Tom Jenkins's Profile

2020… the never ending nightmare of a year. This year was like watching a beautiful trainwreck that just kept piling up. Off to the side of the tracks, was many of us putting our headphones in and drowning out the world. Lucky for us, 2020 spawned some of the best music in years.

So where does a band go now? One who has essentially free range to try anything at this point in their career? Naturally, an elegant existential exploration into the American psyche and what it means to be an American band.

As we all bunker down for the long haul it looks as though, at least the beginning of our summer concert plans are on hold. All major festivals have either been postponed, rescheduled or canceled and the fate of single concert dates will all be based on whether we can all gather in large groups again this summer.

Coronavirus was not stopping the dedicated fans of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong (PPPP), or the music enthusiasts wanting to see the young phenoms in Goose, Wednesday night at Madison Theater.

If you haven’t seen Greensky Bluegrass live, then you’re missing one of the most talented road acts working right now. From the musicianship to the inventive covers Greensky is a party. 

From bringing out the “Clones” at Madison Square Garden during Phish’s four night run this past New Year’s Eve, to the small stage at the 20^th Century Theater. Mike Gordon in the past month has gone from the world’s largest stage to playing some of the countries smallest venues. 

Phish co-founder and bassist Mike Gordon will stop through Cincinnati’s 20^th Century Theatre in Oakley on his 13 stop solo tour tonight! The accomplished bassist is bringing his funk, jam driven solo act, on the heels of Phish’s most recent New Year’s Eve run at Madison Square Garden. 

In a decade that changed music so much it’s hard to discuss what was the most important music of the past 10 years. From the psychedelic juggernaut Tame Impala taking over the charts, to the affirmation of Kendrick Lamar’s genius, to the return of Outlaw Country, to women like Courtney Barnett, Phoebe Bridgers, and the supergroup boygenius taking over rock music. 

In the three years since we last heard from Chicago indie rock legends Wilco, front man Jeff Tweedy has been on what seems to be a revitalization of his song writing. Releasing his first studio solo album of originals in 2018, the delightful “Warm” that was paired with a memoir Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back), followed by a solo acoustic tour, where Tweedy stopped at Cincinnati Music Hall. For those lucky enough on this past Record Store Day Tweedy released the b-sides from “Warm,” titling it simply “Warmer.”  

To understand the story of Carriers and how the Heartland inspired synth rock group came to be, there were a few factors that played a key role in its conception. First is lead singer and founder Curt Kiser’s faith, that inspired the direction of the album conceptually and it is also deeply rooted in his lyrics. Second is the love of his home Cincinnati and the role it had in creating their debut album “Now Is The Time For Loving Me, Yourself & Everyone Else.” And finally, a few chance meetings at Whole Foods and the Cincinnati Zoo. 

As U.S. Bank began to fill up to the rafters, it was clear that this was one of the more heavily attended shows that the arena has had all year. With the anticipation growing, the curtains dropped abruptly and arose Joseph and drummer Josh Dunn atop a flaming junk yard car, resembling the set of their music video for “Jumpsuit,” off their latest album ‘Trench.

With a Jameson bottle in one hand and a mic in the other Frasco was true to form. Smoking cigarettes and joints from the crowd, Frasco was a man of the people and fed off the crowd. When Frasco came out on stage you could see his genuine surprise, as he was greeted by a packed house of Cincinnati’s dedicated jam base. “I didn’t realize there would be this many people,” said Frasco as he sat down at his keyboard.