressive Field.

2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb.com/guardians

THU

08/20

Jon Batiste with The Cleveland Orchestra

Multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste joins the Cleveland Orchestra to play a mix of originals and classics. The concert begins at 7 p.m. at Blossom.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com

FRI

08/21

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.

1300 West 78th St., 78thstreetstudios.com

SAT

08/22

Browns vs. Buffalo Bills

Week 2 of the NFL preseason finds the rebuilding Browns going up against the playoff-caliber Buffalo Bills. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Huntington Bank Field.

100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, huntingtonbankfield.com

SUN Cole Porter: Let’s Misbehave

08/23

Singer Tony DeSare joins the Cleveland Orchestra as it pays tribute to songwriter Cole Porter with this special concert. The event begins at 7 p.m. at Blossom.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com]

08/27

The Browns play a preseason game against a New England Patriots team that made it all the way to the Super Bowl last year. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. at Huntington Bank Field.

100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, huntingtonbankfield.com

Welser-Möst Conducts Strauss

HALF PRICED HAIRCUTS AND $1.00 FACIALS

Franz Welser-Möst celebrates his 25th years as the Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra with this special concert that takes place at 7 p.m. at Mandel Concert Hall.

11001 Euclid Ave., 216-231-1111, clevelandorchestra.com

FRI

EVERY WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY 11AM TO 3PM Expires 9/30/26

Must Present Coupon

08/28

DAILY SPECIALS

Guardians vs. Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals had a losing record by the time of this season’s All-Star Break and have just not recovered from that slow start. They come to town this weekend for a three-game series that begins with tonight’s game. First pitch is at 7:10 at Progressive Field.

2401 Ontario St., 216-420-4487, mlb.com/ guardians

Tuesday

- $1 Hot Lather Day Shave/Beard Trim of with a purchase any haircut

Hasan Hates Ronny/Ronny Hates Hassan Comedians Hasan Minhaj and Ronny Chieng bring their co-headlining tour to Connor Palace. They’ll stage a mock debate about topics such as immigration and the economy as they emphasize their differences in an exaggerated manner suited to the stage. The show begins at 7 p.m.

1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org

SAT

Wednesday

- ”Ladies Day” cut Buy a basic hair e at $8 and reciev rows a Shampoo, Eyeb or Facial for $1

08/29

Thursday

- $1 Facial Day se with the purcha t of any haircu

Nikki Glaser A major comedian who’s hosted the Golden Globes for the past three years, Nikki Glaser comes to Connor Palace for a two-night stand. She takes the stage at 7 tonight and tomorrow night.

1615 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000, playhousesquare.org

SUN

REGULAR MEN 'S HAIRCUTS $7 00 .

HAIRCUT WITH LINE-UP $8 00 .

FADES $10 00 .

08/30

80th Annual One World Day Founded in 1946, this annual event at the Cleveland Cultural Gardens showcases about 50 ethnic groups through music, dance, storytelling, and authentic ethnic food. It features a Naturalization Ceremony for new U.S. citizens (sworn in by a U.S. District Court judge) and the Parade of Flags, which kicks off at noon.

750 E. 88th St., clevelandoneworldday.org

scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene

THE STORY CONTINUES @ CLEVELSCENE.COM

THE SCHOOL THAT BARBERS RECOMMEND! STORE HOURS Tues-Sat 9am-5pm 2546 Lorain Ave, Ohio City One block west of the Westside Market

216-241-6684

allstatehairstyling.com August 2026 | clevescene.com | SCENE

13

EAT PROOF POSITIVE In Matt Fish’s second act, he delivers a no-frills neighborhood tavern with gilded touches

By Douglas Trattner AFTER

A

HOLIDAY

WEEKEND

plagued by heat, storms and power outages, local chefs put out a collective plea to diners asking for their support. I managed to hit Proof Public House in Ohio City twice in as many weeks in the wake of those outages and on both visits I was happy to see the restaurant operating at or near capacity.

While I can’t speak for every diner in

Courtesy Photo

the house, what I suspect motivated many of them was not a simple desire to help a

PROOF PUBLIC HOUSE | 4116 LORAIN AVE., CLEVELAND | 216-644-4292 | PROOFCLEVELAND.COM

struggling restaurant, but a recognition of what could be lost if it disappeared.

