Music Tonight: Fountain Square will be loaded with music today. At 5 p.m., the Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation presents a tribute to “Train Kept A’ Rollin’,” a Cincinnati-recorded King Records single by Tiny Bradshaw that eventually became a standard for guitar-fueled Rock & Roll bands (ranking up there with “Louie, Louie” and “Smoke on the Water”) thanks to versions by The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and scores of others. Read Steve Rosen’s feature story on the song and today’s events at citybeat.com here. Be sure to scroll down to check out some of the more famous versions of the tune.

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Local Psych Pop/Rock trio Buffalo Killers are set to hit the road this fall for a tour with another crtitically-beloved trio — bluesy rockers North Mississippi Allstars. The BKs will be traveling from Colorado to Minneapolis (plus several dates in between) before returning to Cincinnati on Nov. 19 for a free show at MOTR Pub with Seattle's Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, Psych faves who've worked with two acts that show the extremes of modern psychedelia — Black Mountain and Earth — and feature guitarist Phil Wandscher, the co-founder of Whiskeytown with Ryan Adams. The Buffalo Killers' 3 has received some wildly impressive press so far, with stamps of approval from outlets like Uncut and The Seattle Times. Check out a sampling of the group's recent press praise below, as well as the video for the title track off the group's last album, Let It Ride. Click here to listen to the great 3 track, "Love Is Gold," which sounds like a lost Big Star/Neil Young collaboration. Read (and hear) more from the BKs here.

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Music Tonight: Locals Shiny Old Soul, the eclectic, acoustic Folk/Jazz/Rock/Roots band formed by members of the Gregory Morris Group, is the Southgate House’s Artist in Residence for August, performing for free in Juney’s Lounge each Wednesday this month at 9 p.m. SOS will have various local and touring artists playing with them each week of the residency. Tonight, the band is joined by fellow local Folk/Pop crew Zella Whelms and New Orleans “Gypsy Folk” band Hurray For the Riff Raff (pictured), who have been featured on the N'awlins-based HBO series, Treme. Check Hurray out below in a clip of the group performing “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” the Hank Williams classic recorded at Cincinnati’s Herzog studio (in the same building as CityBeat’s world headquarters) over 60 years ago.

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Music Tonight: Increasingly popular Pop singer/songwriter Andy Grammer plays Oakley's 20th Century Theatre with guests Rachel Platten and Ryan Star (don't get your TV music contests mixed up — it's Ryan Star from Rock Star: Supernova, not Ryan Starr from American Idol). Last year was a breakthrough one for Grammer, whose single "Keep Your Head Up" from his self-titled album notched Gold sales numbers (and is likely to be certified Platinum). One of the crop of easy-breezy-groovin' Pop/Rock/Soul acts (think: Jason Mraz or Maroon 5), Grammer's current tour is his first headlining venture, after tours with Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat and Plain White T's. So far, so good — most of the shows have been sell-outs, including tonight's show at the 20th Century. Radio has taken kindly to the singer's recent single, "Fine By Me." Grammer's debut LP got a big push early on thanks to the entertaining music video for "Keep Your Head Up," featuring Rainn Wilson from The Office (see below), which won an MTV O Award. If you have tickets (or plan on finding ones from scalpers), showtime is 7:30 p.m. for tonight's all-ages show.

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The government may be shut down in Minnesota, but Minneapolis Hip Hop crew Atmosphere is still workin'. Today, MTV debuted Atmosphere's new music video for the song "The Last to Say." The track and video are sober looks at domestic violence in today's society — something fairly timely considering the conversation sparked by the alleged violence between superstars Rihanna and Chris Brown, as well as other celebrities — and urges those involved in an abusive relationship to leave and get help. Check the clip below and click here for more on the video, as well as a few links to organizations that can offer help to victims of domestic violence.

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On this day in 1973, Paul McCartney and Wings had their very own network TV special, James Paul McCartney. The variety/musical show was a bit cheeky and a bit sappy — in other words, pretty funny to watch now. Paul and Co. do a bunch a Beatles tunes and a bunch of Wings stuff, including the just released "Live and Let Die." Worth watching (or at least skipping through) if you were a fan of Sir Paul's kick-ass mullet, always wanted to hear a drunk Paul sing drinking songs in a crowded pub or wondered how "The Cute One" looks in a pink tuxedo and mustache.

