New Tunes from Mourning [A] BLKstar, Cassidy King, Doug McKean and more: Cleveland Current

There’s new music all over Cleveland this summer, and we’re here to highlight a bit of it in this month’s installment of our 30-song playlist, Cleveland Current. 

Tune in to the playlist here, and hear from a few musicians about their projects in this month’s playlist below.

RELATED: Local Artists Grapple with Music Streaming Landscape

Mourning [A] BLKstar, “Literary Witches”

Cleveland Afrofuturist collective Mourning [A] BLKstar’s Ancient//Future might be a brand-new, upcoming full-length album (due out July 19 on Don Giovanni Records), but the band’s fans might recognize its content. “This was the first round of songs that were battle-tested on the road,” says drummer Dante Foley. “We played these songs on a lot of our tours for the past couple of years.”

Those tours brought the group around the United States and across Europe, including for a couple of collaborative performances with Christoph Winkler, a Berlin dance company. In early 2022, MAB recorded the seven songs that make up Ancient//Future, including the heavy, commanding single “Literary Witches,” out now.

Like all of MAB’s musical releases, all members of the group contributed to the band’s current sound which, on this album, traverses scuzzy grunge, shimmery R&B, soulful blues and experimental jazz. The album is the first to feature Pete Saudek on guitar and the first to even have a six-string guitar in the mix. 

“I feel like each album progresses, based on who we are in that time — not just who we are personally, but also what’s going on in the world, how we deal with what’s going on in the world, how we deal with what’s going on with ourselves,” vocalist LaToya Kent says. “We’re creating from that space of that heart, creating from that space of not just solidarity, but from empathy.

MAB will perform at Crobar with Gold Dime and Thunderbird & The Shaman (Aug. 2), and is also planning an autumn show in Northeast Ohio.

Cassidy King, “Playing House”

After graduating from Kent State University, pop singer Cassidy King packed her belongings in her Honda Civic and drove across the country, eventually landing in Los Angeles to fully launch herself into a full-time music career. There for the past two and a half years, the Chardon native has found artistic collaborators, an agent and opportunities to hit the stage. Recently, she supported Transviolet on 10 dates of a West Coast tour.

“I just can’t really believe that I get to do this,” King says. “When I first started making music, I was just like, ‘Oh my God, going on tour is the dream.’ I never really thought I would be able to. Especially in Ohio; I didn’t have anyone who kind of did music or was in the realm of doing so. I didn’t even know how any of this works.”

Now, King knows how it works, landing thousands of streams on her music and building up a steady social media following. In late May, she released her latest single, the catchy “Playing House.” She expects to release a new EP of music and hopes to perform in Northeast Ohio, before the end of the year.

“I’m making new music right now, and it’s an exciting time for my writing because I feel like I’m actually writing about things that make me happy,” King says. “All of my songs have been very lyrically heavy, on not healthy emotions, per se. So I’ve been making music about being in love and being happy in love and I’m really excited about that.”

Doug McKean, Enduring Freedom

Longtime rocker Doug McKean has been busy working on an album with The Stuntmen, his new rock and roll group with Brent Kirby, Bobby Latina and Andy Leach. And the same four musicians also come together for live performances of his solo music work — which, as of July 5, includes the new folky album Enduring Freedom.

McKean home-recorded the album, with a few collaborations — notably, from The Wallflowers drummer Mark Stepro, pianist Justin Gorski (who performs as Big Hoke) and pedal steel player Al Moss (who performed in country band Hillbilly Idol). Collaborators Chris Yohn and Steve Kilroy also contribute to a couple of songs.

“I feel this is a really simple, pretty record,” McKean says. “I think there’s a theme of things kind of coming apart from the songs, and so they’re kind of grouped together based on that.”

McKean, who is also a part of Rosavelt, The Ohio City Singers and The Boys From the County Hell, and formerly GC5, says he put out the album to maintain momentum on his songwriting and music, especially while working with The Stuntmen. Enduring Freedom follows his 2020 album The Second Golden Age of Piracy, which was also home-recorded. (Both albums were mixed by Don Dixon.)

He’ll support the new album with a release show at the Beachland Ballroom (July 12), will open for Billy Bremner’s Rockfile at the Beachland (Oct. 9) and will play with Maura Rogers & The Bellows at the Music Box (Nov. 16).

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Cassidy King's West Coast tour supported Transviolet and was not a headlining tour.

For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.

Cleveland Magazine is also available in print, publishing 12 times a year with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.