How does a novel change when it is adapted for the screen? What are the merits of each medium? Visible Voice Books invites you to the next meeting of our new Movie vs. Book Club, where we’ll discuss these very questions.

Join your host, Isaac in discussing “Eileen” by Ottessa Moshfegh, and its 2023 film adaptation, a psychological thriller directed by William Oldroyd. We encourage you to purchase the novel from us and watch the movie before the meeting (available for streaming on various platforms).

Next book for upcoming meeting, September 2, “Die My Love” by Ariana Harwicz. October will be reading Hellraiser (originally released in book form as “The Hellbound Heart”) by Clive Barker.

This is a free event; all are welcome.

Cleveland Rocks Past Present & Future presents...

The Hunt For Harmonies: How to Find Your Line
Guest Speakers: Meganne Stepka and Kate Hart of Moon Echo Garden

Free Workshop plus 2x4 Songwriter Showcase (4 artists, 2 songs each)

Do you want to sing harmony, but aren’t sure where to start? Join us for a practical workshop on how to find harmony parts to any song. We’ll cover a few simple strategies, and practice them together- you’ll be finding your own parts before you know it!

https://clevelandrocksppf.org/event/workshop-and-2x4-showcase-the-hunt-for-harmonies/

RSVP Link: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/workshop-and-2x4-the-hunt-for-harmonies-how-to-find-your-line

Ohio native Hannah Rodabaugh is a poet, essayist, and educator who lives in Boise, Idaho. She is the author of four poetry collections including Lost Cathedral (Cornerstone Press), and We Don’t Bury Our Dead When Our Dead Are Animals (Another New Calligraphy), a Pushcart-nominated collection of ecological elegies. She has served as a writer-in-residence for the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. When not writing, she teaches at Boise State University, the College of Western Idaho, and The Cabin, Idaho’s only literary center. She is a plant nerd who loves to hear about other people’s plant obsessions.

What do we lose when ecosystems are degraded through human use and misuse? How do we process the damage, both environmentally and culturally? How should we feel about individuals who participated in extinction events but did not know that they were extinction events? How should we feel about the ways that we may be equally culpable? In her stunning study of the American wilderness and the emotional aspects of extinction, Hannah Rodabaugh, in Lost Cathedral crafts a moving elegy to what we've lost, and where we go from here.

Sonia Feldman is the author of the debut novel Girl's Girl, a national bestseller and a New York Times Editors' Choice book. She won the PEN America PEN/Dau Prize for Emerging Writers and was a Literary Cleveland Breakthrough Writing Resident. She writes fiction, poetry and the popular email newsletter Sonia's Poem of the Week. She lives in Cleveland. 

Girl's Girl is a sapphic coming-of-age novel about a trio of teenage girls whose complicated friendship becomes more complicated when two of them begin a romantic relationship and decline to tell the third. A nostalgic summer novel set in the suburbs of Northeastern Ohio, Girl's Girl is about how loving one person changes the way we love everyone else—including ourselves. 

Sacred Pulse is led by Liam Smith and Dr. Will.  The sacred pulse was a gift to the universe, bringing harmony and balance to those who embraced it. It traveled through the cosmos, touching countless lives. For some, it was a call to introspection, a chance to reflect on their journeys and find solace in the knowledge that they were not alone. For others, it was a source of creativity and inspiration, igniting the fires of innovation and change.

The most profound impact of the sacred pulse was its ability to heal. It resonated with the broken and the lost, offering a path to wholeness and understanding. The pulse reminded us that even in adversity, there is beauty and strength in unity. It taught that the world's fractures could be mended not through force, but through the gentle power of music.
 
Liam Smith has worked extensively in the worlds of contemporary music, as well as in folkloric and orchestral percussion, and is an in-demand dance accompanist who has appeared with a diverse collection of artists ranging from Gil Shaham, to Esperanza Spalding, to the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, to Weezer. He has performed throughout Europe and South America, and has premiered and recorded works by James Wood, Vijay Ayer, and Elizabeth Ogonek. Liam regularly performs around the Cleveland area with ensembles such as The Urban Smith Project, The Slow Motion Collective, Les Délices, Da Land Brass Band, The Cleveland Chamber Collective, City Music Cleveland, Moises Borges, The Firelands Symphony Orchestra, and The Lakeside Symphony. 

