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Oktoberfest Zinzinnati marks a half-century of German heritage, giant crowds and the gloriously strange traditions Cincinnati has made its own. BY KANE MITTEN

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VOL. 29 | ISSUE 18 CINCINNATIANS TAKE PART IN OK TOBERFEST CELEBRATIONS. PHOTO BY FRANK D. YOUNG AND THE CINCINNATI REGIONAL CHAMBER

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Iconic, centuries-old Cincinnati event venue to reopen Staff Report

ne of Cincinnati’s most iconic landmarks is rising from the ashes. The Phoenix, the legendary event venue designed by world-famous architect Samuel Hannaford in 1893, will reopen early next year. Located on the corner of Eighth and Race streets, it’s one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks thanks to its intricate woodwork, iconic Tiffany stained-glass windows and the gigantic marble staircase inside. Originally built for the Phoenix Club, a prominent social organization founded by Cincinnati’s German Jewish community, the building later became home to the Cincinnati Club. For years it served as a high-end fine dining restaurant and multifloor banquet hall, and it was officially recognized for its historical significance & listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. The building closed in 2023, but was purchased in 2024 by the Scottish Rite Masons, who have turned over operations to local event company DelightMore. “The Phoenix has long been one of Cincinnati’s most recognizable historic venues, and we’re deeply honored to help direct its next chapter,” said DelightMore CEO Don Vonderhaar in a statement. “Our goal is to preserve the elegance, craftsmanship and character that have defined this landmark for more than a century, while creating exceptional

experiences for today’s weddings, corporate events, galas and celebrations. We can’t wait to welcome guests back into a venue that holds so much history while creating new memories for generations to come.” The reimagined venue will feature four distinctive event spaces across multiple levels, accommodating everything from intimate weddings to corporate meetings, nonprofit galas and large-scale celebrations. Original architectural features have been carefully preserved and enhanced with modern amenities, creating a venue that blends historic elegance with contemporary event experiences. Spaces include the Tiffany Gallery, an elegant, 175-seat setting for intimate celebrations featuring the venue’s Tiffany stainedglass windows; the Legacy Ballroom, a 350-seat ballroom designed for weddings, galas and large-scale corporate functions; the President’s Room, a 60-seat space featuring a famous hand-carved library, breakfront and bar built in 1905; and the 1893 Club, a 70-seat speakeasy private dining club designed for curated dining experiences and intimate celebrations. The Masons will occupy the building’s basement and office space, while DelightMore will handle the rest of the building’s 28,000-square-foot space as part of a new 10-year operating agreement. Public tours of the venue began in August, but several weddings have already been booked in the space for 2027.

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3CDC announces local partners for new Over-the-Rhine community center

A RENDERING OF THE UPCOMING FINDLAY COMMUNITY HUB. RENDERING PROVIDED | 3CDC

Staff Report

he Findlay Community Hub, a new community center for Overthe-Rhine residents, is almost complete. Ahead of the hub’s grand opening in January, the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation, or 3CDC, has announced the local partners who will handle day-to-day operations and programming at the center. Local institutions TriHealth and Learning Grove will operate the $48 million, 60,000-square-foot community center and 8,400-square-foot early learning childcare center, according to a news release. 3CDC will maintain control of the facility, but the other two organizations will run day-to-day operations to “ensure a seamless, best-in-class environment that delivers high-quality amenities to all

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neighborhood residents,” according to a release. “This landmark investment by the city, 3CDC and our partners has the chance to catalyze real, significant vibrancy in North OTR. Every community deserves access to great services and great facilities, and with TriHealth and Learning Grove joining the team, we’re on the path to making it happen,” said Mayor Aftab Pureval in a release. “We can’t wait for its doors to open and for our families to take advantage of the Hub.” TriHealth already operates the awardwinning TriHealth Fitness & Health Pavilion, and will apply its prior expertise to the Hub’s new fitness facilities, indoor aquatics center, gymnasium, roller skating rink and indoor running track. “TriHealth is thrilled to partner with the City and 3CDC on the Findlay Community Hub,” said TriHealth Senior Vice President Steve Mombach. “We are eager to bring