After years – decades – of taking local restaurants for granted, it might finally be sinking in that when our favorite watering holes disappear, they won’t be replaced by another homegrown tavern.

The future of dining isn’t the special-occasion omakase. I certainly hope it isn’t the soulless fast-casual chain. I’d argue that it’s somewhere in the middle, the

renovation project undertaken by Fish’s

cent. Proof makes an excellent chees-

predecessors, but now the restaurant

esteak ($22) featuring shaved ribeye. It’s

feels finished, dialed in. Alongside myriad

a savory, saucy two-fisted affair with a

concert and club posters, each profession-

subtle kick from a splatter of chipotle ai-

ally framed and meticulously mounted,

oli. Occasionally Fish turns the amp up a

the space displays murals from former Melt locations and relics from Speak in Tongues, the seminal punk venue that existed on this very block.

bit too far, like adding a superfluous layer of black bean spread to an otherwise delectable – and already multi-faceted – pulled pork hoagie. The aptly named

Proof isn’t an over-the-top grilled

Gonzo ($19) combines citrus-braised and

cheese bar, but the chef’s penchant for

smoked pork, smoked pineapple slaw,

your drink order, and rare is the visit that

taking familiar foods and pushing them to the edges of conformity remains. Fish

Oaxacan cheese, fresh herbs and that

you don’t bump into a friend or neighbor.

place down the block where you know the owner by name, the bartender remembers

Earlier this summer, Matt Fish opened such a place in one of Cleveland’s few remaining indie enclaves, the corporate-free zone that straddles Ohio City and Detroit Shoreway. Packed into this short stretch of Lorain Ave. are chef-owned places such as Soho, Heart of Gold, Juneberry, Tripi, Herb ‘n Twine and Real Smoq’ed BBQ. With Proof, Fish adds something distinctive, heartfelt and appealing to that collection.

likes to tinker, to gild, to pile on in messy, delicious ways. Sandwiches play a starring role here, with everything from the Melt-launching Parmageddon to a sum-

earthy bean paste.

Out back on Proof’s leafy brick-paved courtyard is a hefty smoker inherited from the previous barbecue restaurant.

mery shrimp roll airlifted from Midcoast

From that Southern Pride emerge items

Maine. Amid the heat dome, that shrimp

such as that woodsy pulled pork, lemon-

roll ($19) felt like a cool ocean breeze. A

grass smoked chicken and some of the

plush hoagie bun is loaded with a gener-

best wings ($15) in town. Jumbo drums

ous amount of sweet, juicy, garlicky red

and flats are lightly smoked, char-grilled

shrimp, crispy slaw and creamy garlic ai-

and tossed in a choice of flavorful sauces.

oli.

A liberal serving of creamy ranch rides a

shotgun. Fish offers vegans their own ver-

at Proof, they are warmly greeted by

smash-burger diet, it felt nice to sink my

sion of wings in the form of firm tofu tri-

staffers and immersed in a kaleidoscopic

teeth into meaty half-pound pub burger

angles ($13) breaded in an assertive spice

live music-themed exhibition. The space

($16), cooked to a perfect medium. Hand-

coating, fried up crisp and served with

already was attractive thanks to a major

cut fries are an extra $5 and worth every

dairy-free ranch.

After

When guests walk through the door

14

SCENE | clevescene.com | August 2026

years

of

sticking

to

For Parmageddon fans looking for a trimmer version, the kitchen prepares a platter ($10) with two plump Rudy’s pierogi capped with grilled onions, warm caraway-scented cabbage, sour cream and bright microgreens. Another great starter is the whipped goat cheese ($14), which is topped with a spicy tomato tapenade and paired with plenty of grilled bread.

At Proof, meals might arrive on a paper-lined sheet pan, but cocktails are served in fine crystal. The bar mixes up a creative roster of compelling drinks such as the Sonic Reducer ($12), which somehow balances rye and banana. The neighborhood tavern doesn’t need 50 different bottles and cans, but rather a rotating selection of local gems on tap. Fish secures one-offs and limited releases from his brewing pals at Noble Beast, Market Garden, Fat Heads and Butcher and Brewer.