Dr. Will is a dynamic multi-instrumentalist, healing artist, and cultural innovator whose work lives at the powerful intersection of music, wellness, and community. His musical journey includes performing as a member of the internationally acclaimed Mourning [A] BLKstar and sharing the stage with The Temptations featuring Nate Evans, experiences that reflect both his range and his remarkable artistry.

With mastery across more than ten instruments and a performance history spanning brass music in all genres, his sound moves fluidly through classical, jazz, R&B, contemporary improvisation, and beyond. As the leader of Da Land Brass Band, he brings bold energy, technical excellence, and a deep love for collective sound to every stage he touches. As a current member of Sacred Pulse, Dr. Will helps craft immersive healing experiences through guided meditation, atmospheric events, and restorative frequencies across the city of Cleveland.  
https://www.healallways.org/sacred-pulse 
https://www.facebook.com/washingtonwellnessinstitute 
https://www.instagram.com/sacredpulse_/ 
 

Country Honk is a four-piece honky tonk band proudly rooted in Cleveland, Ohio, blending classic country tradition with the raw energy of rock ’n’ roll. Known for their dynamic live shows and sharp songwriting, the band draws inspiration from legends like Hank Williams, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson, while channeling the spirit of the country rock movement of the ’60s and ’70s.

With a mix of heartfelt originals and deep-cut covers, Country Honk has built a loyal following across the Midwest and beyond, and is now hitting the road for national festival appearances, including an official showcase at AmericanaFest in Nashville. Whether it’s a late-night dive bar or a sunlit festival stage, their sets are packed with twang, grit, and soul, connecting with audiences of all ages.

At the heart of it all is a deep love for the music and a no-nonsense commitment to the craft. Country Honk may be going national, but Cleveland will always be home.

https://www.facebook.com/106825328145277 

https://www.instagram.com/countryhonkmusicohio 

https://countryhonkmusic.com/ 

KID TIGRRR is the solo project of singer-songwriter and visual artist Jenna Fournier, best known as the frontwoman of the shoegaze hybrid Niights.  After two studio albums and four tours in Japan, Fournier parted ways with her record label to explore audio engineering and home recording/production. Her debut album, Stoned + Animald, is an ethereal blend of art-rock, melancholy indie, & bedroom dream-pop, painting lush atmospheres around her most intimate writing to date.  The LP was released on vinyl through Martha’s Music. Fournier can also be heard on The Smashing Pumpkins' latest album, Aghori Mhori Mei, where she contributes background harmonies, and joined on as a touring bassist with Billy Corgan and the Machines of God
 
https://kidtigrrr.com/bio
https://www.instagram.com/kid.tigrrr
https://www.youtube.com/@kid.tigrrr
https://open.spotify.com/user/kid.tigrrr

If the name Alex Bevan means anything to you.. It probably begins with the song “Skinny”… the 1976 Summer Anthem that filled the airwaves of radio station WMMS and brought the Cleveland folksinger’s career into sharp focus “back in the day”. 
Perhaps too, it might conjure the melody of “The Grand River Lullaby”,  Hearkening back to lost years of innocence and first love in a simpler and more romantic time… a time when the Woodstock Generation found it’s rhythm in the album-oriented rock-infused soundtracks still echoing in the rivulets and streams of Spotify and novel music delivery systems. 
 
Alex Bevan has been picking up his guitar and going to perform for audiences for over fifty years… singing primarily songs of his own crafting and supported mostly by his deft guitar picking and agile improvisational wit…. In short… he is a troubadour of the journeyman class who brings a fresh perspective and unabashed enthusiasm for storytelling to each and every member of the audience he interacts with. 
 
A truly analog entertainer for a digital time! 

https://alexbevan.com/home 

https://www.facebook.com/alex.bevan.73/ 

Jason Burchaski is the founder of the Northeast Ohio Vinyl Club and the selector behind DJ Grandbag, dedicated to keeping the analog heartbeat of physical media alive. Through his TikTok channel @lifehassurfacenoise, he connects with a massive community of music lovers by spinning forgotten classics and sharing the unfiltered, authentic stories behind the records that shaped a generation.