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our expertise and passion for health and wellness to North Over-the-Rhine, offering world class fitness, recreation and wellness programming that supports the wellbeing of every resident who walks through these doors.” Meanwhile, local childcare provider Learning Grove will take over the operations of the Farmer Family Foundation Early Learning Center. “Every child deserves a strong start, and we know that expanding access to quality early learning is essential for children, their families, and our communities,” said Learning Grove’s Chief Program Officer Patti Gleason. “We are proud to partner with 3CDC, the city, TriHealth and the OTR community to open this new facility at the Findlay Community Hub, bringing our early childhood programming to local families, and addressing a vital need in the neighborhood.” To ensure the facility’s mission of

equitable access, membership plans will model Ziegler Park’s successful “Everybody In” initiative. The Hub will feature an income-based sliding scale to ensure every resident, regardless of socioeconomic background, has full access to the Hub’s facilities. “The Findlay Community Hub was designed from the beginning to be a transformative space that addresses the needs and wants of the OTR community,” said 3CDC EVP of Civic and Commercial Activation Christy Samad. “By pairing TriHealth’s health management expertise with Learning Grove’s stellar reputation for early childhood education, we are fulfilling our promise to deliver exceptional programming. 3CDC is proud to stand alongside these two operators to ensure this space is safe, high quality and accessible to all.”

Vape sellers to Ohio Supreme Court: crackdown is unconstitutional By Jake Zuckerman | Signal Ohio

he e-cigarettes’ flavors ranged from “strawmelon” to “blueberry raspberry-gami” and virtually none of them were legal when they were sold in tobacco stores around the state. But as lawyers for tobacco retailers argued to the Ohio Supreme Court on Aug. 4, only the federal government gets to enforce the rules on tobacco marketing. The state’s effort to do so, they say, is unconstitutional. The lawsuit is one of two major ongoing legal battles from Ohio’s government — or parts of it, at least — against flavored tobacco and nicotine products, which are seen as a lure for teenagers and young adults into an addictive habit. Through both cases, the court will set the limits on the power of Ohio and its cities to cut down on what they see as a looming nicotine and tobacco addiction crisis in the making. While adult cigarette rates have plunged, nearly one in five Ohio high schoolers say they’ve used an e-cigarette within the past 30 days. Tobacco use remains a leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. The question before the Ohio Supreme Court Aug. 4 was whether state officials can use state consumer protection laws to target sales of flavored vapes and e-cigarettes, all of which are illegal under federal tobacco laws. At the time of the lawsuit, the FDA had never approved a flavored tobacco product besides menthol. (In a first in May, the FDA approved four flavored vape devices made by Glas.) Despite the federal ban on non-FDAapproved tobacco products, enforcement is notoriously lax, said Marisa Katz, an attorney with the Public Health Law Center, which has backed the Ohio attorney general’s office. That puts the workload on the state. “They can’t monitor every product sale across the country,” she said of the FDA. “And that’s why this case is so important because states are best positioned to respond to local problems more quickly than federal agencies are.” Then-Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost in 2024 filed civil lawsuits against Orrville Tobacco in Wayne County, Central Tobacco in Delaware County and Elev8 Smoke Shop in Cincinnati for selling illegal vapes. Elev8 sits half a mile from a local high school. Appellate courts have split on the issue of whether federal tobacco laws preclude state officials from intervening as an enforcer. Mixed signals The justices offered mixed signals Aug. 4 on how they might rule, speaking only in the context of questions to both sides’ attorneys. Justice Jennifer Brunner, the court’s lone Democrat, said that “consumers are being duped” when stores stock illegal products on the shelves and imply that they’re legal. Justice Pat DeWine, a Republican, at one point suggested that the attorney

THE OHIO STATEHOUSE. PHOTO BY MEGAN HENRY | OHIO CAPITAL JOURNAL

general’s office was distancing itself from some elements of its original lawsuit. But at others, he seemed to agree with Brunner. “Isn’t it reasonable to think that someone who walks into a store and picks it up off a shelf thinks it’s a legal product?” he said to a lawyer representing the tobacco sellers. Two facts drive the case, said Sam Peterson, a lawyer for now-Ohio Attorney General Andrew Wilson. The flavored e-cigarettes being sold are illegal, and the state has the legal right to prohibit the sale of flavored e-cigarettes. James Fraser, an attorney for Central Tobacco who specializes in tobacco and e-cigarette cases, said to justices that the state is conflating marketing approvals and product safety. “They say, if you put a sign next to the product in the store that says, ‘these products are illegal,’ then the state seems to be saying there is no problem,” he said.

with a “preemption” law, which is essentially the state’s way of claiming a policy arena for itself and forbidding cities from passing stiffer regulations of their own. They managed to secure the supermajority required to override a veto from Gov. DeWine. Cities have challenged the law, citing a home rule provision in the state

constitution that grants them political autonomy. Oral arguments were held in June. The Ohio Supreme Court is now poised to rule on both cases. This story originally appeared at signalohio.com.

