Kristal Mills was settled in her life, working in the corporate world in Cleveland. But the pull to explore her creative side led her down a new path. For this week’s Shuffle, Mills talks about the industrial techno beats she produces under the name Slugg.

For more than three decades, Scott Paris was a fixture of Northeast Ohio’s live music scene, performing up to 200 shows a year in bars, clubs, casinos and festivals.

Now, the longtime Canton-based musician is reflecting on his career in a new book, “A Guitar Called Harry V and the Cover Band Conundrum,” a memoir told through journal entries chronicling his life with one special guitar.

Jevaughn Bogard started playing saxophone in grade school. He went on to study sax in college, tour nationally and perform with stars. Now he's created his own jazz fusion band, Abstract Sounds, in Cleveland.

Clevelanders with a passion for modern Argentine tango are connecting audiences with a master. After 20 years of performing throughout the Midwest as the Oblivion Project, the group is releasing its first album.

After years of performing in ensembles, Cleveland trumpeter Theresa May is stepping out on her own. May joined "Applause Performances" and "Shuffle" for an in-studio performance and conversation about her new electronic music, as well as breaking barriers in the classical world.

A band of three teenage siblings from Stark County got their start while stuck at home during the pandemic. After five years of performing and writing together, they’re now releasing a new set of songs that reflect their growth as musicians and as a family. We hear more from COMPASS on this week’s Shuffle with Brittany Nader, who produces the podcast with Amanda Rabinowitz. 

Cleveland rapper and multi-instrumentalist Jinari Kemet is a versatile performer, bending genres and making a scene on stage. He makes his Brite Winter music festival debut this month, performing songs from his debut album, released last January. Kemet talked with Amanda Rabinowitz about finding his voice. 

Tracey Thomas found the spotlight as part of Akron's new-wave scene in the '70s. But she found her voice forging her own music journey. Now with a new album and memoir, she reflects on her long career.

When Cleveland musician Brian Bacon’s two daughters set off for college, he set off on his own journey to write and record an album in Nashville. The result is "Murder of Crows," a 10-track rock opera that helped him find his voice as an artist.

Throughout the year, you have been hearing from Northeast Ohio musicians through Shuffle, your backstage pass to the independent music scene. Now let's look back at 2024. Shuffle’s Amanda Rabinowitz and Brittany Nader reflect on their favorite local albums of the year, from genre-blending experimentation to new discoveries.