Minkin's Music: Your 2018 concert list

By Jay Minkin

The New Year offers up a list that’s chock full of singer/songwriters heading to a Northeast Ohio watering hole near you. One of the most intimate sit-down venues is Music Box Supper Club, located on the west bank of The Flats in downtown Cleveland.

National touring artists booked include Los Lobos (1/24), Aimee Mann (1/28), JD Souther (2/15), Rodney Crowell (4/14), and two nights of Indigo Girls (4/23-24). Besides a spectacular view of the city skyline, Music Box offers table service and a full menu to make for an all-inclusive evening.

Traveling troubadours have also found a home at the historic G.A.R. Hall in Peninsula, which hosts the “Voices In The Valley” concert series. Upcoming guests include Dar Williams (1/20), Griffin House (2/09), Julian Lage (3/13), and Kim Richey (4/21). The 167-year-old structure, which seats roughly 125 patrons, has adult beverages along with chef/photographer Ron Ramos making pizza and desserts in the basement.

Worth the drive is The Kent Stage, an old movie theatre turned concert venue that seats about 750. Noteworthy artists include Texas Troubadours/Ruthie Foster (3/04), The Zombies (3/24), Karla Bonoff (4/06), and Asleep at the Wheel (4/15). If you haven’t seen the renaissance of downtown Kent, which sits along the gateway to campus, allow yourself some time to walk around and scope out old haunts and new businesses.

There is literally something every night at The Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, Cleveland’s premier music space in the Waterloo Arts District. A small sample of eclectic artists include Noah Gunderson (2/2), Samantha Fish (2/6), They Might Be Giants (2/11), Valerie June (2/23), Nora Jane Struthers (2/24), and Deer Tick (2/27).

Thanks for following Minkin's Music for the past 11 years inside the pages of Mimi Magazine.

Contact Jay at Blues4Bird@aol.com or post on his Minkin’s Music Facebook page.