Unifying theory of pop music history?

At the risk of offending many, I have admit that I am not a fan of the Beatles. This made me very excited to read the book How the Beatles Destroyed Rock'n'Roll. I was looking forward to a long screed about how the Beatles lead rock down a blind path away from the gritty goodness that came before. The book was actually devoid of Beatle-bashing.

What I got instead was a readable and enlightening trip through American pop music history from around 1870 to around 1970. The author showed how three steady trends reached new levels with the Beatles:
1. The effect that technology has on music tastes.
2. The movement from music for dancing to music for listening.
3. The increased separation between the music whites and blacks consume.

Very cool book!

Brown Bird--Sunday, June 3rd 7:00pm

Brown Bird is an amazing duo out of Rhode Island. Their music is a dark and catchy blend

of blues, folk, and gypsy music. Imagine music that is gritty like Neko Case and fun like Mumford & Sons. They took the Newport Folk Festival by storm last summer. They will be winding down a three month national tour at Mechanic Street, so it will be a great show! Their latest album, Salt for Salt, is one of our all-time favorites and is getting great reviews.

Check out their website.

“It’s challenging to describe the combination of blues riffs, country twang and Eastern European musical scales that pervade Salt for Salt. The effect, though, is easy to understand: It’s music that’s exciting and heartbreaking at the same time.” – Billsville House Concerts

"A total joy to listen to" - Music Savage

"...MorganEve Swain’s string playing and frontman David Lamb’s guitars and percussion give [Brown Bird] a dark and eerie feel that’ll stick with you." - Paste Magazine

Door opens at 6:30, music at 7:00. We're in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. 

Please RSVP to mechanicstreetmusic@yahoo.com. 

Directions and more information will be sent to you once your RSVP is received.

Check out the bat!

Mechanic Street House Concerts got the 2011 Ohio City Arts and Culture Award last night. And this awesome bat! Thanks to Ohio City Inc and to everyone who comes and really makes the house concerts happen!

Brown Bird
Sunday, June 3rd, 7:00pm

It's no wonder they took the Newport Folk Festival by storm. We loved Brown Bird about 30 seconds into the first track we heard. Their music is a dark and catchy blend of blues, folk, and gypsy music. Imagine a duo that is gritty like Tom Waits and fun like Mumford & Sons. "A total joy to listen to" - Music Savage "...MorganEve Swain’s string playing and frontman David Lamb’s guitars and percussion give [Brown Bird] a dark and eerie feel that’ll stick with you." - Paste Magazine

Check out their website.


$15 suggested donation, which all goes to the artist.

Reserve your spot by emailing us at mechanicstreetmusic@yahoo.com. We're in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. Directions and more information will be sent to you once your RSVP is received.

Brigitte DeMeyer-Friday, April 13th, 2012

Door opens at 7:30, music at 8:00. 

Brigitte DeMeyer will be bringing some New Orleans voodoo to Mechanic Street House Concerts on Friday April 13^th. PopMatters says “[Her] sound is drenched in New Orleans style R&B [mixed] with country blues and a whole lot of other folksy Southern ingredients…”. She has becomes one of our favorites because she is a soulful singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She is like a cross between Lucinda Williams and Van Morrison, if you can imagine it. Don’t take our word for it, check out a video.

Brigitte’s website 

$15 suggested donation, which all goes to the artist.

Reserve your spot by emailing us at mechanicstreetmusic@yahoo.com. We're in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood. Directions and more information will be sent to you once your RSVP is received.

Two in a row!

We've had two sold-out shows in a row! Brent Kirby and Mike Uva in January and Mike Mangione & the Union on Friday. Sold out isn't really the right term, since we don't sell tickets and only ask for a suggested donation, but its got a better ring to it than "at capacity". While we don't like having to turn anyone away, we do like having a full house. And the artists really like the extra cash it means for them. We're hoping this is a trend that will continue!

Check out our new logo

Thanks to Nicole McGee of Plenty Underfoot we have a smashing new logo. If you look closely, you can even see Mechanic Street.