Ohio cities ban flavored tobacco Despite the prohibition, sales of thousands of models of flavored, disposable vapes have exploded in the U.S., according to both Katz and the findings of a U.S. Government Accountability Office study. Gov. Mike DeWine (father of Pat DeWine, the justice) has fought for stricter tobacco laws for much of his four decades in state and federal politics. As governor, he has tried and failed over two terms to convince lawmakers to ban flavored tobacco sales. Facing refusal from Republican state lawmakers, Democratic-controlled cities large and small in Ohio (especially in the Columbus area) have stepped in. Their bans vary, sometimes including flavors of Zyns, an increasingly popular oral nicotine pouch. The cities also enacted their own enforcement schemes to uphold these laws, plus Ohio’s 21-and-up tobacco law. Republican state lawmakers responded SEPTEMBER 2 - 15

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Oktoberfest Zinzinnati marks a half-century of German heritage, giant crowds and the gloriously strange traditions Cincinnati has made its own. BY KANE MITTEN PHOTO BY FRANK D. YOUNG AND THE CINCINNATI REGIONAL CHAMBER.

ktoberfest Zinzinnati is celebrating its golden anniversary in 2026, and this year's event will be appropriately gigantic to match. At the 50th iteration of Cincinnati's largest annual event, which runs Sept. 17 to 20, festival organizers are looking to acknowledge Cincinnati's German roots while recognizing everything from the last 50 years that has led the Queen City to where it is now. Last year, over 800,000 people showed up to Oktoberfest, and this year's attendance should be even bigger. "Oktoberfest celebrates German heritage without making that a requirement. It's crossed the boundary of, I'm not German, but I'm Cincinnatian, so I have to go," said Chelsea York, vice president of events and experiences at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber. "It's not a replica of Munich's Oktoberfest. We're celebrating the thing we have in common, and showing up for something that's very unique and authentic to Cincinnati." Once again, Oktoberfest will take place at Sawyer Point and Yeatman’s Cove, located at 705 E Pete Rose Way. The 8

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festival begins at 4 p.m. on Thursday and runs through the evening, then begins again in the morning and runs through 11 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. Sunday will bring the festival to a close at 7 p.m. This year's biggest edition is the Glockenspiel Stage, a massive, two-story structure inspired by a traditional German glockenspiel — a clock that combines a carillon of bells and mechanical figures that move through choreographed sequences — and it features a 31-foottall, 56-foot-wide bell tower. Every hour, on the hour, performers will do a special performance featuring song and dance. York likened it to a "human-powered cuckoo clock." "The first time that the Glockenspiel rings, we'll have city dignitaries and folks on stage for that," she said. "This has been something that we've been working on since the fall of last year, postOktoberfest, and seeing it go from concept to fabrication and then installation and performance ... I'm really excited for it to be used both now and at the festival for years to come." Other major additions to this year's

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fest include a sports zone, so Bengals and FC Cincinnati fans can stay at Oktoberfest without missing a minute of the action, and a paid VIP experience that includes shaded seating, a souvenir mug, a dedicated bar, five free drinks, a free shot of Jägermeister, and a free onsite meal from German restaurant Schmidt’s. VIP ticket prices start at just $25, and vary per day. All the events you know and love from years past will stick around for this year's fest, too. The "World's Largest Chicken Dance" will continue to baffle and amuse audiences everywhere as celebrity guests get on stage and lead the crowd to do exactly what you'd think. The Gemütlichkeit Games take place on opening night once more. There will again be a stein holding contest. Each festival day will feature plenty of live music from local bands, German or otherwise. And the Running of the Wieners — where dachshunds dressed in hot-dog costumes race each other on a 75-foot course — makes its triumphant return, although the event is now on Sunday. "This year is really everything you know