If you too have grown weary of “experiential” restaurants chasing viral moments, reliable homegrown places like Proof are the antidote and, I hope, the future.

dtrattner@clevescene.com @dougtrattner

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August 2026 | clevescene.com | SCENE

17

EAT

where they are dining. Visitors will see

bistro. “This is going to be the premier

new paint, carpet, furniture, light fix-

place to have a business lunch, a martini

tures, art and kitchen equipment. The

lunch.”

BITES

loan from Contessa Gallery features

Cleveland Wing Week kicks off August 17th

By Douglas Trattner WINGS, LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE in this world, have gotten more expensive.

Which is all the more reason to get excited about and take advantage of Cleveland Wing Week, which starts Sunday, August 17 and runs through Saturday, August 23.

For seven days, more than two dozen of Cleveland’s best restaurants are offering up wing deals starting at just $10, a price point we can all get behind during these inflationary times.

Make your plan at ClevelandWingWeek.com and on the Cleveland Wing Week app and chart your course through all the seasoned, sauced and dry-rubbed action.

Use the official Cleveland Wing Week mobile app to check in to four participating restaurants and be entered into a drawing to win $250 in gift cards. No purchase necessary.

color scheme has shifted from blues to browns and reds. Bold, fun artwork on works from celebrity photographers Harry Benson and Lawrence Schiller.

El Kiosquito on Detroit Now Open in Gordon Square When Jose Pagan heard that Papo

In the lounge, the community tables

Ruiz, the owner of Rincon Criollo, was

have been swapped out for more flexible

looking to move on from the Puerto Rican

high-tops. The soft seating areas in the

mainstay’s original location on Detroit in

same room have been replaced by ban-

Gordon Square, he jumped at the chance

quettes and tables.

to grow his business.

In the kitchen, Heritage’s wood-fired

Pagan has been operating El Kiosqui-

grills are out and RED’s high-heat broil-

to Boricua out of a stall at CentroVilla25,

ers are in. The patio out front has received

dishing up his own takes on Puerto Rican

all new furniture.

classics. He wasn’t exactly looking to ex-

“This is a RED that while still sophis-

pand quite yet, he admits. But the oppor-

ticated is more approachable,” says Levy.

tunity was too good to pass up and he was

a little different to the table, including chuletas fritas, a pan-fried pork chop.

Pina coladas are also available thanks to a new liquor license.

“CentroVilla gave us a place where people found out about us,” he says.

“There are a lot of us, small businesses with a dream.”

The James at Gigi’s Now Open in Cleveland Heights Gia and James Patch haven’t sat still much since opening Gigi’s on Fairmount (3477 Fairmount Blvd.) 12 years ago.

After quickly building a devoted following, the pair expanded next door with Gigi’s After Dark in 2014 and five years later expanded again into a corner property with Gigi’s Blu, which added seating and a private event space.

This month, they debuted their newest addition in The James at Gigi’s.

The intimate lounge is a “quaint, kind of cozy little place,” with Great Gatsby vibes, James said.

Savory and seasonal cocktails are joined by amaros, spritzes, apertivos, a tidy wine list and nightcap elixirs. A small menu of snacks is also available.

The new real estate also provides some much-needed space for the kitchen crew.

This latest expansion brings the total number of indoor seats up to 120 – a far cry from the diminutive 45-seat wine bar that opened in 2013 — with 60 more seats outside on a sidewalk patio.

Red the Steakhouse to Open August 13th at Eton Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere

Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill Now Open in Downtown Cleveland

RED the Steakhouse (28869 Chagrin Blvd.) will open its new restaurant at Eton Chagrin Boulevard on Thursday, August 13. Earlier this year the partners shuttered the Pinecrest location after nearly seven years in anticipation of the move.

“We have been looking to get back on the Chagrin corridor since after Covid,” says owner Gregg Levy. “We knew that we wanted to be somewhere between 271 and Chagrin Falls. We looked at a couple different places and then this came available through a series of machinations. We are exactly where we want to be.”

This past winter, Levy struck a deal with Doug Petkovic to purchase Heritage Steak & Whiskey, which opened in late 2023. Petkovic worked with Richardson Design to refashion the former Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse at Eton into a completely new restaurant. Levy says that RED has benefited from those enhancements.

