MPMF.10

We had joy, we had fun. We had some frustration, too.

Such has been the way of the MidPoint Music Festival since its origins in 2002. But, in the end, MPMF’s 2010 edition proved to be the most successful yet, drawing thousands of music lovers to downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Newport over the course of three days (Sept. 23-25).

What’s in the water over yonder in Covington that makes the Roots music a little rootsier, the Bluegrass a little bluer and the Folk a little more folked up? Frontier Folk Nebraska is just another fantastic example of a Northern Kentucky band…

Calling Mack West a “Country band” can be misleading, at least if you subscribe to the contemporary commercial definition. Mack West sounds nothing like Sugarland or Kenny Chesney. While certainly possessing roots in more traditional Country, the band also isn’t your run-of-the-mill Johnny…

This NYC (by way of San Diego) duo’s crafty three-song debut EP, self released earlier this year, is stripped down and atmospheric, no doubt influenced by singer Madeline Follin and instrumentalist Brian Oblivion’s twin love of cinema (they’re both film students). Follin’s fragile, childlike…

Named one of Paste Magazine's "Best of What's Next" artists, Tristen Gaspadarek and Co. (going by simply Tristen) have been earning accolades for their bright and orchestrated sounding EP Deceivers Are Achievers. The band includes elements of indie rock and country filled out with…

Life is not neat. Take band, Say it with a Smile. Part pop, folk, alternative, indie, even blues, this set up is anything but straight forward. But married song-writers Jaron and Katherine Kamin love to exploit boundaries. He grew up…

Signs that you're at a good Kyle Sowashes show: 1) The namesake/guitarist and vocalist is moving so vigorously that his drooping glasses are about to fall off; 2) He sings a heartfelt track with lyrics about spilling beer and Mountain Dew over…

With a well-balanced sense of Pop and a powerful voice that surfs the range between gruff and falsetto, Derek Ryan provides a fascinating presence at the front of the stage while the other four members of Channel Theory weave a melodically supple yet…

"...Imagine the prize musicians from six adjacent counties' high school orchestras growing up and coalescing to form a pop band inspired by Queen, Kraftwerk, and Nick Drake... each song is a barrage of hooks and nuanced performances...
[Canasta's] value to the pop music…