Paul's most recent adventures in visual entertainment contains a bit more star power:

Click on for Born This Day with Dusty Springfield, Akon and Ian MacKaye.

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Earlier this month, melodic rockers The Upset Victory unveiled its music video for the song “Actions.” The clip features several Cincinnati landmarks, shot around town at places like the Bromwell’s building downtown on Fourth Street and, most notably, in several of the city’s abandoned underground tunnels and passageways (the group was given permission by the Cincinnati Brewery District to use the rarely-seen underground world). Prior to the video’s release, The Upset Victory announced it had signed a record deal with the new Boston-based Recover Records. The label is helping promote the “Actions” video and single while the band works on its full-length debut for Recover. Check out the video below.

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Music Tonight: After witnessing my third or fourth “Chillwave” band at last year’s MidPoint Music Festival, it finally hit me what the Indie/Electro/Dance/Pop sub-genre is all about. The sound of Chillwave is the sound of Prince’s first album slowed down slightly and played underwater.

While Washington D.C. quartet Deleted Scenes uses some elements of Chillwave (obscured, gauzy vocals and muffled dance rhythms), the group puts those elements together in exciting, unpredictable new ways, producing a magnetic brand of Art Pop that is simultaneously catchy and experimental. It’s more like Prince’s first album turned completely inside out and run through a bank of random effects, then sprinkled with Deleted Scenes’ unique melodic magic. The compelling atmospherics combine creative beats, engulfing, often sunshiney melodies and an unpredictable mélange of real and electronic instrumentation, all slathered in a distinctively warped and cloudly glaze. In lesser hands, Deleted Scenes’ source material and adventurous approach might come out as impenetrable and obtuse. In Deleted Scenes’ hands, it’s supernatural, fever-dream Pop from another dimension.

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Cincinnati-spawned rockers The Afghan Whigs surprised fans last week with the announcement that the band would perform at the "Fader Fort" party at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. Last night, they surprised the music world when superstar Usher joined the Whigs for half their set, performing hits like his own "Climax" and "OMG," as well as The Afghan Whigs' "Something Hot." "Afro-futurist" funkateer Sinkane also joined the party with a version of "Runnin.'"

Murmurs about the surprise appearance were minimal (though a photo of the Whigs' Greg Dulli with Usher and Sinkane surfaced on the band Facebook page earlier in the day), so the special performance turned out to be one of the biggest and most buzzed ones of the entire SXSW fest.

Here is the full video of The Afghan Whigs' performance at SXSW last night. Usher (who asked the crowd for good thoughts for his pal, Lil Wayne, who wasn't on his death bed, despite an outlandish TMZ report) comes in about 15 minutes into the set.

Saturday night at Northside's Mayday is the debut of the Cincy Psych Fest, a multi-band event inspired by the popular Austin Psych Fest, a six-year-old event that showcases the current state of Psychedelic/Garage Rock and Pop, led by artists like The Black Angels, The Warlocks and Dead Meadow.  

The Cincy Psych Fest is the brain child of Laura Dolan, Laura Skaggs and creative local commercial arts enterprise We Have Become Vikings. The team has assembled a great first-year lineup of national, regional and local acts inspired by the sounds of ’60s Psychedelia and Garage. The fest will present bands on Mayday’s indoor stage as well as on an outdoor, second-floor stage. Tickets are $10 (advanced ones are available through ticketfly.com here) and the fest begins at 6 p.m.

Here are some samples from the various artists. Click the band name for more info on each.

The People’s Temple (Lansing, Mich.)


Mondo Drag (Davenport, Iowa)


Outer Minds (Chicago)


Heaven’s Gateway Drugs (Ft. Wayne, Ind.)


Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor (Detroit)


Here are the Cincinnati bands on the bill:
The Harlequins


Ohio Knife


Cincy newcomers Children of The Emerald Fire (featuring fest organizer Laura Dolan and an all-star local music crew featuring former members of Pernicious Knifs, The High & Low and many other local groups) are also performing, as is The Tongue & Lips:


Adding to the trip will be DJ Blythe Shadburn and Doctor Robert’s Ocular Odyssey‘s Psychedelic Light Show.

Find info on all of the performers and more at cincypsychfest.com.