Tunes & Blooms

Free concerts every Thursday in April from 6 - 8:30pm!

Rain or Shine!

See a collection of  Cincinnati's finest and most respected music veterans playing together in the Zoo's beautiful gardens, for FREE! Why tip-toe through the tulips when you can rock the garden?

Admission is free after 5pm. Parking is $8.00

 

2012 Tunes & Blooms Lineup

April 5
The Newbees

From Cincinnati, Ohio, THE NEWBEES began their songwriting partnership in May 2004. They developed an immediate connection through their love of harmony, upbeat melodies, and shared retro influences.

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Describing their unique sound, CityBeat's Mike Breen wrote "the band's pop songs are especially impressive recalling The Beatles and early ELO in the best way possible." The addition of a live string quartet has further enhanced The Newbees sound and live experience.

Since their debut, The Newbees have played regularly at venues and festivals including The Motor City Music Conference, The Midwest Entertainment Industry Conference, Taste of Cincinnati, and the Midpoint Music Festival. They have appeared on radio stations throughout the country including local favorites WNKU 89.7 and WAIF 88.3. They have also been featured in various e-zines, magazines and newspapers including Performing Songwriter Magazine, CityBeat and CinWeekly.

The Seedy Seeds

With a completely original sound and presentation, including banjo, accordion and toy keyboard beats, The Seedy Seeds create melodic, danceable music that is equally at home alongside pop punk, alt-country, and lo-fi.

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Since forming in late 2005, the band has maintained constant momentum and won audiences over with their infectious harmonies, outstanding live shows and unforgettable pop hooks.

 

April 12
Comet Bluegrass All Stars

The Comet Bluegrass All-Stars (CBAS) were assembled in 1996 as the Sunday night house band at The Comet a neighborhood pub in Northside, Cincinnati.

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Since that time the popularity of the band has grown beyond the lounge at The Comet, opening for such national acts as Sam Bush, Blue Highway, Del McCoury and Ricky Skaggs.  The CBAS won the Cincinnati Enquirer Cammy Award in 2000, 2001 and 2002 for “Best Bluegrass/Folk Band” as well as CityBeat’s Cincinnati Entertainment Awards in 2001, 2002 and 2004 for “Best Bluegrass/Folk Band.”

Magnolia Mountain

Anchored by an acoustic musical core and gorgeous 2-, 3-, and 4-part close harmony vocals, Magnolia Mountain will appeal to fans of roots music, old and new. Drawing from the deep well of American music, Magnolia Mountain takes different genres, finds the common thread within, and translates them into their own original songs

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that both pay tribute to the past and carve out their own place in today’s musical landscape.  Magnolia Mountain has been nominated for four Cincinnati Entertainment Awards in 2010 (Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Folk/Americana act, and Best Singer/Songwriter [Mark Utley]). The band was previously nominated for a Cincinnati Entertainment Award in the Folk/Americana category in 2008 and 2009, in addition to performing at the 2009 CEA awards ceremony.
 

April 19

Photo by Kurt Strecker

 

Shiny and the Spoon

Shiny and the Spoon portray the intimacy of Johnny Cash and June Carter, with head-turning vocals and a vibrant acoustic core, complimented by sprinklings of ukulele, guitar, harmonica, and good old-fashioned boot-stompin’. 

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Their debut and home-recorded EP earned nods from Cincinnati publications such as CityBeat and the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, as well as the renowned UK webzine “Americana UK” who called it “an accomplished debut that does exactly what an EP should, makes you want more of the same.”   After launching their first full-length album "Ferris Wheel" to a packed house, the group continues to garner attention and fans with their genuine demeanor and honest and simple sound.

The Tillers

The Tillers got their start in August 2007 when the Cincinnati friends began thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city’s famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton.

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The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents.  The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs.  The Tillers have since won over Cincinnati’s bar and festival scene, and launching tours with tireless momentum. They were awarded CityBeat Magazine’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Folk and Americana act in 2009. Their relentless gigging has taken them throughout the east coast, the Midwest, and the Appalachian south. In the summer of 2009, veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw featured the Tillers on a documentary about US Route 50. Brokaw showcased the group’s song “There is Road (Route 50)” as a testimony to the highway’s role as a connective tissue of the nation.

 
April 26
The Turkeys

The Turkeys are a Folk-Rock band from Covington, KY featuring Simon & Garfunkelesque harmonies. Expect hints of Country, humorous Indie Rock and much more.

 

 
 
Jake Speed & the Freddies

For the past eight years, Jake Speed has hitchhiked down Cincinnati's American folk, bluegrass, and ragtime music highway with his award-winning band, The Freddies. Their traditional and original songs

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leap right out of Depression-era freight trains and right into Ohio River steamboats. Their near-vaudeville style stage shows and quick-witted charisma rope in loyal fans of new and old generations alike.

 

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