The artistry behind drag and burlesque – the dance, costuming, makeup and heart – have been captured in a new art exhibition by local photographer Bridget Caswell, set to span three Waterloo Road venues. “Contrast Contoured” will take over the Maria Neil Art Project, Space: ROCK gallery and Music Saves gallery spaces Aug. 5 to Oct. 7.

Greater Cleveland was a national leader in the Save our Stages advocacy for independent venues during the pandemic, but it was a chance conversation between friends that led to the first ever National Independent Venue Association conference coming to town this week. More than 450 indie venue owners, show promoters and musicians from around the world will be in Cleveland on July 11 and 12 for the conference, which includes daytime panels and networking, and public evening shows at member venues.

Major Justin Bibb has declared Wednesday, July 6 “Steve Popovich/Cleveland International Records Day.” It’s a day to celebrate the legacy of Popovich, whose work in Cleveland and beyond helped boost the careers of Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Cheap Trick, Miles Davis, Ronnie Spector, Ian Hunter, Meat Loaf and many others.

The National Independent Venue Association comes together for its first national gathering of members from the independent live concert, comedy, promoter, and festival industry with NIVA ‘22. The two-day conference takes place in Cleveland, July 11th & 12th across multiple NIVA member venues and includes the first-ever Independent Awards Formal (Independent AF) at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Get all the details at https://nivassoc.org/conference

The National Independent Venue Association honors Cleveland with three days of live music, education and community building for first annual conference.

This past spring season, plenty of new music arrived in Northeast Ohio’s music scene. Whether you like reggae, blues, heavy metal, punk, pop, emo or hip-hop, there’s a new tune or two that can fit right in on your favorite playlist, and it was created right here in Greater Cleveland.

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) will invite members from around the country to Cleveland for its first-ever conference, set for July 11-12. Hosted at various independent venues in Cleveland, the two days of NIVA ‘22 will feature programming, panels, educational sessions, conversations with industry experts and more, all focused on independent live entertainment.

Michael Stanley’s family honored the Cleveland musician on what would have been his 74th birthday by giving the first group of donations from the new 10,000 Watts of Holy Light Fund.

ListenCLE, a local music organization, has arranged an outdoor busking schedule, Feb. 18-20, to showcase various bands and artists in outdoor spaces during the major event. A few live art performances will also take place, according to a ListenCLE announcement.

The National Independent Venue Association was in full force at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday as the Rock Hall’s leadership paid tribute to the organization for their efforts on behalf of the live events industry during the dark days of COVID-19.