“Doug made some beautiful changes to the building. He did the heavy lifting.”

That said, RED’s designers have made cosmetic changes that let guests know

Operators Dhruv, Pratik and Viral Patel have expanded the Naf Naf chain with their newest opening in downtown Cleveland off Public Square.

Years after Taco Bell Cantina shuttered its doors, the fast-casual Middle Eastern grill opened this week.

Motivated by the center city market and the new Sherwin Williams HQ, the Patels set their sights on the shores of Lake Erie in addition to other regional markets.

Coming from the phrase that means “fan the flame,” Naf Naf sells stuffed pitas, rice bowls and hearty meat-and-rice trays in a Chipotle-style format. The restaurant blends “comfort-food familiarity with its authentic Middle Eastern roots,” its website reads.

Chef Sahar Sander opened up the first Naf Naf in Naperville, Illinois, in 2009.

Since then, Naf Naf has gone on to open more than 40 stores in 13 states.

18

Courtesy Photo

Those tweaks will appear in the form of a great happy hour and an all-night bar

bolstered by the response from diners at the Hispanic food hall in Clark-Fulton.

menu with items such as lobster rolls,

“I’m blessed,” he says. “CentroVilla

steak sliders, fried chicken sandwiches

gave me a place to start my restaurant,

and a pastrami melt. In the main dining

something I dreamed of. Videos started

room, guests will have their choice be-

going viral. It started blowing up little by

tween a dozen different steaks and cuts,

little.”

ranging from an 8-ounce filet up to a 35-ounce prime tomahawk.

The CentroVilla stall isn’t going anywhere but Pagan this month debuted El

In the coming weeks or months, peo-

Kiosquito on Detroit, a full-service restau-

ple in the area can look forward to the re-

rant, after Rincon Criollo closed two

turn of lunch service, says Levy.

months ago. (Rincon Criollo Take 2 is still

“We’re ready to bring back the

open on Denison.)

quote-unquote Moxie lunch to the Cha-

Fans of Rincon will find some of the

grin corridor,” he states, referring to the

same Puerto Rican fare on the menu but

robust midday activity at that legendary

Pagan says he tries to bring something

SCENE | clevescene.com | August 2026

dtrattner@clevescene.com @dougtrattner

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August 2026 | clevescene.com | SCENE

21

MUSIC REELING THROUGH THE YEARS Squeeze brings its 50th anniversary tour to Jacobs Pavilion ByJeff Niesel SQUEEZE SINGER-GUITARIST GLENN Tilbrook admits he didn’t think his band would still be a going concern some 50 years after its formation in London.

But the group still tours and records on a regular basis and has just released Trixies, a new album featuring songs that Tilbrook and bandmate Chris Difford wrote as teenagers in 1974, just as Squeeze was coming together.

“I don’t know that I really thought that far ahead back then,” says Tilbrook via Zoom from his home/studio in London. Squeeze performs with Adam Ant and Haircut 100 on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at Jacobs Pavilion. “The moment came when I thought I might be doing this all my life when I backed off Squeeze and was focusing on my solo career. Having a lack of success makes you think about whether you really want to do this. I did. It was a good thing to learn. Now, I feel like I’m invincible and will enjoy it wherever I am.”

Tilbrook was 16 and Difford was 19 when the two started penning tunes that reflected their love for bands such as the Kinks.

“From the moment we met and started writing, we were on fire,” says Tilbrook.

“Literally, we wrote so much. Chris [Difford] had started on the concept of Trixies before we met and had written a couple of songs for it. He started giving me lyrics and wrote ‘Trixies’ up in one corner, so I knew that’s what it was for. We were writing other songs at the same time, but we finished it in a year and shared it with our friends. They all loved it, but we couldn’t get arrested.”

When the two recently revisited the tracks, they felt like they still stood out and possessed that power-pop sound for which Squeeze would become known.

“They really were good,” says Tilbrook. “We always thought they were good, but we were never analytical about

22

Squeeze | Photo: Scott Saldinger

it. When we sat down with it, we realized it’s a proper piece of work.”

that classic films served as an inspiration for the LP’s concept.

Songs like the jangly, Beatlesinspired “Why Don’t You” sound like Squeeze songs.

