Maxwell Among the Headlining Acts for 2024’s Cincinnati Music Festival 

Maxwell is bringing sumthin’ sumthin’ to Ohio…

The Cincinnati Music Festival has announced the lineup for its 2024 edition, with the 50-year-old half-Puerto Rican artist among the headlining acts.

MaxwellMaxwell, a three-time Grammy winner, is part of a list of headlining acts that includes New Edition, Ne-Yo and Kem.

The annual celebration of classic and contemporary R&B legends and hip-hop superstars will once again take over the home of the Cincinnati Bengals, Paycor Stadium, for two nights next summer.

The first night, July 26, will be headlined by “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” neo soul legend Maxwell, with support from Ne-Yo, Fantasia, October London and Lakeside.

Night two, July 27, will be toplined by New Jack Swing supergroup New Edition — Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Ronnie DeVoe and Johnny Gill — as well as Kem, SWV, Stokley and another artist to be announced.

In keeping with recent tradition, the jam-packed weekend will kick off with a night (July 25) celebrating hip-hop at the adjacent Andrew J. Brady Music Center, with a lineup to be announced soon.

“We are thrilled with this year’s lineup for the Cincinnati Music Festival presented by P&G,” festival producer Joe Santangelo said in a press release. “This year’s lineup is the most jam-packed R&B lineup we’ve ever had, representing fan favorites across the decades from New Edition to Maxwell to Fantasia, and so many more.”

Tickets for this year’s event are on sale now through the festival office (call (513) 924-0900), and will be available through Ticketmaster beginning Saturday (December 16) at 10:00 am ET.

CMF launched as the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival in 1962 as an all-jazz event and evolved over the year to embrace a wide variety of R&B, soul and pop acts, from Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington to Luther Vandross, New Edition, Whitney Houston, Earth Wind and Fire and many others.

Gloria Estefan to Be Inducted Into Songwriters Hall of Fame

Gloria Estefan is entering the Hall

The 65-year-old Cuban Grammy-winning singer/songwriter will become one of the latest inductees of the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 52nd Annual Induction and Awards Gala.

Gloria EstefanEstefan, who has been named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time by both VH1 and Billboard, will be joined by Sade Adu (better known simply as Sade), Alanis Morrisette’s longtime collaborator Glen BallardSnoop DoggElectric Light Orchestra founder Jeff Lynne, New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley, and Taylor Swift collaborator Liz Rose as part of the Class of 2023.

The event is set for Thursday, June 15 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Additional special award honorees will be announced soon.

The hall announced the latest inductees today, with Chairman Nile Rodgers saying in a statement, “The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch . . . nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter.”

He added that the 2023 slate of inductees “We are therefore very proud that we are continually recognizing some of the culturally most important songwriters of all time and that the 2023 slate “represents not just iconic songs but also diversity and unity across genres, ethnicity and gender, songwriters who have enriched our lives and, in their time, literally transformed music and the lives of billions of listeners all over the world.”

The songwriters, and their key songs cited by the Hall of Fame, are:

Sade Adu p/k/a Sade: Smooth Operator, No Ordinary Love, The Sweetest Taboo, By Your Side, Is It A Crime

Glen Ballard: Man In The Mirror, You Oughta Know, Hold On, The Voice Within, The Space Between

Calvin Broadus Jr. p/k/a Snoop Dogg: Drop It Like It’s Hot, Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang, Young, Wild & Free, Gin & Juice, Next Episode

Gloria Estefan: Anything For You, Don’t Wanna Lose You, Words Get In The Way, Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Let’s Get Loud

Jeff Lynne: Mr. Blue Sky, Don’t Bring Me Down, Evil Woman, Livin’ Thing, Telephone Line

Teddy Riley: Make It Last Forever, I Want Her, Just Got Paid, I Like, My Prerogative

Liz Rose: You Belong With Me, Crazy Girl, Girl Crush, All Too Well, White Horse

Soares to Perform at This Year’s Red Bull Music Academy Festival

Elza Soares will be seeing Red (Bull).

The 79-year-old Brazilian samba queen, known as Tina Turner brasileira, will perform at this year’s ingeniously curated Red Bull Music Academy Festival.

Elza Soares

The New York-based festival boasts a tantalizing array of music, art, film and dance.

In addition to Soares, beloved figures like Solange, Gucci Mane, New Jack Swing mastermind Teddy Riley and iconoclastic filmmaker Werner Herzog are all part of this year’s roster, as well as disco pioneer Patrick Adams and Detroit house legend Moodyman, who will perform a set in tribute to Prince.

Click here for the full lineup and to get more information.