Music Saturday: This weeks' CityBeat cover stars The Kentucky Struts have reached the end of their yearlong recording/art project, The Year of the Horse. After releasing one track online from the album each month in 2011, as well as showcasing a corresponding, horse-themed piece of art commissioned to accompany the song, the Roots/Country/Rock band will have copies of the full release available at Saturday's release party at Newport's Southgate House. The visual artists featured on the project are a mix of local and national artists, including Joshua Black Wilkins (also an acclaimed singer/songwriter), Rob Warnick, Karen Heyl, Matthew Shleton and Julie Hill. Some proceeds from the release show (featuring openers The Sundresses), as well as profits from prints of the artwork, will be donated to the Kentucky-based horse rescue organization, Speak Up For Horses. Click here and here for more on the project (and to look at some of the amazing art pieces). Below, take a gander at the pre-launch video, which explains the ambitious venture.

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When you say the letters “C&D” to any member of Cincinnati’s hip, bar-going, Shake-It-haunting scene, most people will nod their heads in recognition, knowingly acknowledging the “Complete Dive” on the corner of Hanfield and Witler, a block down from Chase. Now append the words “Record Bar” at the end of “C&D” and quite a few of those nods of familiarity will turn to blank stares.

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If you were to place a bet as to what local band will be the next to follow the likes of Bad Veins, Pomegranates and Daniel Martin Moore into the ranks of “nationally acclaimed” Cincinnati area artists, putting your money on Electro/Indie foursome Eat Sugar is a pretty safe wager. One listen to the band’s excellent new EP, It’s Not Our Responsibility!, and you couldn’t be blamed for betting your life savings.

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The lineup for this summer's MidPoint Indie Summer series — every-Friday free concerts on Fountain Square — features another strong mix of solid national headliners (many are MidPoint Music Festival alumni) from as far away as Australia and Timbuktu and local favorites. Stay tuned for additions and updates.

Friday, June 1: The Bright Light Social Hour (Austin Tex.); Buffalo Killers; The Kickaways

Friday, June 8: The Dynamites (Nashville); Khaira Arby and her Band (Timbuktu, Mali, Africa); The Pinstripes

Friday, June 15: The Seedy Seeds; Wymond Miles (of The Fresh & Onlys, San Francisco); Belle Histoire

Friday, June 22: Art vs Science (Australia); You You're Awesome; Shadowraptr

Friday, June 29: psychodots (openers TBA)

Friday, July 6: Lydia Loveless (Columbus); Patrick Sweany (Nashville); The Ready Stance

Friday, July 13: Seabird; The Harlequins; Jon Drake and The Shakes (Chicago)

Friday, July 20: Ha Ha Tonka (Springfield, Mo.); Izzy and the Catastrophics (New York); The Ridges (Athens, Ohio)

Friday, July 27: Orgone (Los Angeles); The Cliftones; Eclipse

Friday, Aug. 3: Bear Hands (Brooklyn); Lightning Love (Ann Arbor, Mich.); Fort Lean (Brooklyn)

Friday, Aug. 10: Budos Band (New York); Kansas City Bible Company (Nashville); Sidewalk Chalk (Chicago)

Friday, Aug. 17: Class Actress (Brooklyn)

Friday Aug. 31: Wussy; R.Ring

The MidPoint Indie Summer concerts start at 7 p.m. each Friday this summer. Music lovers of all ages are welcome to attend.

Invitations to the performers chosen from online music submissions are set to begin rolling out soon, but today, the first artists coming to Cincy for this September’s MidPoint Music Festival were announced. Below are the initial 20 national artists booked for the fest, which runs Sept. 22-24 in various venues in Downtown and Over-the-Rhine, as well as a few more acts for the MidPoint Indie Summer series on Fountain Square.

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Tomorrow (Thursday) marks the first Cincinnati Reds’ Opening Day in some time where fans actually have cause to be realistically optimistic about the team’s chances of going deep into the playoffs come the end of the season. If you’re planning on going all out for Opening Day, a good place to start your reveling is at Arnold’s, as local Folk faves Jake Speed and the Freddies once again host its baseball-themed variety show. The fun kicks off at 9:30 a.m. and you can be there in spirit if you can’t make it in person by listening to WNKU, which will simulcast the festivities live.

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Want to be one of the first people on the planet to hear Verb Noun, the forthcoming album from local Indie/Electro/Folk/Pop buzz band The Seedy Seeds? You're in luck. Tonight at 7 p.m., the band is hosting a listening party at Shake It Records in Northside. It's free and open to all ages, and there are promises of "refreshments" on the band's Facebook page (as well as a chance to pre-order the album and win some schwag).

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Taste of Cincinnati kicks off tomorrow and offers not only the best in local culinary arts but also some of Cincinnati’s finest musical acts. Below is the full schedule of Taste entertainment (including a switch-up on the CityBeat stage Sunday, with Buckra replacing All the Day Holiday at 5:30 p.m.).

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If you're a musician interested in performing at this year's MidPoint Music Festival and you haven't submitted your materials for consideration, time is running out. Next Friday, April 17, is the "early deadline" for submissions.

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Area label Sol Records is taking pre-orders now for the Dallas Moore Band’s next release, Hank To Thank, culled from the locally-based Country crew’s sessions one year ago with longtime Willie Nelson guitarist Jody Payne at the site of Cincinnati’s Herzog studios where Hank Williams laid down some of his early, big hits.

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