and love about Oktoberfest: biergartens, German food, potato pancakes, pretzels, sausages, brats, all of that," York said. "It's the festival at its best, and we invite people who haven't been in a while to come back and experience the festival for the 50th and celebrate with us." Keeping with the theme that the festival celebrates everyone in Cincinnati, not just those with German heritage, last year's theme days will also return. Thursday night will feature performers from Cincinnati Pride, which will receive part of the evening's proceeds, and Sunday will be a "Family Day" that will feature free programming and activities for children. "I think that's kind of what makes the event special. It's approachable. It's open to everyone. It's become more inclusive. As it moved to Sawyer Point, it's become more family friendly, a place to bring your kids and family down to," York said. "This is a place for everyone. Even if you're not from Cincinnati, but you're visiting in town, it's a place to come and learn what makes Cincinnati special. Everyone belongs at Oktoberfest." CONTINUES ON PAGE 10

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

PHOTO BY FRANK D. YOUNG AND THE CINCINNATI REGIONAL CHAMBER.

RENDERING OF THE NEW GLOCKENSPIEL STAGE PHOTO BY CINCINNATI REGIONAL CHAMBER.

PHOTO BY FRANK D. YOUNG AND THE CINCINNATI REGIONAL CHAMBER.

THIS YEAR'S BIGGEST EDITION IS THE GLOCKENSPIEL STAGE, A MASSIVE, T WO-STORY STRUCTURE INSPIRED BY A TRADITIONAL GERMAN GLOCKENSPIEL. PHOTO BY CINCINNATI REGIONAL CHAMBER.

PHOTO BY FRANK D. YOUNG AND THE CINCINNATI REGIONAL CHAMBER.

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PHOTO BY FRANK D. YOUNG AND THE CINCINNATI REGIONAL CHAMBER.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Carnegie announces new fund for artists in NKY, Cincinnati

Local artists can apply to showcase their work at Newport’s MAMMOTH Music Festival

EXTERIOR OF THE CARNEGIE BUILDING WITH WORK IN WINDOW BY AMY PLEASANT, 2024. PHOTO BY JESSE LY

Staff Report

he Carnegie announced the launch of The Passage Fund, a new initiative supporting experimental projects, emerging voices and cross-disciplinary collaboration across Cincinnati and Kentucky. The Passage Fund will distribute $60,000 annually to visual artists living in Cincinnati and Kentucky. Artists can apply for support to develop new projects and move ideas from early development into production and public engagement. The fund is open to artists working across disciplines and encourages proposals that bring new perspectives and approaches to the

region’s arts community. The Passage Fund serves to further The Carnegie’s mission of amplifying the diverse voices of regional artists, and is looking for projects that demonstrate risk-taking, artistic exploration and experimentation. Applications open Nov. 1 and close Jan. 15, 2027. Passage Fund information sessions will be held in various cities across Kentucky, including Covington, Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville. The fund is made possible thanks to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Applications can be found by visiting passagefund.org.

THE 2024 MAMMOTH MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL. PHOTO BY SCOTT PRESTON | MAMMOTH MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL

Staff Report

ack for its third year, the MAMMOTH Music Festival is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 4. The festival is a community-focused experience centered around local music, visual art, food and drinks. The opening ceremonies will start at 11:30 a.m. Music performances will take place on five outdoor stages from noon to 8 p.m., and inside the Southgate House Revival until 11 p.m., as the indoor festivities continue. This year’s lineup has yet to be released. The festival will take place along Sixth Street between Saratoga and York streets, and along two blocks between Fifth and Seventh streets on Monmouth Street. In addition, festival organizers are inviting local artists to apply to their Artist’s Avenue outdoor gallery, which promises to showcase fine art such as paintings, pottery, textiles, posters and more. Visitors can view or purchase the art on the day of the event. Artist’s

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Avenue will be located on Monmouth Street. If accepted, artists are expected to manage their own sales. The festival does not charge attendance fees or commissions, although donations to support the event are accepted. It should be noted that applying does not guarantee a spot, as space is limited. Artists participating must secure a temporary occupational license from the City of Newport. Vendors are also responsible for adhering to Kentucky tax laws, which include collecting sales tax as necessary. Each accepted artist will be allocated space for a 10-by-10-foot tent or popup display and must supply their own tent, tables and display materials. The tents are required to be stabilized with a minimum of 20 pounds of weight per leg. Electricity is not included in standard vendor spaces unless it is prearranged. Visit CityBeat’s website to learn more about how to apply.

