The American Sign Museum will present Signs & Songs, an Americana Music Series, on June 17, July 8, and August 11. The series will spotlight three separate nights of live music by some of the Queen City’s top musicians. Cincinnati folk troubadour Jake Speed will kick off the series, and then host the next two concerts. Each band will illuminate a distinct genre of Americana music (i.e. folk-blues, New Orleans jazz, bluegrass) while audiences sip suds and soak in the signs of America’s bright past.
The Queen City’s vibrant musical history will come alive as Speed, a five-time winner of Cincinnati’s Best Folk/Americana Musician, explains each band’s connection to some of the city’s many musical legacies (King Records, Herzog Studios, The Midwestern Hayride), which helped launch the likes of Hank Williams, Flatt & Scruggs, and James Brown.
Included in the admission price is one drink ticket (a selection of beer, wine and soda), and free parking. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. for museum touring; the concert will start promptly at 7:00PM and wrap up by 9:00PM.
Tickets can be purchased in advance by going to americansignmuseum.org.
Advanced ticket purchases are $10. Any remaining will be sold for $15 the day of the show. Seating is general admission.
SATURDAY, juNE 17, 2017: Jake Speed and the Freddies
Jake Speed and the Freddies play a mix of traditional and original folk, country blues, and ragtime tunes that muse on Cincinnati’s unique past and present. Known as the Woody Guthrie of Cincinnati, Jake Speed uses a traditional folksy delivery to compose timely and timeless songs that tell great stories with a bit of a lyrical edge.
SATURDAY, juLY 8, 2017: The Hot Magnolias
The Hot Magnolias are a Cincinnati-based, New Orleans-style party band that features music ranging from 1920s traditional jazz favorites to 1970s funky dance songs. The Hot Magnolias’ talented eight-member group includes vocals, drums, bass, banjo, electric guitar, keyboards, saxophones, trombone, and trumpet.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017: The Northern Kentucky Bluegrass Band
Continuing in the shadows of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and The Stanley Brothers, The Northern Kentucky Bluegrass Band features lightning-fast fingers and three-part harmonies while showcasing a combination of traditional and original Bluegrass tunes. These boys will put a smile on your face and keep your toes tapping until the banjo can roll no more!
About The American Sign Museum
Signage reflects the history, technology, commerce, and culture of our communities. To tell the stories of signs and the sign industry, Tod Swormstedt, former editor and publisher of Signs of the Times magazine, founded the National Signs of the Times Museum in 1999 as his self- proclaimed mid-life crisis project. With a mission to “inform and educate the general public, as well as business and special interest groups, about the history of the sign industry and its significant contribution to commerce and the American landscape,” the Museum is organized to preserve, archive and display a historical collection of signs in their many types and forms. It documents and surveys the products and equipment utilized in the design and manufacture of signs, and offers biographical information of the people who made and comprise the industry.
The renamed American Sign Museum (ASM) opened its doors in a temporary home in Spring, 2005. Soon ASM needed a permanent home to accommodate the Museum’s collection that was already outgrowing its rented space and Tod’s vision for a more interactive experience. The doors of ASM's permanent home opened on June 23, 2012, in a former parachute factory that features 19,000+ square feet of exhibit space (with another 20,000 waiting for development), 28-foot ceilings able to accommodate the collection of large signs, a working neon shop, flexible event space, and an extensive archive of books, photos, and documents that reflect the art, craft, and history of sign-making. For more information on the American Sign Museum, please visit www.americansignmuseum.org.
The American Sign Museum is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit corporation.