​Released in 1994, Monster was a sharp, intentional left turn. It was the record where the band traded their signature acoustic mandolins and jangle-pop for a wall of thick, fuzzy distortion, tremolo pedals, and a glam-rock attitude. It’s loud, it’s strange, and it completely redefined what a stadium rock band could sound like.

“Drop the Needle,” a unique community listening experience that celebrates the art and history of vinyl records. Each session features a guest expert who delves into the story behind a chosen artist and their iconic album. The expert will guide us through the artist’s career, creative process, production techniques, and the cultural context surrounding the recording of the featured album. After the discussion, we “drop the needle” and listen together to Side A and Side B of the album in its entirety, savoring each track as it was meant to be heard. This shared listening session fosters a deeper appreciation of the music and invites participants to experience the album as a cohesive work of art. Following the listening session, we open the floor for a community discussion. Attendees are encouraged to share their reactions, insights, and questions, making this an interactive and enriching event for music lovers of all backgrounds. Whether you’re a long-time vinyl enthusiast or new to the format, “Drop the Needle” offers a welcoming space to explore, listen, and connect through the power of music.

Formed in 2016 under the leadership of William C. Washington, Kyle Sherepita, and Liam Smith.

Featuring a modern take on New Orleans street bands with a high energy funk sound, they are bridging the gap between musical tradition and a vision for the future. Boasting original tunes, funky adaptations of classic songs, and true roots New Orleans music, they have the versatility to satisfy any audience.

Whether at a parade, a party, a venue, or on the street, you can find Da Land Brass Band bringing their infectious grooves and celebratory attitude all over the city.

In addition to bringing their music to dancing audiences, the group also seeks to revitalize the culture of music within the city by teaching children the joy of performance and showmanship through practical improvisation and live music master classes. Their educational outreach programs help to keep youths involved in music well after their school days are done.

 
 
 https://www.facebook.com/DaLandBrassBand/
https://dalandbrassband.bandcamp.com/ 
https://dlbbcle.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/DaLandBrassBand/ 
https://www.facebook.com/DaLandBrassBand/

Paul Kovac caught the Bluegrass bug while in his teens, learning to play banjo, guitar & mandolin, and quickly joined bands in an effort to ‘earn-while-you-learn’. Realizing that the older, first-generation musicians held the keys to the kingdom, he set out to see, meet and play with as many as he could. Over the year’s, Paul’s performed with Bill Monroe, Chubby Wise, Mac Wiseman, Vassar Clements, and countless others. These experiences have been the bedrock of his Bluegrass foundation.
 
https://www.paulkovac.com/

Roots of American Music continues its Masters of American Music series—an ongoing concert and storytelling experience celebrating the artists who shaped the foundations of American music.

Held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at Visible Voice Bookstore, the series brings audiences into an intimate setting where music and storytelling come together, connecting listeners more deeply to the history behind the songs.

On Wednesday, August 26, join acclaimed blues musician Kristine Jackson for a special evening honoring Robert Lockwood Jr., Cleveland's legendary blues master and one of the most influential guitarists in American music. Having performed with Robert over the years, Kristine brings a deeply personal perspective to his music, sharing stories, songs, and memories that celebrate both his extraordinary artistry and the remarkable man behind it.

A protégé of Robert Johnson and a towering figure in the blues, Robert Lockwood Jr. carried the Delta blues tradition into the modern era while developing a sophisticated guitar style uniquely his own. His decades-long career earned international acclaim while making Cleveland his adopted home, where he inspired generations of musicians and helped shape the city's rich musical legacy.

The evening will feature special appearances by Roy Lockwood, Robert's son; Gene Schwartz, a beloved and respected figure in Northeast Ohio's music community and a longtime friend of Robert; and a rare musical performance by D.C. Carnes. Each guest shares a direct and meaningful connection to Robert Lockwood Jr., offering unique stories and perspectives that bring his legacy to life.