“When we grew up, there were just two channels on TV, and a third one came in the ’70s,” he says. “We got Hollywood movies on those channels, and they were influential and exciting, and that fed into our imagination about what a club would be like. Highlifes and lowlifes would be mixing together. It’s really intriguing. We had never known anything like that. It was Chris’s imagination.”

“That is the first of four songs I wrote when I was semi-infatuated with tango,” says Tilbrook. “The last one was [1978’s] ‘Take Me I’m Yours,’ which was our first single. It’s intriguing to see what I was infatuated with back then. My focus as a writer was much, much narrower. I was 16, so I had maybe ten years of listening to music intensely and you absorb all of that. I loved it from what I can remember.

But it was a very narrow prism of stuff, though the music from the ’60s and ’70s was brilliant.”

Tilbrook says that producer Owen Biddle brought a good deal of enthusiasm to the project.

“We have got a great band, and Owen is the cherry on top,” he says. “We’re a nine-piece now. The latest member is Leon, one of my sons, who is 23. He is a great foil for me. We can both play guitar together on the songs.”

The album centers on the goings-on at a fictional nightclub, and Tilbrook says

SCENE | clevescene.com | August 2026

One album highlight, “The Place We Call Mars,” has a glam rock feel to it that recalls the Thin White Duke.

“It is very influenced by David Bowie,” Tilbrook admits. “I heard [Bowie’s] ‘Life on Mars’ recently and thought ‘The Place We Call Mars’ would be like it, but it’s not. It’s in the same ballpark, and I really leaned into the [guitarist] Mick Ronson approach.

Every type of music filters through in some fashion.”

Squeeze took an unorthodox approach to recording Trixies. The group recorded another album of original tunes at the same time. That album has yet to come out.

“We recorded Trixies and what’s going to be our new album at the same time,” says Tilbrook. “It was an interesting and necessary thing to treat all the songs as new songs. Trixies was informing the new songs and the new songs were informing Trixies. It was such an intense period. We had never done that.

It’s like recording a double album.”

The

group

has

already

toured

mainland Europe in support of the album, and Tilbrook says he looks forward to bringing the show to the States.

“In Europe, we played the whole album [Trixies], and it worked. It’s nerve wracking. We have never done that before.

I don’t know if we’ll play the whole album because the structure is different. I think we can do a good chunk plus other songs that people will love just as much.”

Squeeze, Haircut 100, Adam Ant., 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1. Jacobs Pavilion, 2014 Sycamore St. Tickets: $55.39+, jacobspavilion.com.

jniesel@clevescene.com @jniesel

LIVEWIRE WED

08/05 TUE

Chicago & Styx: The Windy Cities Tour Both groups hail from Chicago, but the comparisons stop there. Styx released concept albums in the ‘70s and became associated with progressive rock. Chicago draws from jazz and R&B. Despite their differences, both appeal to Baby Boomers and should draw well when they play at 7 tonight at Blossom.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com

THU

REAL MUSIC IN THE REAL WORLD

08/06

08/11

Five Finger Death Punch Twenty years into its career, this hard rock group has become an arena and amphitheater staple. Earlier this year, the group released the single “Eye of the Storm,” another radio friendly hard rock tune with gruff vocals and dramatic, almost tribal drums. The show begins at 6:45 p.m., and Cody Jinks and Eva Under Fire open.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd.,

singer Pierre Bouvier performs at 6 p.m. at

Rod Stewart: One Last Time The mod rocker brings his farewell tour to Rocket Arena. The show begins at 7:30 p.m., and singer-songwriter Richard Marx opens.

At 81, Stewart has a huge catalog of hits and has been inducted into the Rock Hall for his work with both the Faces and as a solo artist.

One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketarena.com

THU

08/13

Jacobs Pavilion. Last year’s documentary film, Simple Plan: The Kids in the Crowd, chronicles the group’s remarkable rise to fame in the late ‘90s. #OH!3 and Bowling for Soup open.

2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com

FRI

08/14

The Kehlani World Tour: North America

Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111,

Simple Plan

livenation.com

The Montreal-based pop-punk band led by

The R&B singer-songwriter that got their start with the teen pop group PopLyfe comes to

Sam Barber The singer-songwriter performs at 6 p.m. at Jacobs Pavilion. Waylon Wyatt and Wild Horses open. The tour supports Barber’s new album, Broken View, which shows off his husky voice. Opening tune “Borrowed Tune” has a Bob Seger feel to it and will likely figure into tonight’s set.

