Electronica has evolved over the past decade from a cultish fringe genre to a phenomenal cultural and commercial force, with multiple-act bills and weekend festivals attracting thousands of rabidly loyal and often chemically altered fans. Within that community, there are few names that carry as much weight as Lorin Ashton, more prominently known to his legions of fans and his equally awed colleagues as Dubstep genius Bassnectar.  

Neither hot producer nor veteran session musician, Gregg Gillis — recording as Girl Talk — is a brilliant sonic collagist with a gift for combining shards of existing and incredibly disparate work by renowned artists and turning them into supreme mash-ups.  

The local music scene's big night out is the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards, and Sunday night's 14th annual CEA show will be no exception. The show features live performances by nominees Foxy Shazam, The Cincy Brass, Kim Taylor, The Guitars and Dallas Moore, and awards will be handed out in 19 categories, 16 of which were voted on by the public.   

The Cincinnati Entertainment Awards program is an attempt to remind local musicians that their contributions are greatly appreciated. It's also an attempt to bring together musicians (as well the non-musicians who work to support and nurture the scene) from across the local music spectrum to have an outrageously good time. Having a full bar in the room might be a factor, too, as will be in evidence Sunday night at the Madison Theater.  

There are plenty of influences at work in the Alternative Christian Rock of NeedToBreathe, and not all of them are musical. Brothers Bear and Nathaniel Bryant "Bo" Rinehart (named after the legendary Alabama coach) are the sons of an Assembly of God pastor and his piano teacher wife, and products of their upbringing in tiny and isolated Possum Kingdom, S.C. The band's soulful take on Blues and Southern Rock finally broke through with last year's 'The Outsiders,' which reached the Billboard Top 20 and barely missed the Christian chart's top slot.  

Michael Franti has been ruffling the feathers of the music industry for over 20 years now and he shows no signs of slowing down in the new millennium. Franti began in the mid-1980s with his first band, The Beatnigs, which scored a couple of releases on Alternative Tentacles before breaking up.  

With rampant stories regarding predatory men of the cloth, it's easy to read darker meanings into of Montreal's new album, 'False Priest.' It clearly represents of Montreal's next evolutionary step, long after beginning a gloriously lo-fi, giddily complex Pop band. He's now fronting an eclectic Soul revue, says Kevin Barnes.  

Spoon is the Pete Rose of Indie Rock: Consistently strong performers year after year, album after album, show after show. The Austin-based quartet founded by singer/guitarist Britt Daniel has been forcing its will on discerning listeners for more than 15 years now, a slow build that culminated in its last two albums.  

The music of Cincinnati (past, present and future) was on glorious display at Covington's Madison Theater Nov. 22 at the 2009 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards for Music. The "bar" ambiance (and Kentucky's love of smoking) kept everyone inside, though we heard many of the old "my clothes and hair smell" complaints. Fear not: Official CEA 2010 gasmasks and Hazmat suits are being produced as you read this.  

Words like "icon" and "legend" get thrown around much too liberally regarding musicians, but the terms fit Leon Russell like a well-tailored suit. With his Oklahoma drawl, rollicking barrelhouse/Delta Blues piano-style and inspired songwriting talent, he was custom built for Rock success in the '60s and '70s, though his greatest successes might lie on the road ahead ... and every one will be well deserved.