Live music is a thing again! Last Friday, I saw a concert featuring national acts for the first time since… forever ago. And what a way to get back into the swing of things – the Aaron Lee Tasjan/S.G. Goodman gig in Hamilton was out-freakin-standing!

The concert organizers wisely decided to move the show under cover – it rained buckets a few times – but the precipitation didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd or the performers. S.G. Goodman is the real deal. Her debut album is soooo good. But don’t take it from me, take it from list member Michael “Rico” Carrico:

And Aaron Lee Tasjan was a delight too… amazingly talented and an engaging performer.

Here’s a brief snippet of Aaron Lee playing keyboards:

Before the show, we had a pregame beverage (OK maybe two…) at Municipal Brew Works, where The Todds were able to join forces.

I know I made fun of Hamil-tucky last week, but I’ve done a 180… downtown Hamilton has got it going on (and by “it” I mean urban renewal).

In fact, I’ll be back in Hamilton again this Friday with list member John Sandman for the Arlo McKinley/Morgan Wade show… and the weather gods will allow this one to be at the RiversEdge outdoor amphitheater.

Check out more tunes from both artists here. General admission is free… and the first pre-show beer is on me at Municipal Brew Works. C’mon show Hamilton some love.

Other shows of note in the upcoming weeks:

• Ben Levin plays Wiedemann’s taproom this Saturday (plus a few other gigs – check his list here.)
• The Reverend Horton Heat & the Hackensaw Boys play Southgate this Sunday
• Foo Fighters open the new Icon venue in downtown Cincinnati. (Didn’t get tickets in the 12 minutes before the show sold out? Me too – let’s meet at Smale Park and listen for free.)
• Paul Thorn with opener Scott Miller at Memorial Hall on Thursday, July 29th… that same evening, Whiskey Myers & The Steel Woods have a sold-out show at Taft and Buffalo Wabs & the Price Hill Hustle play a free show at Washington Park.
• The Smithereens play Ludlow Garage on Friday, July 30th, with special guest vocalist Marshall Crenshaw.
• Local faves This Pine Box play Big Ash Brewing, also on Friday 7/30.
• Steve Earle is at the old Annie’s on Saturday, July 31st.
• The Black Crowes play Riverbend on Tuesday, August 3rd, as part of the Make Your Money, Robinson Brothers Shake Your Moneymaker Tour
• On Wednesday, August 4th, Emmylou Harris and Los Lobos play a co-headlining date at PNC Pavilion. Talk about two American treasures — you’d be hard-pressed to find more talent on one stage than Emmylou and “just another band from East L.A.” And that show has some Arby’s “We have the Seats” cheap seats in the upper corners for a mere $24… As always, we remind you to purchase Riverbend, PNC and Taft show tickets at the Taft or Riverbend box office to save on the ridiculous TicketBastard fees.

I’m bummed that I’ll be out of town for a lot of the shows listed above – but don’t feel too bad for me, as I’ll be seeing Tedeschi-Trucks at Red Rocks on Friday, 7/30… AND Jason Isbell with Lucinda Williams at Red Rocks on Sunday, August 1st. I love Jason and Lu… and have always wanted to see a show at Red Rocks. Bucket list, checked!

Speaking of Mr. Isbell, this tweet about his wife mishearing Springsteen lyrics cracked me up:

So curb your Ted Lasso binge, get off the couch, brush off that Cheeto dust and go see some live music. Hurry, before the anti-vaxxers ruin it for all of us.