These special guest appearances are made possible through the generous support of the Robert Lockwood Jr Legacy Group, whose commitment helps preserve and celebrate Robert's enduring influence on American music.

More than a tribute concert, this evening is a celebration of a Cleveland hometown hero whose music continues to resonate around the world. Through live performance, personal stories, and shared memories, audiences will gain a dee​​per appreciation for Robert Lockwood Jr.'s extraordinary life, his lasting impact on the blues, and the generations of musicians he inspired.

Admission: $15 at the door

Presale Tickets available here

Proceeds from the event support the mission of Roots of American Music, which educates, inspires, and connects communities across Northeast Ohio through live performances and arts-integrated music education programs in schools, senior centers, and community spaces.

The Jack Fords, a quartet formed in Cleveland, have been a beacon of rock’n’roll light since 2005. Twice awarded Cleveland Scene’s Best Rock Band, the songs they write and play are fueled by a mixture of eras: the slick hot-rod 50s, back-to-the-land 60s, and the sweaty leather 70s. Their fiery performances push the envelope of deft musicality into teetering punk-ethic chaos. 

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/jackfords/
Instagram:
instagram.com/jackfordscle
Bandcamp:
https://jackfordscle.bandcamp.com/ 

Experimental duo, Horses 4k, bring together ambient country and underground noise in an exploration of American forms that resists typical ambient gestures. Robin Guiler uses a sampler and synthesizer for live processing of Jacob Trombetta’s pedal steel guitar, while Trombetta plays and manipulates his own chain of effects. 

https://youtu.be/_eeq5iki3gE?si=5yDXLaZkS-zMGJJ6 
www.horses4k.rodeo 

https://www.instagram.com/horses4k_music

https://thequietus.com/quietus-reviews/horses-4k-nina-review/

https://youtu.be/_eeq5iki3gE?si=5yDXLaZkS-zMGJJ6

How does a novel change when it is adapted for the screen? What are the merits of each medium? Visible Voice Books invites you to the next meeting of our new Movie vs. Book Club, where we’ll discuss these very questions.

Join your host, Isaac, in discussing “Die My Love” by Ariana Harwicz and its 2025 film adaptation, an American psychological drama film directed by Lynne Ramsay. We encourage you to purchase the novel from us and watch the movie before the meeting (available for streaming on various platforms).

The next book for the upcoming meeting in October will be Hellraiser (originally released in book form as “The Hellbound Heart”) by Clive Barker.

This is a free event; all are welcome.

Presenting a String Quartet

Canadian-born violinist Edwin Huizinga has established a reputation as one of North America’s most versatile violinists. He thrives in both Baroque and modern repertoire and performs with musicians from multiple genres and practices worldwide. He has appeared alongside Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Mike Marshall, and Stevie Wonder. Huizinga has performed as a featured soloist with the San Bernardino Symphony, Trinity Alps Chamber Music Festival, and the Banff Summer Arts Festival. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with the Note Bene Ensemble, Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra, Georgetown Bach Chorale, Carmel Bach Festival, and Sweetwater Music Festival, among many others. In the Baroque field, Huizinga has toured throughout North America, Europe, and Asia with Tafelmusik, Opera Atelier, the Wallfisch Band, Aradia Ensemble, Apollo’s Fire, and Theater of Early Music. He is a founding member of the Baroque ensemble ACRONYM.

Huizinga’s wide-ranging musical interests are expressed in numerous other ventures. He is a founding member of the duo Fire & Grace, an eclectic collaboration with guitarist William Coulter. This unique duo explores the connective musical elements of classical, folk, and contemporary traditions from around the world, with vast repertoire ranging from Bach to Vivaldi, tango to Celtic tunes, and traditional Bulgarian to American fiddle tunes and waltzes. He has also performed as a member of the Juno- nominated indie rock band, The Wooden Sky. Additional collaborations include Broken Social Scene and Jazz Mafia, and he has recorded with The Mars Volta and Vanessa Carlton, Great Bloomers, and the Minataurs. Huizinga’s passion for bringing chamber music to the people led to an international movement: He is a founding member of Classical Revolution, which began in San Francisco in 2006. Classical Revolution has now grown to numerous cities around the world and presents concerts and jam sessions in alternative spaces. 

