CINCINNATI ROCKS. NO, REALLY.

We’ve been playing this city for decades. Before you dismiss Cincinnati as a flyover town between Nashville and Cleveland, know this: the Queen City has one of the sneakiest-great rock and roll pedigrees in America. Here’s a crash course in why our hometown actually slaps.

KING RECORDS (1943–1971)

If you only know one thing about Cincinnati music history, make it King Records. Founded by the wonderfully eccentric Syd Nathan in the Evanston neighborhood, King Records was one of the most important independent labels in American music history. James Brown recorded his entire early catalog here. The Isley Brothers. Hank Ballard — who wrote the original “The Twist” before Chubby Checker made it a hit. Freddie King. The Stanley Brothers. King didn’t care about genre lines; they recorded country, R&B, gospel, and rock and roll under the same roof, often using the same session musicians. The building still stands on Brewster Avenue, and there’s an ongoing movement to landmark it.

BOOTSY COLLINS

William “Bootsy” Collins was born in Cincinnati in 1951 and became one of the most influential bass players in the history of recorded music. At 16 he was playing sessions at King Records. By 17 he was in James Brown’s backing band, the J.B.’s. He went on to anchor Parliament-Funkadelic alongside George Clinton and eventually lent his bass lines to records by everyone from Deee-Lite to Snoop Dogg. He still calls Cincinnati home. If you see a seven-foot man in star-shaped glasses at a Skyline Chili on Montgomery Road, that’s him. Don’t make it weird.

LUDLOW GARAGE (1969–1971)

Jim Tarbell opened the Ludlow Garage in Clifton in September 1969 and booked some of the most important rock acts of the era into a repurposed car dealership. In just 17 months of operation, the stage held Alice Cooper, The Kinks, Grand Funk Railroad, MC5, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Mountain, Johnny Winter, and The James Gang. The Allman Brothers recorded a live album there in 1970. The place lasted less than a year and a half. The legend is permanent.

WEBN-FM

WEBN launched in August 1967 as one of the first progressive FM rock stations in the country, and for decades it was THE reason Cincinnati had a serious rock scene. DJs played full album sides, introduced regional audiences to bands before they broke nationally, and — most importantly — threw a fireworks show every Labor Day weekend starting in 1977 that grew into one of the largest pyrotechnic displays in the Midwest. Riverfest still happens every year. Bring a chair.

BOGART’S

Opened in the Corryville neighborhood near UC in the mid-1970s, Bogart’s has been the essential mid-size rock venue in Cincinnati for fifty years. Devo played there in 1980. Nine Inch Nails in 1990. The Breeders in ’93. The Afghan Whigs in ’99. If a band is on the way up, they play Bogart’s. If they’re on the way back down, they play Bogart’s again. Either way you get a great show.

THE AFGHAN WHIGS

Formed in Cincinnati in 1986 by Greg Dulli, the Afghan Whigs were one of the most visceral, soul-drenched rock bands of the early ’90s. They signed to Sub Pop — the Seattle label that also had Nirvana — long before anyone thought the Midwest could matter to indie rock. Their album Gentlemen (1993) is legitimately one of the best records of that decade. They broke up in 2001 and reformed in 2012, and they still sound like they’re settling scores.

OVER THE RHINE

Named after Cincinnati’s historic German neighborhood, Over the Rhine formed in 1989 and spent the next three decades making literate, beautifully crafted folk-pop that earned them a devoted national following. They played their first shows at Sudsy Malone’s in Corryville — a laundromat and bar that deserves its own historical marker — and have been quietly one of the best American bands working ever since.

THE NATIONAL

Yes, they moved to Brooklyn. But Matt Berninger, the Dessner brothers, and the Devendorf brothers all grew up in Cincinnati. The National are arguably the most critically acclaimed rock band of the 2000s and 2010s, and they got their start here. Their albums Alligator, Boxer, and The Sleep Well Beast are required listening. Cincinnati gave them to the world. Brooklyn just takes credit.

WALK THE MOON

Walk the Moon formed at Kenyon College with Cincinnati roots and broke nationally in 2014 with “Shut Up and Dance,” which spent six weeks at number one and became one of the most-streamed songs of that year. They were playing school gyms and small bars in this city before that happened. Proof that it can happen from here.

This page is a work in progress — like all good punk projects. More Cincinnati history coming soon.