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EATS

The Muse transforms a historic Over-the-Rhine building into an ambitious cocktail bar

Blk Wine Fest founder to open tasting room in downtown Cincinnati

By Kane Mitten

fter over a half-decade of development, the team behind Over-the-Rhine bar Somerset is finally ready to show off their next muse. The Muse, a new bar and hotel inside the historic Germania Building at 1127 Walnut St. in OTR, is leaning into the building’s European and neoclassical heritage with an exhaustive amount of detail: custom-made French parquet flooring, a hand-painted ceiling fresco that took nearly a year to complete, a brass sculpture of the star constellation that was above the building when it originally opened in 1877 and plenty more details that’ll ensure it’s the swankiest bar in the neighborhood. “Details like that is why it’s taken us so long to get this up and running, because it’s all so crafty and handmade,” said James Fisher, the bar’s founder. “It’s been a total labor of love … Our goal with Somerset was to make people feel like they were somewhere else, and to bring a little bit of the outside world into the city. That’s our goal here, too.” The attention to detail is the most important aspect of the space to the team — so important, in fact, that they’ve stopped construction multiple times to “regroup, retool and give it the focus it needs to do it right” since purchasing the building in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “If we wanted to open a bar just for the sake of opening a bar, we could open it tomorrow. But we want to do this properly,” Fisher said. “It is a bit absurd, and I hope it pays off, but for me, I love the craft and the process of building something special. I look at this as an art project, and that’s what excites me the most.” When The Muse opens at the end of the summer, its 28 hotel rooms won’t be ready just yet, nor will its planned kitchen space. But what it will have is a small selection of hors d’oeuvres and a killer selection of themed cocktails to match the building’s history. “What you’ll see inside the building is a juxtaposition of European neoclassical elements with bits of spaceage modernism in the furnishings. It’s a unique creative tension, and we wanted the menu to reflect that … we’ll be focused on doing simple classic cocktails really, really well, but we’ll also have several boundary pushing cocktails for people who like to get experimental,” Fisher said. Fisher said he feels that the city is lacking an upscale cocktail joint on this level, and that Muse is shooting to

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NATASHA WILLIAMS, FOUNDER OF BLK WINE FEST. PHOTO PROVIDED | 3CDC

By Kane Mitten

THE GERMANIA BUILDING IN OVER-THE-RHINE, WHICH WILL SOON BE THE HOME OF THE MUSE. PHOTO BY KANE MITTEN | CITYBEAT

be “ambitious, while still affordable, and classy, but not pretentious.” As mentioned, the bar leans heavily into the building’s heritage. When the Germania Building opened two centuries ago, it was built for the German Mutual Insurance Company. Well known for its limestone exterior and prominent second-story sculpture of Germania, its grandeur stands out, even in a neighborhood full of aweinspiring historical structures. “With every building, we look at what’s interesting about where the building came from and try to honor what came before us. And, initially, it was hard because I was like ‘holy shit, how do we make insurance interesting?’ But then we got to thinking about what you’d be insuring against, and the idea that you have to wipe away what was there to be able to do something new,” he said. “And who else facilitates the cycle of rebirth more than a mother, right? And Germania is the mother of Germany, and the muse is a kind of abstraction of a divine feminine mother.” Now that the long-gestating project is finally nearing its end, Fisher is excited for the public to get to see the final result. “People should feel the quality … It’s not a lot of places that will make a commitment to be like, okay, I’m going to spend a year painting this fresco on the ceiling on my back like Michelangelo,” he said. “I’m looking forward to having a place that’s quiet, refined and polished. We still want to be inclusive in all forms and all ways … But if you want a spot to go for a nice night out, this is it.”