2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com

FRI

08/07

Riley Green: Cowboy as It Gets Tour 2026 The country music superstar and former college football quarterback became a sensation upon the release of his debut album, 2019’s Different ‘Round Here. On tour in support of his new album, That’s Just Me, he performs tonight at 7 at Blossom.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com

MON

08/10

Foo Fighters The rock group led by dynamic singer-guitarist Dave Grohl brings its stadium tour to Huntington Bank Field. Grohl famously formed Foo Fighters after his former band Nirvana dissolved in the wake of singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994. Foo Fighters had success right out of the gate with their self-titled debut and with 1997’s The Colour and the Shape. The show starts at 5:30 p.m., and Queens of the Stone Age and Mannequin Pussy open.

100 Alfred Lerner Way, 440-891-5000, huntingtonbankfield.com

24

SCENE | clevescene.com | August 2026

Mötley Crüe returns to Blossom. See: Monday, Aug. 24. | Photo: Ross Halfin

Blossom. The tour supports the new self-titled effort that features the hit single “Folded,” a slow jam with soaring strings. The show begins at 7 p.m. Durand Bernarr, Isaia Huron, Thearti$t and Waseel open.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com

THE HOLY GRAIL OF BAR FOOD

The Return of the Carnival of the Sins: Motley Crue The metal group that played a premature farewell tour a few years back performs at 6:30 p.m. at Blossom. The group announced

114 Antio ch Dr. | Elyria OH 4403

5 | 440- 412-3061

this summer tour that marks its 45th anni-

Voted Best Bar to Watch Sports

by Scene Magazine

versary with much fanfare as it performed at

STOP IN FOR CLEVELAND WING WEEK

AUGUST 17–23

the American Idol finale back in May. Tesla

SAT

08/15

J. Cole: The Fall-Off World Tour The singer-songwriter and rapper brings his tour in support of his latest album, The FallOff, to Rocket Arena. The ambitious 24-track album chronicles Cole’s return visits to his North Carolina home. The show starts at 8 p.m.

One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketarena.com

and Extreme open.

6 Traditional Cherry Cola BBQ Wings for $7.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd.,

08/18

livenation.com

THU

08/27

The violinist, dancer and songwriter that mixes classical with rock, pop and electronica performs at 7 p.m. at Blossom. The tour supports 2024’s Duality, an album that yielded pop singles such as “Eye of the Untold Her,” “Inner Gold,” “Evil Twin” and “Survive.”

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com

FRI

08/21

The Grammy-winning live electronic trio five studio albums to date. Their most recent effort, Inhale/Exhale, performs at 7:30 p.m. such as “Inhale” and “Music Is Better.” Ben Bohmer opens.

FRI

08/28

6 JUMBO WINGS

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Josh Groban: Stage, Screen and Symphony The pop singer whose first four albums went multi-platinum performs at 7 p.m. at Blossom.

“As Time Goes By” and “Can You Feel the

his rendition of soundtrack classics such as Love Tonight,” the latter of which pairs him with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com

SAT

08/29

Don Toliver The Houston-based rapper and singer brings

Ella Mai The soulful English singer-songwriter who released her third studio album, Do You Still Love Me?, earlier this year performs at 7 p.m. at Jacobs Pavilion. Many of the songs reference her experiences as a new mother.

Ama and Girlfriend open.

2014 Sycamore St., 216-861-4080, jacobspavilion.com

MON

AUGUST 17–23

livenation.com

The rock band brings its theatrical new tour to Blossom. The group’s 2024 album, Ask That God. The album features dreamy pop tunes such as “Changes” and the ‘80s-inspired synth-pop number “The Feeling You Get.” The show starts at 7 p.m.

08/22

Your choice of any of our regular menu’s irresistible sauces or tantalizing dry rubs.

Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111,

Earlier this year, Groban released Cinematic,

SAT

Option 2: 6 or 12 Traditional Wings ($7/$13).

