Sara Bareilles is currently on the road with Sugarland. Throughout this tour Bareilles is also headlining her own shows in-between the scheduled Sugarland dates. She'll be stopping at the House of Blues in Cleveland on August 9th, with opening act Raining Jane. Joshua Radin will also be supporting Bareilles in select cities.

"Little Voice", Sara's debut album is certified platinum. Her sophomore album, Kaleidoscope Heart was released on September 7, 2010 and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200. "King of Anything" received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Recently I got to speak with Sara while she took a short break from her busy tour schedule.

CH: Is there a difference in opening up for another artist and headlining your own show?
SB: Yes, when opening for another artist it's like being in someone else's house and I want to be respectful. "I ditch the swear words, I swear like a trucker." I'll play more obscure songs and want to make sure the performance packs a punch.

Ben Folds played to a sold out crowd at the House of Blues in Cleveland on April 16th. The show lasted nearly two hours with a 26 song set list. Not bad a bad deal for a $35.00 ticket

I've never been to a concert quite like this. Not only is Ben Folds a highly talented singer-songwriter and musician but he is also a very funny guy. I laughed so many times last night while enjoying the music.

With a maraca in one hand and the other on the piano keys Ben performed a memorable version of "Bitch Went Nutz". There were many highlights from this show and this was definitely one of them. Another was the performance of the comedic song titled "Levi Johnston's Blues".

Ben's high energy level continued throughout the entire night. Every Ben Folds song has a story that goes along with it and last night fans heard a brief story before each song. Ben's fun and friendly personality was very present on stage.

OK Go played at the Grog Shop in Cleveland this past Friday, November 6th. The band has come to Cleveland many times in the past but this was my first opportunity to see them peform. I heard rumors that they put on an awesome show and found out that the rumors were true.

No matter where you stand in the Grog Shop you feel like you are close to the band. It's a great venue for a concert. OK Go was full of energy from the time they stepped on the stage until the last song.

The band opened the show with a new song titled, "Shoot the Moon". Immediately following were a couple of their popular hits, "Get Over it" and " A Million Ways". Damien Kulash (vocals/guitar) addressed the crowd in between just about every song. One time he asked the fans if they felt Cleveland deserved the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. He then stated that he thought Cleveland was an odd place to put the Rock Hall. After fans shouted for a few moments the topic died quickly but I'm not sure why that was brought up in the first place.

Third Eye Blind performed at the House of Blues in Cleveland Tuesday night. It was also the first CAVS home game so I wasn't really expecting a lot of people to be at the 3eb show. To my surprise I think it was the largest crowd I've ever seen at the House of Blues.

Personally, 3eb will always remind me of high school. They were very popular during my last couple years of HS. The crowd on Tuesday night seemed to be a mixture of fans. Some that were probably big fans in the 90's, like myself and some that seemed younger so possibly fans of the more recent songs.

This was my fourth time seeing 3eb live. One of those times was this past summer at Tower City Amphitheater. The show this past summer and the show on Tuesday night were both to promote the new album titled "Ursa Major" which was released on August 17, 2009. The first single from Ursa Major was "Don't Believe a Word" and was released on June 5, 2009.

Last night fans nearly sold out the Wolsein Center in Cleveland for the Jay-Z concert.

One of the opening bands, N*E*R*D put on an amazing performance. Their new female vocalist, Rhea was on stage for the entire performance. During "Spaz" Pharrell Williams invited a female fan on stage with him. She was obviously very excited as she danced and sang along to every word. About 15 women joined N*E*R*D on stage during "Everyone Nose (All The Girls Standing In The Line For The Bathroom)".

The count down to Jay-Z began and with ten minutes before show time the screens on each side of the stage started counting down. Jay-Z made a dramatic entrance rising from below the stage as "Run This Town" started. The crowd went crazy and the stage came to life. Without a doubt I can say that this was the best and most elaborate back drop display I've ever seen at a concert. The images changed from city buildings, fancy speakers, and live footage.

Many songs played throughout the night were from "The Blueprint 3" album. However we also got to hear "Jigga", "99 Problems", and Izzo (H.O.V.A.). About half way through the show Pharell took the stage again this time with Jay-Z to sing "So Ambitious".

Wednesday night I headed to the House of Blues for the Sugar Ray concert featuring special guests Fastball and Aimee Allen. Quite a few of my co-workers were heading out to concerts that night as well, including Incubus at Tower City Amphitheater, the Dave Matthews Band at Blossom and the Pedal to the Metal tour at the Chevrolet Center. Although it was a music-fest in northeast Ohio, offering something for everyone, scheduling all four major concerts on the same night did have an impact on the turnout, at least at the concert I attended.

The evening began on the right note with Aimee Allen, pop/rock singer from L.A. With a new album, A Little Happiness, released just a week ago, Allen was working the audience with mannerisms similar to Gwen Stefani. She moved around the stage, dancing, swaying and keeping the sparse audience engaged. Her set had a groovy, almost pop/reggae feel to it that was constantly interrupted by her killer vocals. In addition to playing her own songs, she threw in a cover of Sublime’s Santeria, which I loved hearing with the female vocal lead. I didn’t know many of her songs but was convinced when she wrapped up the set with Little Happiness that it would be worthwhile to check out the new album.

The last time The Fray came to Cleveland I didn't go to the show. For some reason I was convinced that they would not be a good band to see live. Last night I found out how wrong my assumption was. The Fray exceeded all expectations I had of them. It was an amazing show. I definitely didn't give them the credit they deserve.

Jack's Manequin performed before The Fray last night. I'm so glad we made it to the venue in time to see their entire set. What an energetic performance. Before going to the show I was a fan of the band but now I'm an even bigger fan. I'm not sure I've ever witnessed a man with so much energy as Andrew McMahon (lead vocals). He was jumping on the piano, jumping off the piano, jumping on the drums, he was all over the stage. They played a great set and ended with a cover from Tom Petty.

The Fray took the stage a little before 9:30. After a musical intro of "Happiness" they dramatically started playing "Over my Head". The backdrop was full of small changing lights that lit up the stage. I immediately knew this concert was going to be much better than I anticipated.