There may not be another event in the world quite like Sweetwater Sound's GearFest.
Most showcases of musical equipment, accessories and software are only open to a select group of industry professionals, according Christopher Guerin, vice president of corporate communications for Sweetwater Sound Inc.
GearFest is open to anyone with a serious interest in gear.
"[GearFest] is a totally free event that is specifically for musicians and audio people," Guerin said. "It's a unique experience. It's the largest of its kind in the country."
This year's edition of GearFe... Read more

Terry Bozzio, one of the world's premier rock drummers, first learned about the power of music from an instrument that isn't usually the instigator of many mystical, musical experiences: the accordion.
Bozzio's father played that instrument in such a way that it changed people's lives, according to the accordion player's son.
"My father was a brilliant accordion player and was on stage by the age of four," he said in a phone interview. "A prodigy. By the time I was a kid and he was in his 30s, people would come over to the house and ask him to pull out his accordion. He would a... Read more

Is there such a thing as too much sushi? If there is, I haven't reached that threshold. I could eat it every day, I love it that much.
So, it's good news for me - and sushi lovers like me - that so many new Asian restaurants have opened in the past few years. A few weeks ago I finally had a chance to make it to Shoccu after drooling over pictures posted by friends on social media.
Shoccu is tucked into a strip mall at the corner of Illinois and Scott roads. Despite this, I was surprised by how small the place is; there are just a few standalone tables and some tables with benc... Read more

Indie singer-songwriter Damien Jurado might come from Seattle, but he's one of Fort Wayne's favorite adopted sons, and he'll be at the Brass Rail Saturday, June 24 at 8 p.m. as part of his 50-state tour.
You read that right. Jurado is spending this year gigging all over the country, making a point to stop in every state in the union. The tour started with an idea he had on the way to a supermarket. The idea was that divided we are nothing, but connected we are everything. He states on his website that he hopes the tour will celebrate the things we have in common while, at the same time... Read more

The premise of Billy Joel's 1977 hit, "The Stranger," is that we all have a face we hide from the outside world, a face that we only allow ourselves to put on when we're alone. Maybe that face is steel, maybe it's satin. It could be silk. It could be leather. The point is that we all share a tendency to hide our true selves, to put on certain faces for the benefit of the public while saving our real face for our most private moments. Interesting, then, that Mike Santoro, the frontman and the face of the Billy Joel tribute act, The Stranger, looks so much like the piano man himself.
And... Read more

Although originally from Detroit, there are few groups which better define the Philly soul sound than The Spinners. But it seems almost incredible now, almost 50 years later, that a group which was a product of the Motor City would not be obvious Motown superstars. To understand how The Spinners got away, it's necessary to see where Motown was at that pivotal point in their history, the years when the 1970s were bringing changes to their musical destiny.
Having conquered racial divides by appealing to a wide demographic, Motown had established itself with a variety of now iconic vocal ... Read more

Launching an event called Buskerfest was a brave thing to do in Fort Wayne in 2009.
Busking, both the word and the practice, was virtually unknown in the Summit City eight years ago.
It is safe to say that many of the people who came out to celebrate busking (aka street performing) that year weren't entirely sure what they were celebrating.
Yet Buskerfest has endured.
It survived a derecho in 2012 and what many of us in 2015 referred to as the mini-derecho, even though it infuriated meteorologists of our acquaintance.
Neither hail nor sleet nor heat nor... Read more

The Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins has had a difficult history--thanks in part to America's own difficult history. When it premiered off-Broadway in 1990 in the ultra-patriotic Gulf War era, the show was considered too controversial by mainstream audiences. The planned 2001 revival was postponed for years due to the tragic events of September 11. With a few revisions, the play was revived in 2004 and finally earned the respect it deserved.
Interestingly, earning the respect they felt they deserved is a key point driving most of the characters in Assassins.
The show weaves th... Read more

With downtown Fort Wayne bustling, it's easy to forget that Jefferson Pointe once served as a sort of surrogate for a vibrant downtown.
When the innovative shopping center opened in the summer of 2001, downtown Fort Wayne was not characterized by an excess of foot traffic.
The refurbished Grand Wayne Center would not open until 2005, and baseball wouldn't be played at Parkview Field until 2009.
Jefferson Pointe debuted as one of about five dozen "lifestyle centers" in the United States. It was an open-air mall designed to mimic a quaint yet peppy town where one could sau... Read more

Two years ago Ozzy Albor and Eric Bernal formed the Fort Wayne-based alternative band Leones. After Bernal messaged Albor and arranged to set up a jam session (a scenario that leads to the formation of almost every band) they began churning out the slow, heavy and dreamy sounds that their audience has come to expect.
Leones have a sound that could fit in anywhere in the last 25 years. The drums are flashy where they need to be, constant everywhere else. Guitars are airy in some songs, sludgy in others and downright saturated in more recent efforts. This saturated guitar sound would he... Read more

Melissa Junkin Shaw was a child of many contradictions. She loved to read and made good grades in school but was a "frequent flyer in detention" due to her talkative nature and class-clown tendencies. She was girly, but not a tomboy, "digging for worms in a sequined Lisa Frank ensemble and purple Reebok pumps." Although she was taller than all the boys in school and seemed "destined for a future in athletics," she lacked the required coordination and love of sports ("My first C in school was in gym class, but I was cheerleading captain in 8th grade," she recalls).
But even as a child,... Read more

