A prominent figure on the local music scene for years, rapper Shawn Poe, aka Karate P, begins each day by working out of his garage, a space he’s turned into a streaming center and videography station to help promote local artists. “We noticed that the No. 1 kind of artist in the industry is the broke artist,” says Poe, who owns the media company Kartel Media Korp, one morning via phone from his modified garage. Shawn Poe performs on Thursday at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights as part of a hip-hop showcase dubbed Live at the Montreaux ..read more

For some bands, having a monster hit song becomes an albatross around their necks that they just can’t shake. That's not the case with Better Than Ezra. When “Good,” a song with nasally vocals that alternates between loud and quiet moments like so many of those '90s alt-rock hits (think Gin Blossoms or Toad the Wet Sprocket), became a smash in 1993, singer-guitarist Kevin Griffin embraced it ..read more

Jonathan Hay, a musician and producer based in New York, has re-recorded "I Need a Freak,” a tune that was a hit for Cleveland’s Lynn Tolliver in 1983. “Over the last several years, I would frequently hear Tolliver's version playing in house music parties and clubs in both Brooklyn and Manhattan,” says Hayes in an email. “It's been an honor to create a new rendition of ‘I Need a Freak’ to add on to its legacy ..read more

TUE 04/30 The Struts Known for his Freddie Mercury-style moves and onstage bravado, frontman Luke Spiller brings his glam rock band the Struts to House of Blues tonight. The current tour supports last year's Pretty Vicious, an album that features Aerosmith-inspired rockers such as "Too Good at Raising Hell" and modern pop songs such as the title track ..read more

THU 04/25 Angela Perley Singer-guitarist Angela Perley, who put together the terrific alt-country act Angela Perley & the Howlin’ Moons in 2009, has since just performed as Angela Perley as the lineup of her backing band has changed. She shares tonight's bill at the Beachland Tavern with Handsome Jack ..read more

MIKE is an artist’s artist. In a musical climate where the question “Is hip hop dead?” continues to dominate the narrative, MIKE answers with ease: hip hop is alive and well and isn’t going anywhere…at least not on his watch ..read more

If there’s one thing Canadian band Alvvays is, it’s consistent. Both on record and at its concerts, as evidenced Thursday by its show at the Agora, the band never strays far from its washed out, poppy, dreamy indie rock sound ..read more

Just released today, “Social Light,” the new single from the forthcoming EP by locally based singer-songwriter Kramies, represents his first bit of new music since his 2022 album, Kramies, which featured contributions from members of the Black Keys, Band of Horses and Grandaddy. For the forthcoming EP, Kramies worked with Grammy-winning producer Mario J. McNulty (David Bowie, Prince, Willow Smith). “'Social Light' has all of the hallmarks that position his singular sound in a realm of its own," reads a press release ..read more

In the '70s and '80s, the Cleveland-based band Fayrewether was one of the city's more popular acts, and the group became known for its renditions of songs by Genesis, Jethro Tull and Alex Harvey as well as its own original material. At the height of the band’s popularity, it reportedly filled rooms all over the region and played in Ohio, New York, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Fayrewether celebrates its 50th anniversary with a concert that takes place on Friday at House of Blues ..read more

Since moving from his native Cuba to Canada in 1999, singer-songwriter Alex Cuba has accumulated a number of significant awards and built his musical resume with guest appearances and production credits. He just won his first Grammy, and that award follows four Latin Grammys and two Canadian JUNO Awards. The songwriter behind half of the Spanish language album by Canada's Nelly Furtado, Cuba also recently paid tribute to Carlos Santana at the 24th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards alongside the Black Pumas and Juanes and has collaborated with Latin artists such as Pablo Milanés, Lila Downs, Leo ..read more