About the QCB

 

The Queen City Balladeers was established in 1963 by a group of students at the University of Cincinnati, and for  forty-five years have been sponsoring and performing roots music in the Greater Cincinnati area. We are a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, and our membership includes a wide variety of people from all backgrounds and age groups. Many Balladeers are also part or full-time musicians, writers, instrument makers and sound technicians as well as avid fans of roots music. 

Just what is “roots”  music? Back in the 1960’s, at the height of the folk music revival, much of the music of the day consisted of a mixture of protest songs and traditional ballads from previous centuries. Today, the genre includes not only “old time” traditional songs, but also new acoustic songs, blues, Celtic, bluegrass, country, Americana, and even music performed by pop artists like James Taylor, Shawn Colvin and John Prine. It also includes some areas of world music such as klezmer, for example. Basically, roots music is music that comes from “folks,” ordinary people who create music to express the emotions and experiences that emerge from everyday living. 

The Leo Coffeehouse, probably the longest-running folk venue in the midwest, was also started in 1963, and for years was held in the basement of the University of Cincinnati YMCA. It was moved to Old St. George’s Church in Correyville in 1999, and in 2006 was moved to the Zion United Church of Christ in Norwood. Leo Coffeehouse is run entirely by the Queen City Balladeers volunteers, and is held every Sunday evening from September through May. Many nationally-known artists like John Denver and Utah Phillips have performed at Leo, but the coffeehouse is mainly an outlet for the many Tri-state area artists. These artists love performing to a “listening room” such as Leo, so they are willing to perform free of charge. Leo is an incredible place for an evening of high-quality entertainment. There is no admission fee, but we do appreciate donations. Usually a donation of $3 per person is normal for non-members. Those who hold an annual membership need not donate to donate at Leo, but many do so anyway. The Balladeers also sponsor and assist with other local music events, such as Edensong (each Friday in July), the Appalachian Festival and many other festivals and concerts in the Tri-State area.

Join Us!

Membership in the Queen City Balladeers entitles you to admission to all QCB evnts, like the Leo Coffeehouse each Sunday during the school year, and Edensong in July, plus other special events.

Memberships (annual)

Single: $15.00

Household: $20.00

Single with a guest pass: $20.00 

($10.00 if you live over 50 miles away)

To join the Queen City Balladeers, just contact Pam Temple at (513) 321-8375, or, better yet, come to the Leo Coffeehouse and sign up there!