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ne Cincinnati entrepreneur is making downtown a little more lush. Natasha Williams, founder of the Blk Wine Fest and Lush Life Brands, is using her expertise as the only Black and woman-owned licensed wine distributor in Ohio to create her own tasting room. The Lush Life Tasting Room officially opened for business on Aug. 21 at 917 Vine St. directly across the street from Kroger’s corporate headquarters. “I started Lush Life to make wine approachable and fun, particularly for people of color, but really for anybody,” Williams said. “My goal is to create spaces where everybody feels included and welcomed … it’s not like a Cooper’s Hawk or a wine bar. It is truly an experience. You book a tasting, you come in, we run through the tasting menu, and you get to experience it in this really relaxed but lushy environment.” Williams started her career as a bartender, then transitioned to a 23-year-long career in human resources, noting that she enjoyed working in HR because it “reminded me a lot of being behind the bar, because I get to sit and talk to people and ask questions and get to know them more and more.” But she knew she wanted something bigger, and so she broke into the wine industry in 2018 when she founded Lush Life. Over the past few years, Williams has founded several successful organizations and festivals around the city, like Blk Wine Fest — which celebrates Black-owned wine brands and producers — and the Cincy Rosé Wine Festival, both of which consistently sell out year after year. With this new space, she looks to make the experience she provides at her festivals available year-round. “As Lush Life continues to grow, I wanted to find a new way to highlight the incredible variety of wines in our portfolio,” Williams said. “I was busting

at the seams at my old office space. But then I saw this space, and it … was perfect, it just made sense. I thought about how I could utilize it.” Inside the tasting room, guests can book by-appointment-only, 75-minutelong sessions with the Lush Life team from Thursdays to Sundays. Guests can choose from sweet, white, red or mixed tasting experiences, each led by a wine professional and highlighting brands like IBest, Bed-Vyne, Mom Juice, Don Luchi and more. Tastings will accommodate 20 to 24 guests and feature four to five wines, with charcuterie available for purchase. The mixed tasting session is $45; all others are $35. In the future, Williams plans to expand their selection of tastings even further. “We’ll just be curating different experiences depending on the season. For example, I’m a football girly, so hey, maybe we do like a pop-up pre-tailgate tasting with mimosas and continental bites before you head down to the stadium,” she said. Williams is leasing the space from the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp., or 3CDC, as part of its recent developments at and around Court Street Plaza. “The 3CDC team has always enjoyed working with Natasha on events like the Cincy Rosé Wine Festival, so when we learned that she was looking to open a tasting room, we were eager to help her find the ideal space for bringing her vision to life,” said 3CDC EVP of Civic & Commercial Space Activation Christy Samad in a statement. “We support her mission to highlight Black-owned and diverse wine brands and are excited about the opportunities this will create within the community.” With the opening of the tasting room, Williams hopes to foster a sense of community around wine. “I think the biggest thing is I want people to feel good, but I also want them to feel inspired. I know that sounds cheesy. I want people to walk away and say, like, ‘man, it was just so nice. I have to go back there.’ Or, ‘I have a memory that I’ve created in my brain, and now I want to go back and make more memories,’” she said. “I want them to meet a new group of people, make new friends. I really want that for this space, and it may sound crazy, but I feel like it can happen.” For more information or to reserve a booking, visit the Lush Life Brands website.

MUSIC

City Beats local band highlights By Ethan Bloomfield

elcome back to our new local music highlight section! CityBeat recently launched a weekly video series on social media to show off some of Cincinnati’s music scene in a fun and unique way, and get you, our audience, involved. Below are the most recent features. If you’ve got suggestions for a band you think I should cover, leave a comment on my band highlight video (posted every Wednesday on CityBeat’s Facebook and Instagram pages) or email me at ebloomfield@linknky.com

Lost Henry “Midwest emo” is a label that has often been the subject of hot debate — mention a band like Mineral or The Hotelier (or God forbid, M o d e r n Baseball) in the LOST HENRY PERFORMING wrong room, AT THE OHIO IS FOR LOVERS and you’re in FESTIVAL AT RIVERBEND for it for at least MUSIC CENTER ON SEPT. the next half 9, 2023. PHOTO BY VINCE hour. EVANS Not today. Not here. Lost Henry is an emo band from the Midwest. Simple. … Well, maybe there are a few more relevant details. Lost Henry is an emo band from right here in the greatest city in the Midwest. Nobody in the band is named Henry, but there are evidently two Bens (Eglian on guitar, mandolin and vocals, and Rosenstiel also on guitar). They have a handful of singles, a few EPs and their lone studio album, “Doom Party,” over their eight-year tenure. Their most recent single, “Overgrown” from July, highlights frontman Landis Helwig’s screamo chops as well as the technical guitar work going on from the Bens — maybe sharing a first name helps with intuition. The band has always been versatile, producing sounds closer to pop punk (“Another Memory”), a more theatrical direction (“The Blackwater Rag”) and of course, good ol’ skramz. Even echoes of old-school emotional hardcore show up on tracks like “Love Scene, Take 2,” but these shifts between moods feel natural and legitimate because so much obvious care is put into the thrashing, crashing intensity of every track. The band went on tour for the first time in March 2025 to four cities: Dayton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and a final show in Brooklyn at UNRULY Collective. Locally, you can catch them around familiar venues like the MOTR Pub, Southgate House Revival or The Comet. So the next time you’re at a party

