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Event Series: LOCAL BLUES JAM – Mansion Hill Tavern with rotating host

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LOCAL BLUES JAM – Mansion Hill Tavern with host Doug Hart

September 27 @ 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Doug Hart is a prominent American blues-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter who stands as a definitive staple of the Southwest Ohio and Greater Cincinnati music scenes. Fronting the Doug Hart Band (DHB) for over 25 years, he is widely respected for his high-energy showmanship, soul-infused vocals, and blistering, free-form guitar solos.
Musical Background & Style
    • Origins: Hailing from Dayton, Ohio, Hart initially picked up the trumpet in the fourth grade. As a teenager, his family temporarily moved to Georgia, where he fell in love with 1980s guitar-driven rock icons like Van Halen, AC/DC, and Guns N’ Roses. He taught himself to play on a Sears and Roebuck guitar, later expanding his palette into the foundational blues-rock of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.
    • The Sound: Operating primarily as a hard-rocking blues power trio, Hart blends highly controlled songwriting with improvisational extended jams. Local peers and critics frequently note his intense playing style, famously joking that “smoke comes out of the guitar” when he performs live.
    • Discography: He released his debut studio album, Reckless Life, in 2005, which he characterized as a “blues/rock journey for the soul”.

Career Milestones & National Presence
    • International Blues Challenge: A testament to his standing in the regional blues community, Hart has won regional showdowns (including the Dayton Blues Challenge and Black Swamp Blues Challenge) and has been selected to compete in the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee four separate times.
    • Famous Stages: His extensive network has taken him to premier national blues venues, including Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago, Stevie Ray’s Blues Bar in Louisville, and famous Beale Street hubs like the Rum Boogie Cafe, B.B. King’s, and Club 152 in Memphis.
    • Collaborations: He has shared festival lineups and stages with national blues powerhouses such as Mike Zito, Albert Cummings, Ana Popovic, Lonnie Brooks, and fellow Cincinnati standout Noah Wotherspoon.

Active Lineup & Regional Footprint
The Doug Hart Band features a rotating cast of veteran regional musicians. The core trio features Rob Thaxton on bass (who also plays with the Noah Wotherspoon Band) and Craig Comer on drums. Past iterations have featured notable area players like Mike Hausfeld, Tom Rastikis, Josh Gonzales, and Keith Cozart.
Hart maintains an incredibly active performance schedule dividing time between standard full-band festival bookings and intimate solo acoustic gigs. He remains a frequent headliner at Southwest Ohio staples such as Around the Table in the Cincinnati Incline District, Jayne’s On Main in Miamisburg, Nick’s in Xenia, and the outdoor Levitt Pavilion.

 

 

 

Mansion Hill Tavern, located in Newport, Kentucky, is greater Cincinnati’s oldest live music venue and a renowned historic blues “Juke Joint”. Operating as a bar since the 1940s, it is known for hosting legendary and emerging blues acts, and serving Southern-style tavern food.
History & Background
  • The Building: Erected in 1875 in Newport’s East Row Historic District, it originally served as an inn for Ohio River steamboat and railroad workers.
  • Early Uses: Over the decades, it operated as a grocery store, a political headquarters, and was rumored to be involved in bootlegging during Prohibition.
  • The Blues Era: In 1944, the space became Ivy and Gill’s Café, where the live music and “boogie-woogie” traditions officially began.
  • Recent Ownership: The building was purchased in 1988 by Lou Peluso and later acquired by current owner Brian Conner.

Details

Venue