Grand opening of Duke Energy Center
The city of Cincinnati will mark the grand opening of the Duke Energy Center with ceremonies beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Other activities include:
Live music on the Fifth Street Concourse Stage with the Louisiana-inflected swamp-rock of Robin Lacy & DeZydeco after the opening ceremony. Admission to the Fifth Street Concourse Stage, presented by WNKU, is free and no tickets are required.
At 7:30 p.m., live music continues with the Queen City Queens, an all-star group of performers including contemporary singer-songwriter Tracy Walker, bluesy-bluegrass diva Ma Crow, soul-rocker Shawna James, and soul-blues belter Cheryl Renee. They will be backed by guitarist Greg Schaber, bassist John Schmidt and drummer Bernie Phelon.
There’s more live music upstairs in the Grand Ballroom, starting at 7:30 p.m. with the Dukes of Groove, a high-energy acid-jazz group, led by keyboardist Steve Schmidt, guitar virtuoso Scotty Anderson, drummer Philip Paul as well as trumpeter Mike Wade and tenor saxophonist Brent Gallaher.
At 9 p.m., Rusted Root performs on the Grand Ballroom stage. Tickets to see Rusted Root are free, but seating is limited. Tickets have been distributed by area radio stations including MOJO (94.9 FM) and WNKU (89.7 FM) in advance of the show, but 2,000 tickets will be available at the convention center beginning at noon. There is a limit of two tickets per person. The performance will also be simulcast in the Grand Exhibition Hall adjacent to the Fifth Street Concourse.
An extended menu of food and beverages will be available for sale from Ovations, the Duke Energy Center’s new concessions company.