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd.,

Empire of the Sun — Ask That God: Afterlife North American Tour

1145 W. Steels Corners Rd., Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111, livenation.com

dawghousecle.com Cleveland Wing Week

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at Blossom. The album features poppy tunes

Lindsey Stirling — Duality Untamed Tour

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Cuyahoga Falls, 216-231-1111,

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08/24

his Nitrous Octane World Tour to Rocket Arena. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., and the current tour supports his latest album, Octane, an ambitious 18-song release that finds him expanding beyond the trap style of rap for which he’s known.

One Center Court, 216-420-2000, rocketarena.com

scene@clevescene.com @clevelandscene August 2026 | clevescene.com | SCENE

25

SAVAGE LOVE

other hand, is reckless and disrespectful

mained “in your head,” i.e. if you didn’t say

As for your theory that the one swing-

— of both your spouse’s feelings and the

as much and say it unambiguously, you

er you know is swinging with every other

feelings of the person you’re cranking the

can’t be angry that your partner wasn’t

person and/or couple they know…

fuck up.

able to read your mind. Now, maybe he

As with so many things, FLIRT, you

THE INVITE

just use your words. Once you’ve engaged

By Dan Savage

out crossing into FWI territory. If you

in a little light MND flirting, pause to clarify that you’re married and monogamous.

Then you can dial it up a few notches withsense that your flirting partner is starting to doubt whether you meant it when you

I’m a late-thirties hetero married man.

I’m also a flirt. I’ve known this about my-

said you were monogamous, dial it all the

knows

this

generally,

she

probably

doesn’t know that I can lean into a bit at times when she is not around. For a long time it was fine. I considered my flirting to fall into my “zone of erotic autonomy” and never intended it to lead anywhere.

Then twice in the last year it’s led to women getting the wrong (but honestly, understandable) impression that I’m open for more. Nothing happened but I realize now that I need to… not do this anymore?

No more flirting, no more coy innuendos, no. more dangerous-but-plausibly-deniable interactions, chats, etc. But thinking about a life without flirting makes me a little dead inside. It’s the spice of life, isn’t it? Not having that little bit of tension, that sense of danger, that glow that comes from a successful flirtation — the thought of never experiencing any of that again leaves me feeling almost despondent. But I love my relationship and don’t want to endanger it anymore and I don’t want to be a dick to other people when they realize I’m not open for more. I’m not sure what to do. Or how to think about this. Do you have any words of wisdom?

First of all, I need to thank you. I’ve been following you for almost ten years and you gave me such a spectrum of possibilities in relationships and a really open mindset. My little drama is, I’m in an open relationship where we’ve had ongoing issues with communication and emotional labor. I’m always the one carrying the baggage while he gets to be the “light”

A little light flirting is fine, FLIRT, tionships. With the exception of the “micro-cheating” lunatics, everyone understands that. So, you can only be faulted for leading someone if 1. the person with whom you’re flirting doesn’t know you’re happily married and hopelessly monogamous and 2. the flirting crossed that sometimes-hard-to-define line between harmless married-not-dead (MND) flirting and what a reasonable person would interpret as flirting with intent (FWI). Married-notdead flirting looks (and sounds) like two people acknowledging and enjoying a mutual attraction that — in their timeline in which they find themselves — can nev-

she can get where emotional sensitivities are concerned. Maybe he should’ve understood what you wanted, IFFY, but he didn’t. Maybe his failure to understand what you wanted was self-serving, but your emotionally dense partner could just be… dense. ship and closing it while you work on these issues together is a requirement, IFFY, you need to make that explicitly and abundantly clear to him. With apologies to Upton Sinclair: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his freedom to fuck around depends on his not understanding it.” No hints, no ambiguity, no hoping he gets it — tell him.

one, which makes me feel unconsidered.