talking about Algernon Cadwallader or Cap’n Jazz’s “Analphabetapolothology” (both real) and someone cred checks your emo knowledge, ask them to name three songs from your new favorite local Midwest emo band, Lost Henry. Okay, don’t actually do that. Use your local band knowledge for good, please. Spread the word kindly. And remember that Midwest emo isn’t a debate; it’s right here in your backyard.

Dead Humor Do you believe in ghosts? Creepy crawlies living in the shadows of the Queen City? After today, you just might. Late some nights at local haunts like MOTR Pub or Northside Yacht Club, the ANTHONY PALMER PERdead have a FORMING AT MADISON tendency to get a LIVE. PHOTO BY TARA little rowdy. Dead TODD Humor, that is. This distinctly retro rock-and-roll act has been funking all over town for the better part of a decade — 2018’s selftitled debut proved that any day could be “Groovesday,” and the band has been trucking around playing energetic rock shows ever since. “So what,” I hear you say, “another funky live act with ‘dead’ in the name? How original.” But dear reader, you misunderstand. These dead aren’t here to jam, although there’s plenty of fancy guitar work to be had across their discography — they want you to dance ’til you die. Dead Humor cut through the jams with a hard rock edge on 2024’s “Dance ‘til You Die,” a full hour of studio tracks that showcase not only frontman Anthony Palmer’s leadership (and German speaking skills, inexplicably), but the connection the whole band shares. On tracks like “Downward Dog,” Tony Dellalio’s guitar takes center stage with huge, chunky riffs that carry the track. Other songs like “Do You Believe in Ghosts?” highlight the bass guitar and drums, easing through without losing momentum. Palmer’s vocals, though, whether subdued or belting over distorted grooves, carries an attitude that keeps it light and fun. But this is the thing about groovy bands: From the Grateful Dead to Rage Against the Machine, they’re live acts first. Not only is it your moral duty to patronize small businesses, but a studio album from a band like Dead Humor is only half the story. This is the truth for every local band, but doubly so now: Go see a show. If you really want to experience local music in the way it was intended, you’ll have to get out in the world. It’s truly the only way to fully experience the connection a band has with their fans and each other.

New downtown production studio announces grand opening Staff Report

ocal production company Villa Create is opening a new downtown Cincinnati production studio in partnership with local audio recording company BlackLite Productions, and is holding a series of grand opening events to celebrate — including one with free professional portraits for all who attend. The new studio (located at 700 W. Pete Rose Way, downtown) will serve as a creative hub for commercial productions, branded content, podcasts, photography, social media campaigns and video production for businesses, entrepreneurs, musicians and creators throughout the Midwest. On Sept. 27, a community open house with free professional portrait sessions will soft-launch the space before the official grand opening on Oct. 1. Villa Create was founded by local creative director Quinn Villarreal, who spent years in New York City as a director, producer and interviewer for SiriusXM, where he directed productions and interviewed some of the world’s biggest artists, including Sabrina Carpenter,

QUINN VILLARREAL, FOUNDER OF VILLA CREATE, NEXT TO JACK HARLOW (LEFT). PHOTO PROVIDED | MARO HAGOPIAN OF SIRIUSXM

Olivia Rodrigo, Def Leppard, Korn, The Roots, Jonas Brothers and more. Now, he’s returning home. “Opening this studio is about investing in Cincinnati’s creative community,” said Villarreal. “After spending years producing content in New York, I wanted to bring that experience back home and build a place where businesses, creators and artists can create world-class content without leaving Cincinnati.” Together, Villa Create and Blacklite Productions aim to provide businesses and creators with professional production services under one roof. Those interested can visit the studio’s open house on Sept. 27 from 5 to 9 p.m. at 700 W. Pete Rose Way.

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