Clifton Heights Music Festival

This past Saturday I band-hopped around the Cincinnati neighborhood Clifton Heights at the Clifton Heights Music Festival. Of the 30 or so bands playing at six different venues, I saw about 10 or so acts. It was walking around the neighborhood from venue to venue.

This made year five for the festival. Starting with four venues in one, the festival has grown to quite an ordeal. The intent is to showcase local talent so all bands call the Queen City their home.

The photo to the left here is Shoot Out the Lights, a rock group citing My Morning Jacket and Wilco as influences, amongst others. I then went across the street to Roxx Electrocafe to hear the sounds of Bostic Family Tent Revival. They're a fun and folky four-piece band. During one song, they handed out some small plastic instruments such as the kazoo and had audience members play them. I throughly enjoyed their playful spirit.

This next picture here is of the Playfully Yours, an experimental electronic group. They were a lot of fun to watch. I also got to check out at least some of State Song and Incline District's sets.

I ended the evening at Rohs Street Cafe listening to the sounds of Merely the Mocs. Now I had seen them once before at the Midpoint Music Festival a few weeks back and just fell in love with their sound, lyrics, etc. So I was definitely excited to catch them before I headed home for the evening. They have such a fun way of blending the violin into their sounds. While six people may seem like a lot to some, each person seems to equally add something to the blend. They have new album coming out shortly entitled "A Cynics Prayer" and I'm excited to listen to it :)

Overall, the festival was a good mixture of genres. It's good to be a Cincinnatian.