Transient troubadour Matt Moody has run the gamut a few times over and still has gas in the tank. Reared in Cleveland and walking a tightrope between genres since he began, his styles converge somewhere in the middle of rust belt grit, western motifs and vulnerable melancholia.

https://youtu.be/Vhf5h191qzA?si=Vo0P8Bccw_9X0_NY

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5FbidMA4DaaS1qrXJ67pdE?si=J28LnKRuTOixJlQA4N4hsQ&nd=1&dlsi=91b0bd903a664ea1

https://www.instagram.com/mattismoody/

Goodmorning Valentine is a group of musicians based around the songwriting of Joseph Allen Beltram. For the last 20 plus years he has been releasing records and touring the United States.

He had a record released last year on Suicide Squeeze a record he did in collaboration with Six Parts Seven. He also recently released “Empty Rooms” , a song that features Jessica Lea Mayfield. Goodmorning Valentine is slated to release its 8th album this fall.

https://www.babyhouserecords.com/
https://goodmorningvalentine.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@goodmorningvalentine 
Kitchen Table Songs

Pull up a chair and join us for the Kitchen Table Songs—an intimate event where the heart of songwriting takes center stage. Host Brent Kirby welcomes a featured songwriter from Northeast Ohio or the touring circuit to sit down at an actual kitchen table, evoking the welcoming spirit of the place where so many great songs are born.
In the first half, experience a revealing interview as we explore the artist’s background, influences, songwriting process, and inspiration. Audience members are invited to add their own questions, making for a lively, engaging conversation that breaks down the barriers of a traditional stage and feels more like a conversation between friends.
After the discussion, settle in for a 45 minute set of original music from our guest songwriter.
Whether you’re a musician, a fan, or simply curious about the magic behind songwriting, Kitchen Table Songs offers a unique, intimate, and insightful evening of music and conversation. Come for the stories, stay for the songs—and discover why the kitchen table is where the music truly begins.

Many of us have arrived at the point where the way we think about hope is no longer working for us. It’s time to imagine a more durable hope without the requirement of optimism and constraint of doubt. This is the shift from hope that happens to us to hope that happens by us.

We are not born hopeless. We are taught to be. Durable hope happens by us, not to us, and being hope is how we practice it. We compose each moment of hope whether or not we have the luxury of optimism.

Drawing from neuroscience, philosophy, sociology, and anthropology, author of forty books, Jack Ricchiuto outlines what being hope is, how institutions manufacture hopelessness, and how we can instead make being hope what makes us feel alive.

Being Hope makes a claim most books about hope never dare to make: hope is not something you have, like a possession that can be lost. It is something you can be — a way of existing, available to anyone, in any circumstance, regardless of how uncertain the future looks.

For anyone who has given up, anyone who finds hope elusive, anyone with the power to change the institutions that manufacture hopelessness, and anyone who wants to help build a world where hope is the radical norm, Being Hope offers something rarer than encouragement. It offers a way of being that cannot be defeated.

Tim Matson has played blues in and around Cleveland for more than fifty years. He will play blues, ballads and originals on guitar and harmonica.

“Drop the Needle,” a unique community listening experience that celebrates the art and history of vinyl records. Each session features a guest expert who delves into the story behind a chosen artist and their iconic album. The expert will guide us through the artist’s career, creative process, production techniques, and the cultural context surrounding the recording of the featured album. After the discussion, we “drop the needle” and listen together to Side A and Side B of the album in its entirety, savoring each track as it was meant to be heard. This shared listening session fosters a deeper appreciation of the music and invites participants to experience the album as a cohesive work of art. Following the listening session, we open the floor for a community discussion. Attendees are encouraged to share their reactions, insights, and questions, making this an interactive and enriching event for music lovers of all backgrounds. Whether you’re a long-time vinyl enthusiast or new to the format, “Drop the Needle” offers a welcoming space to explore, listen, and connect through the power of music.