I’m a guy, age 65, and writing to you

We finally had a deep conversation about

from Seattle. My wife is also 65 and we are

this, and I thought things were finally

both considered young and fun for our

understood. I really needed a demonstra-

age. We’re sexually active and ambitious,

tion from him. Instead, just three days

but happily monogamous, having been

after that conversation, he went away and

married for 44 years. Many of our best

slept with someone else. It’s true that he

friends are in their thirties and forties

was checking in more than usual on that

and they seem to enjoy hanging out with

trip, since I had just asked, but it felt like a

us. That’s the good part. Now here is the

demonstration done completely negative-

confusing part and the basis for my ques-

ly. I guess my question is, how do I nav-

tion. Five years ago, one of our friends let

igate an open relationship in this case?

me know that they are in “the lifestyle.” I

In my head, you shouldn’t be sleeping

filed this info away and have always been

around when things are not stable within

just a little bit curious about logistics and

the relationship, or am I wrong? If things

other details. I spend way too much time

are lacking on the inside, is it still okay to

on social media, and I have realized that

have sex on the outside? Why do I feel like

many, many of our other friends are also

he cheated?

connected to this person, even though,

SIS, it doesn’t follow that every person a swinger knows is in the lifestyle. So, while you can’t rule out the possibility that all of your thirty- and forty-something friends are fucking each other, you shouldn’t assume they are either. But even if they are fucking each other — let’s go ahead and make that assumption as a thought experiment — I can easily fathom two good reasons why most of them haven’t spoken to you about it: 1. These swinging singles and/or couples assume you and your wife aren’t interested in swinging.

2. These swinging singles and/or couples aren’t interested in swinging with you and your wife.

If you are interested in the lifestyle for purely intellectual reasons — if you have questions about the logistics — you could raise the subject with the one friend who came out to you as a swinger. When someone volunteers that kind of information about themselves, SIS, you’re allowed to ask non-intrusive follow-up questions.

So, if you want to know how your friend and his partner meet other couples, how they got into the lifestyle, what their rules are, etc., you can ask those questions.

But don’t ask your friend to rattle off the names of other people you know who are in the lifestyle, SIS, as that would require him to violate their privacy. (And if you do ask and he answers, you shouldn’t expect him to respect your privacy either.)

ostensibly they seem to have little in common. I now have a fun, weird theory that

P.S. I’m guessing the odds against

If you told your partner you didn’t

I cannot prove or disprove. Almost every

you swinging are a million to one because

want him fucking other people for the

one of our friends is also active in the life-

time being… if you literally said, “No sex

your wife doesn’t want to — or you assume

style, but for reasons that I cannot fathom

with other people while we work on us,”

your wife doesn’t want to — and not be-

they have never spoken of it to us or even

and he agreed to close the relationship,

cause you don’t want to. Because I don’t

said a word, much less invited us to join

IFFY, and then he turned around and

think you would be asking me about this

in. Should I take this as a compliment or

fucked someone else at his first oppor-

if your curiosity was entirely idle and/or

an insult? Are all of our friends having

tunity… yeah, pretty clear your partner

logistical.

kinky fun behind our respective backs?

cheated on you.

Just to make this more fun, and to give

But if you told your partner you felt like there was an imbalance in the emotional labor department and that you needed him to be more attentive… but you didn’t tell him you wanted to close the relationship… and then he made an effort to be more attentive before fucking someone else, IFFY, then didn’t cheat on you.

you a good laugh, the odds that my wife and I would ever want to do this are about

Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love!

Or record your question for the

know!

Savage Lovecast at Swingless in Seattle

If you wanna get a general conversation about swinging started, SIS, you

savage.love/askdan!

Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love

could ask your thirty- and forty-some-

Not wanting your partner to sleep

things friends what they thought of The

lowkey, it sometimes has a slightly melan-

with other people when your relationship

Invite, Olivia Wilde’s amazing new mov-

cholic tinge, and ideally it stirs up sexual

doesn’t feel safe and secure — when things

ie starring Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope

energy that you take home and plow into

aren’t feeling stable — is a fine and per-

Cruz, and Edward Norton. If they haven’t

your spouse. Flirting with intent, on the

fectly valid feeling. But if that feeling re-

seen it yet, suggest a group outing.

SCENE | clevescene.com | August 2026

Got problems? Yes, you do!

a million to one against. But you never

er be acted on. MND flirting tends to be

26

While people in the lifestyle do know other people in the lifestyle (obviously),

Italian Fan For Years

Feeling Like I’m Risking Trouble even for people in monogamous rela-

lished that your partner needs all the help

So, if you want to stay in this relation-

way down to zero.

self for a long time, and while my spouse

should’ve, IFFY, but we’ve already estab-

mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage www.savagelovecast.com

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August 2026 | clevescene.com | SCENE

27