Rock the Plaza has become one of the most popular events every summer, with a weekly slate of top-notch musical talent taking the stage on the Allen County Public Library plaza each Saturday evening. With four acts each week, there's always a little something for everybody, but for many it's just a great way to get out, enjoy summer and catch some great tunes. All free of charge.
Since the event has been going on for over a decade now, it's easy to feel like it's always been part of our local offerings, always been part of downtown. But of course, like everything else, it started somew... Read more

Sweetwater Sound has played a pivotal role in making the Fort Wayne music scene one of the best in the country. Many local and regional musicians have been able to make a living in music while continuing to stay in the area and sharing their talents on the homefront. But many people from outside of Indiana have also found their way to the city, thanks to the opportunity to work for Sweetwater.
One such musician is Tim Harrington who before moving to Fort Wayne and beginning a job with Sweetwater 13 years ago had been around the block a few times. Originally from the Virginia Beach area... Read more

Who doesn't love tacos? If you are one of the few who doesn't, you can stop reading now because I am about to swoon over my latest Fort Wayne taco discovery. It's possible you've driven by this place without noticing it because it is tucked next to a nightclub on North Clinton. Located at 4104 N. Clinton St., Famous Taco serves up delicious tacos, burritos, quesadillas and more.  
Famous Taco is owned by the same family that owns Las Lomas on Fairfield and Dos Margaritas, just a stone's throw up the road, but the menu and the experience are unique. It is not a traditional sit-down res... Read more

When I think of some of the most influential science fiction films, a few immediately pop into my head. Star Wars, Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Dark City and 2001: A Space Odyssey (my picks, so yeah, there are plenty of other great sci-fi pics out there, but these are my pics, not yours) all have strong ideas, strong visuals and strong scores.
In their day, they pushed big stories and concepts to new levels, for sure, but the godfather of science fiction films is Fritz Lang's Metropolis. It was a truly awe-inspiring piece of cinema, ... Read more

Aimee Richards Lackey learned at an early age that life sometimes gets in the way of your goals and you have to roll with the punches.
Born in Fort Wayne and raised on a 25-acre piece of land in Spencerville, Aimee Richards was the middle child of three. She was outgoing and athletic, riding horses, bikes and snowmobiles.
But dancing was her passion from the age of 3. She took ballet classes seven days a week and traveled to Fort Wayne with her family to see countless Fort Wayne Ballet performances. She joined the Fort Wayne Ballet Apprentice Company and planned a career as a da... Read more

Whenever construction signs go up and excavators come out, Fort Wayne starts to murmur about what's coming. Last year, the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Getz Road was bustling with activity, and we quickly discovered that a Southern Indiana-based sushi and seafood restaurant was coming.
Umi opened earlier this year, and so far it has been met with rave reviews. While our city is blessed with ample sushi choices, the newcomer offers some of the most innovative menu items I have seen at a sushi restaurant outside of Chicago and New York City. Of course, the restaurant serves more th... Read more

Metal has been declared dead many times over by various outlets, but a die-hard trio of musicians in a small town in Kosciusko County are proof that metal is not only alive and breathing, but growing and expanding as well.
That band, Hailshot, comprised of bassist/vocalist Jaron Clark, drummer Cory Stump and guitarist Matt Reish, has been bringing the metal to northern Indiana and beyond since 2010.
The trio first met at Wawasee High School in Syracuse, becoming acquainted via outlets like choir and seeing each other at local music shows, but it wasn't until after graduation th... Read more

A Street in Venice (John Singer Sargent)
Some of our streets are so old they've started to breathe,
A soughing of softened mortar and slate crumbling,
A soliloquy like a bedside priest's mumbling,
And beneath the city runs its river Lethe.
The centuries of life don't pass unregarded,
Won't be left to the cemeteries' serried stones.
The blocks of brick buildings replace our blood and bones,
Once our loves and fears, our years, have been discarded.
They preserve our consciousness and our time
Aggregated with a stone mason's grasp... Read more

You may have seen Jared Andrews in a number of places around Fort Wayne. Maybe he took your cover at The Brass Rail. Or perhaps you saw him behind-the-scenes working at Shigs In Pit at some point. Maybe you saw him hanging out with the members of Let's Comedy. Most likely though, you've seen him onstage either by himself, with his rock band The Meat Flowers, his quirky pop band Microwave Miracles or perhaps you caught his first performance with his new band, Trophy Club, on March 25.
Either way, you're likely to recognize his long hair, thick glasses and his distinguishable voice, a v... Read more

By the time Bill Brown assumed his role as President of Downtown Improvement District (DID) in 2012, he already had a long and distinguished career in boosting the profile of the downtown area as a business leader.
His road to that resume began in a much different way. After moving around in his early years - living in Idaho, Washington and Colorado - Brown settled in Fort Wayne before his 10th birthday and has called it home ever since. A graduate of North Side High School and then a student at the University of St. Francis and IPFW, Brown first considered studying liberal arts befo... Read more

In 1981, bassist Andre Cymone left Prince's band under contentious, ego-clashing circumstances.

Mark Brown said he knew of the subsequent vacancy, but he didn't think he was in the running for the job or that he could put himself in the running.

"I didn't think I would be considered," he said in a phone interview. "He grew up with such a vast selection of awesome bass players in Minnesota. I was like, 'Why would he pick me? I am the youngest of most of them. There's no way.'"

Still, he kept seeing Prince in the audience at his shows. But he chalked that... Read more