CINCINNATI — After a two-year hiatus, the famed Cincinnati Music Festival returns to the shores of the Ohio River this weekend.
What You Need To Know
- The Cincinnati Music Festival is one of the biggest tourism events in the region
- The three-day festival has a local economic impact of more than $107 million, going to things like restaurants, hotels and various small businesses
- Beyond the music, the festival has grown to include a variety of related events ranging from a speaker series to Black Tech Week
- Local officials believe CMF is a great way to market Cincinnati to the rest of the country
The weekend-long concert takes place Thursday, July 21 through Saturday, July 23. Janet Jackson is headlining the event, but there’s a full weekend of acts making up some of the top and up-and-coming names in R&B music, like Ari Lennox, Charlie Wilson, The O’Jays and BJ the Chicago Kid.
The performances Thursday take place at The Andrew J. Brady Music Center for the first time. Shows on Friday and Saturday are at the neighboring Paul Brown Stadium.
The 2022 lineup includes:
- Thursday: Ari Lennox, BJ The Chicago Kid and Cincinnati native Arin Ray
- Friday: Charlie Wilson, Fantasia, Anthony Hamilton, Toni! Tony! Tone! and Jonathan Butler
- Saturday: Janet Jackson, The O’Jays, Tank, After 7 and Kirk Whalum
“We are excited to be back, bringing the best acts back to Cincinnati for the 2022 Cincinnati Music Festival,” said Joe Santangelo, of The Santangelo Group, which has the Cincinnati Music Festival.
The Santangelo Group — which also promotes the Hampton Jazz Festival in Hampton, Va. – has played a role in producing the festival since 2005. But it dates back to 1962 when it went by the name of the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival.
Over the decades, the Cincinnati Music Festival evolved from an all-jazz concert to a celebration of R&B, jazz, soul and hip-hop.
Previous acts to grace the CMF stage have been the who’s who of music — Aretha Franklin, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis. Other CMF alums include Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle, Earth Wind and Fire, Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder.
Today, it’s one of the largest festivals of its kind in the United States.
Mary J. Blige and Bobby Brown headlined the last Cincinnati Music Festival in 2019. That year, they sold more than 70,000 total tickets over the course of the weekend.
Those visitors aren’t just buying concert tickets, though. They’re eating in restaurants, staying in hotels and shopping at local businesses.
A study commissioned by Visit Cincy — the local convention and visitors bureau — valued the annual economic impact of the festival at $107.5 million.
Julie Calvert, president and CEO of Visit Cincy, described the Cincinnati Music Festival as having the greatest tourism impact of any annual event for the Cincy region. So, the pandemic robbed the city of more than just two years of tremendous entertainment.
Cincinnati Music Festival organizers plan to make up for lost time, Calvert said.
“Our hotels will be at capacity, our restaurants will be filled and visitors will explore our attractions and experiences planned for the weekend,” she added.
Calvert and her team are working with city and county officials to ensure the “hospitality red carpet is rolled out as always.” Part of that process is making sure there are events taking place all weekend long.
Many events and organizations are planning programming around the week of the festival. That includes Black Tech Week from July 18-22, making its debut in Cincinnati and the grand opening of the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame on July 21.
Other related events include the Queen City Foundation 5K and Cincy Soul, often referred to as the Black Taste of Cincinnati, at Fountain Square.
New this year is the Un-Told Speaker Series, which will focus on stories of diversity and empowerment. There will be a “Women’s liberation Workshop” at the Contemporary Arts Center and Raekwon the Chef, a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan, will speak to a crowd at the Westin Cincinnati.
A panel discussion on uncovering African ancestry featuring historians and a representative from Uncle Nearest, a brand of Tennessee whiskey, will take place in the Westin as well. The whiskey brand’s name honors the legacy of Nathan “Nearest” Green, a former slave who purportedly taught a young Jack Daniel the craft of distilling.
Andrew Young, Jr., a pastor and civil rights leader turned politician, will speak at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington, Ky.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion are integral to how we connect our residents and our community to the visitors who travel here,” Calvert said. “The more we expand diverse and inclusive dialogue in our region, the more we deliver on our mission to create a destination that’s welcoming to all.”
The Cincinnati Music Festival provides a prime opportunity for Black and Brown businesses to showcase their products and services to a national audience, according to Eric Kearney, who leads the African American Chamber of Commerce.
He gave the example of Festival513, which gives small business owners a chance to sell merchandise and food on Freedom Way in front of Paul Brown Stadium during Cincinnati Music Festival weekend. Now in its 16th year, Festival513 features nearly 100 booths this year.
But it’s not only about existing entrepreneurs and businesses, Kearney said. He feels the festival gives the city national recognition.
“It shows Cincinnati can do big events and we can do them successfully. And we can do them with an inclusive environment,” he said.
It’s an enormous opportunity for talent attraction, Kearney said. He feels that’s a part of the reason corporations, like Procter and Gamble and Kroger, decide to sponsor the events. P&G has presented the music festival since 2015.
P&G and Kroger bring back the CMF Outdoor Museum this year with assistance from ArtsWave, 3CDC and AGAR.
Five painters positioned throughout the stadium will capture their interpretation of the festival and what they see on stage. A team of artists will head to Washington Park in Over-the-Rine on Saturday, July 23 to create an outdoor gallery focused on what organizers called the "energy and excitement of the music festival."
After the festival, all 15 artworks will remain on display at the park for an extended run. The pop-up museum will then go on display along Court Street.
“It’s a great draw, not only from a marketing and tourism standpoint, but also from a talent and a business standpoint,” he said. “When you visit a city, you instinctively ask yourself, ‘Can I see myself here?’ I like to think when people visit Cincinnati, the answer to that question is ‘Yes’ more often than not.”
For more information, visit the Cincinnati Music Festival website.