Dear ATVians,

Happy holiday season. I’m not the world’s biggest holidays fan, but I tell you one thing I do like about the festive time of year: all the killer concerts. Between the Christmas show at the Grog, the Thanksgiving show at Pats, and all the various holiday shows in between, the forty odd days between turkey day and the new year are a time made for rocking. Forget Rock-tober; late November and the month of December are when things really groove.

This weekend, one of the best annual holiday treats a NEO rocker has to look forward to is on tap, thanks to the fine folks at Cleveland’s Music Saves and Akron’s Square Records. Continuing their sonic gift exchange, the two record stores are sponsoring 4 bands (two from each town) to play back to back weekend night gigs at their respective home venues. That means, this Friday you’ll be able to catch Cleveland rockers Shiny Penny and Casual Encounters who will travel to Rubber City to join Akronites The Walkies and Talons onstage at Musica, and then on Saturday all four bands play the Beachland Tavern.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Far-out Festivus, and Kool Kwanzaa to you. This weekend will be a delight!