Cover Image: B.B. Palmer and Sammie Saxon- Image by Charley Windham By Monica Jones On May 9, Rose Hill Heights Park will be a little louder, a little brighter, a little stranger—in the best way. The second annual Crossroads Folk Art Festival isn’t designed to be explained. It’s designed to be experienced—where people aren’t just viewing art, but becoming part of it. Whether you show up knowing exactly what folk art is or whether you…
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By Monica Jones There are plenty of ways to throw a music festival, and Columbus is about to try one of the most charming. On Saturday, May 2, Uptown Columbus will debut the inaugural Columbus Porchfest, a day-long, free, family-friendly music festival that turns the Historic District into a walkable celebration of live music, neighborhood pride, and community connection. From noon to 6 p.m., front porches along Broadway and throughout the district will become stages…
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Ahead of the band’s May 3 stop at RiverCenter, bassist Tad Kinchla talks groove, road miles, brotherhood, and why Blues Traveler still hits. Cover Image: left → right:Chan Kinchla – Tad Kinchla – Brendan Hill – John Popper – Ben Wilson. Credit: TMC By Monica Jones Blues Traveler didn’t come and go. They stuck. Their songs are tattooed into the collective brain of America — the kind you don’t realize you remember until they’re already…
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Neal Lucas returns to Talbotton for an intimate full-band performance inside one of the region’s most remarkable historic spaces. By Monica Jones On Saturday, April 18 at 6 p.m., songwriter Neal Lucas will take the stage inside Historic Zion Church in Talbotton, Georgia for an evening that feels less like a typical concert and more like the start of something powerful and new. For Lucas, the night carries a personal significance. “Getting to play in…
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Still Boxing By Monica Jones Some people slow down at 88. Jerry Farber books another show. “I’m still in the ring,” he said. “It’s late rounds, but I’m still boxing.” He was in Atlanta for a run of shows when we spoke — quick, warm, already moving — still stacking gigs like it’s a competitive sport. That’s Jerry. When I asked him how he’s still doing it, he didn’t go for the easy line. No…
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By Monica Jones You don’t have to know much about art to recognize when something is worth your time. You feel it when a room slows you down. When the work asks you to stand still. When beauty, history, and craft meet you without explanation and quietly say, stay with this. That’s what happens inside We Are the Drum and the Scribe, now on view at the Bo Bartlett Center. Drawn from the Black Art…
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Baddie, Spelled with a V By Monica Jones Some people leave Columbus and never look back. Most of us are not those people. Most of us are boomerangs – we go, we grow, we test ourselves somewhere bigger, louder, faster. Then, one day, we circle back to the place that built us. Not because we failed, but because we finally know what we’re building, and we want to build it here. That’s the energy behind…
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A Night Out with Riverdance By Monica Jones There are moments when we don’t need another obligation, another errand, or another item on the calendar. What we need instead is to step outside of our routine and into something that reminds us why we love being here at all. On February 10, Riverdance will arrive at RiverCenter with exactly that kind of invitation. For some, the name Riverdance brings up a set of familiar images:…
Read MoreThe Astrological Alchemy on 6th Street By Monica Jones The Vibe on 6th is a quantum leap for Columbus culture, forged in the fires of entrepreneurial necessity and guided by the lunar glow of the Full Moon Market. It’s a story the city needs right now—three titans of local hustle, each a veteran in the high-stakes game of keeping things interesting, finally joining forces to create a space so undeniably cool, it’s practically vibrating. Forget…
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Jerry Farber Lights Up Thanksgiving Eve By Monica Jones There are certain people in this world who don’t just walk into a room — they slide in like a spark on dry tinder and suddenly everyone’s ten degrees warmer. Jerry Farber is one of those people. If you’ve ever seen him onstage, in a coffee shop, in a Kroger aisle, or in the middle of a heartfelt ramble that somehow ends in a joke about…
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