Shows to know

Ah, love. And madness. They go hand in hand. At the Mad Love festival, you will learn to embrace it. Created to cater to people interested in the art, music and culture that has exploded in Cincinnati, the event will host national and regional music acts on two stages, covering a wide variety of genres such as electronic, indie rock, trip-hop and more. That’s just the music part. There’s more—wrestlers, circus performers, a giant photobooth, comedians, artwork and, of course, beer. Some acts scheduled to perform include Twenty One Pilots, Chip tha Ripper, iPhonic, the Kickaways, the Skeetones, DJ Deepfro, the Lions Rampant and tons more. It’s Memorial Day weekend, so you have an extra day to catch up on sleep. No excuses!

Talk about the perfect date night, gentlemen. Take your ladies out for a dinner and some drinks, then woo her to the tunes of the elegantly sexy gypsy jazz band, the Faux Frenchmen. The four-piece band consists of accomplished musicians who have been in other notable current and past Cincinnati musical outfits (the Bluebirds, Warsaw Falcons, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), and their Americanized version of traditional jazz infused with European popular and classical music will transport you to another time, another era. You’ll be full of nostalgia that you didn’t even know you were able to possess.

If you like to avoid bars and loud, rambunctious crowds, but you still love local original music, boy do I have a show for you to check out. Acarya (earthy/tribal rock) is releasing its EP, “Hiding Face” at Willis Music Florence on Saturday, before the band embarks on a two-week tour that will take it through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. If you attend, the admission price will get you a live performance from the band, a signed album and a Q&A session with the members. Oh, and let’s not forget that you’ll be in a music store, so you’ll probably want to shell out some cash for those extra guitar strings or music lessons. It’s almost summer. What else are you going to do with your time?

This is one of the coolest music events I’ve seen listed in a while. Mr. Cincinnati, also known as Jim Tarbell, is a notable presence in the music community. A former Cincinnati councilman, vice mayor and restaurant owner (Arnold’s and Grammer’s, to name a few), Charismatic and super knowledgeable about interesting tidbits in Cincinnati history, Tarbell has seen our community at its most vibrant and at its most volatile. In this three-session series, he’ll be talking and answering questions about the city’s musical past, looking at the history of the music scenes in relation to three geographic areas. There will be a guest co-host and musical performance for each Sunday episode.