Wilbert L. Cooper grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. He studied journalism at Ohio University and earned a master's degree in publishing at New York University. He has written for outlets such as The Guardian, The New York Times, the Marshall Project, and The Wall Street Journal. His Vice documentary The Cleveland Strangler was nominated for a National Magazine Award. In 2024, he was the recipient of the Richard J. Margolis Award. The Black Shield is his first book.

The Black Shield can be purchased here.

An intimate, bold work of literary nonfiction, The Black Shield is an urgent exploration of the complex duality of the Black cop. Cooper grapples with a knot of contradictions: Is the Black officer a sign of progressive change, or of a system that shifts its appearance without changing its outcomes? How to reconcile the fact that policing helped lift his family out of poverty while it has kept its knee on the necks of his people? Fearless and singularly powerful, The Black Shield gives us an American story about race and power that has never been told before.

DJ Red-I, also known as Brittany Benton and Phamily Foto, is a Cleveland-based DJ, producer, curator, educator, and label builder whose work connects hip-hop, house, soul, funk, electronic music, and physical music culture. A longtime presence in Cleveland’s music community, she is known for creating spaces where artists, DJs, producers, and listeners can gather around sound, discovery, and local creative history. Through her work as a performer, producer, record shop owner, and founder of YES PLS Records, Benton uses music as both a cultural document and a community-building tool. As Phamily Foto, her production leans into groove-driven electronic textures, warm rhythms, and house-adjacent sounds, while her DJ practice reflects a deep commitment to movement, memory, and connection.

Dizygotic Energy blends trumpet, efx, and beats into atmospheric soundscapes that tell a story. Her music layers warm brass tones over beat-based sounds and lives in a chill, ambient, and whimsical space, inviting listeners to slow down.

A grandchild of twin migrations from the Alabama and Puerto Rico, olula negre, is a creative musician (cello/voice/banjo), avant-folklorist and multi-disciplinary artist based between Cleveland, OH and Chicago, IL. olula creates multi-instrumental electroacoustic music utilizing their cello, voice, banjo and small instruments in combination with effects pedals to create new music that queers contemporary classical, experimental jazz, and folk traditions.
 

Max Shaffer is a passionate and emerging classical guitarist noted for his emotionally evocative performances. Max has had the privilege to study in masterclasses with some of the world’s most renowned guitarists including David Russell, Lorenzo Micheli, Eduardo Fernandez, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and more. Max received his Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance at the University of Washington with Michael Partington and was a teaching assistant to renowned pedagogue Bruce Holzman at Florida State University while acquiring his Master’s degree. Max's program, Experiment with Time, explores a vast swath of the guitar repertoire, ranging from music for the vihuela (an instrument that predates the guitar) all the way up to modern day. Join Max as he explores how the guitar has changed over hundreds of years and why this music is still incredibly pertinent to this day.

Sam Hooper Group is an exciting Cleveland based band rooted in the blues. Originally formed when Hooper lived in Boston, the band has evolved through tours and recording in the USA and Asia to develop its own interpretation of this classic art form. Hooper has kept the approach fresh, since returning to his hometown roots in Cleveland, OH twelve years ago and performing all over Northeast Ohio. The current band is a mix of talented musicians who are old and new friends with experience in jazz, rock, funk, and blues. The mailing list grows with every performance so the bands influence is steadily growing! Check them out on their most recent CD, Sam Hooper & Mike Null, HOODOO BLUES which won 2015 Best Self-Produced CD from The Cleveland Blues Society. 

http://samhooper.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SamHooperMusic
https://www.instagram.com/hoopermusic/
https://www.youtube.com/user/SamHooperGroup 

nspired by visiting her children’s elementary classes and books from her local Heights library, Ashley Brooke Toussant composed lyrically rich songs for her October album release. Sung with her familiar and delicate vocal styling, children and adults alike will love this compilation of songs and companion art book!
https://linktr.ee/ashleybrooketoussant 
 Instagram.com/ashleybrooketoussant 
https://www.facebook.com/ashleybrooketoussantmusic/ 
https://www.ideastream.org/arts-culture/2026-03-12/an-ohio-singers-journey-from-folk-festivals-to-school-classrooms