This past Thursday I went and saw Ohio local Oliver Hazard perform a show at Beachland Ballroom with Mt. Joy. The Cleveland venue was pretty full and the audience was thoroughly engaged. Headliners Mt. Joy have some good songs on their new album "Mt. Joy". However, I thought that the sounds on the album did not translate to a live performance as well as I would have hoped. Their stage presence seemed somewhat stagnant to me, almost like they were just going through the motions for yet another show. That did not stop the near capacity crowd from singing along to all of their songs. My personal favorite songs of their performance were their single "Sheep" and a cover of "Ain't no Sunshine

Koji Matsumoto’s music can be described in one word: catchy. Even just hearing a Koji Matsumoto song once can leave you with his vocals and melodies stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Thanks to his jubilant personality and music Koji has been winning over the hearts of listeners for years. Koji enjoys writing and recording songs and often performs them at open mics around the Cleveland, Ohio area. Koji is more than just a musician. Born in Osaka, Japan Koji first moved to the United States when he was seventeen. After years of being one of the best sushi chefs in Seattle, Washington Koji made his way to Cleveland, Ohio. Koji enjoyed his work as a chef, but his true passions ha

Cleveland natives Cloud Nothings have announced a new album set to be released October 19th 2018. Their second album in as many years “Last Building Burning” follows up their indie pop effort “Life Without Sound” (2017) with a change of pace. Fans of the Cloud Nothings’ early days will be relieved to hear the albums debut single “Echo of the World”. The song revives the loud distorted guitar jams, drum fills, and screams that Cloud Nothings fans have grown to love. “Last Building Burning” will be supported by a massive thirty-one date U.S. tour in addition to promises of international dates to be announced in the coming months. For fans in Ohio the most accessible dates are: 11/16 – Col

Pop folk group Oliver Hazard has an unconventional success story. With only a couple dozen performances this band has accumulated millions of streams on Spotify for their debut LP 34 N. River. The band recently performed at Bonnaroo 2018 and is continuing to ride their success with a tour across the state of Ohio. Oliver Hazard is a folk trio from Waterville, OH made up of Mike Belazis, Devin East, and Griffin McCulloch. The group are old high school friends that reunited and started making music together. Belazis lives in San Francisco part time, but the group has not let that stop them from pushing forward. It is not unusual for them to jam or write songs over the phone. Oliver Hazar

It is hard to imagine what the Toledo music scene would be like without Citizen. So many bands and young musicians in the area have been influenced and inspired by Citizen. If you don't believe me try going to a Citizen show in Toledo - the last one sold out in ten hours! Their story is one of hard work, heavy touring, networking, and being in the right place at the right time. I was fortunate enough to sit down with front man and singer Mat Kerekes earlier this summer to talk about his musical journey. Kerekes, in addition to being a member of Citizen also has a successful solo career. His debut album Luna & The Wild Blue Everything came out earlier this year and has already accumulat