Summer is heating up as the City of South Euclid turns up the volume for its 12^th annual Rock the Block, on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21 and 22, at the South Euclid Food Truck Park, 4477 Rushton Road. This year’s two-day festival will host 17 bands on three stages, along with family-friendly activities and food trucks.

Members of Hubbs Groove.“By hosting Rock the Block in the center of our city, right in the Mayfield-Green Downtown business district, it offers a great opportunity for residents and businesses to experience all South Euclid has to offer,” says South Euclid planning & development director and event organizer Michael Love about South Euclid’s biggest party.

“People get to spend a weekend of fun in South Euclid socializing with their friends and neighbors, enjoying some amazing food and music, and participating in some great family-friendly activities,” he adds.

Visions of the ultimate neighborhood party
Rock the Block emerged in 2015 after the city’s Home Days festival was canceled.

“At the time, the city had not done Home Days, our former big festival, since 2008, due to the financial climate that we were in,” Love recalls. “By 2015, we were just beginning that recovery, and we really wanted to bring back community events—specifically a signature community event.”

The concept of Rock the Block began to come into focus in 2014 when lifelong South Euclid resident, former City Council member and South Euclid Browns Barkers founder Tony Caroscio approached Love with the idea of bringing a festival to the city’s Downtown Mayfield-Green District.

Caroscio had the same feeling as Love, and he partnered with city officials to help formulate the vision for Rock the Block. The organizers envisioned the event to be a free community festival to celebrate Downtown South Euclid.

Carlos Jones“The first Rock the Block was held in the St. John Lutheran Church parking lot on a Saturday afternoon and featured four bands,” recalls Love. “It has now grown into a two-day festival featuring 17 bands and so much more in a new location that is still right in the heart of South Euclid.”

As the event has grown over the past 12 years, free admission, fun, and live music are still at the core of Rock the Block. “This is something we have stayed true to year after year, even as the event has grown,” says Love.

He adds that the decision to locate Rock the Block in the heart of South Euclid’s downtown Mayfield-Green business district was intentional—meant to draw everyone to the center of South Euclid.

“By being in Downtown South Euclid for the weekend, they get to see all the diverse range of thriving businesses surrounding the event space,” he continues, “which we hope they will come back and support.”

The music
This year’s two-day concert marathon marks the second time it will be hosted by the popular South Euclid Food Truck Park on Rushton Road.

"The best part about Rock the Block is the music," says event organizer and South Euclid Parks and Recreation director Daniel Subwick. "This region has an outstanding amount of talented musicians, and Rock the Block is the perfect place to highlight them."

Instead of focusing on one big headliner, Subwick says this year organizers focused on composing a musical lineup that creates a powerful combination of local favorites, women-led bands, and younger, yet super-talented newcomers.

“We have two full days of music,” Subwick promises, noting that the event is bookended by two of Northeast Ohio’s most beloved musical acts.

Carlos Jones and the P.L.U.S. Band will open Rock the Block on Friday, Aug. 21 with their popular reggae sounds, while Cleveland’s rock and soul favorite Apostle Jones—one of the region’s “hardest-working bands,” says Subwick—closes out the two-day festival on Saturday, Aug. 22.

Rock the Block newcomer Hello! 3D, a band that has been wooing fans this summer all over Cleveland with its global, eclectic sounds, takes the Röchling Stage from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22. The popular Rubix Groove opens the evening on the Dollar Bank Stage at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Soul Shake + The East Side Horns will bring its energy and soul-shaking sounds to the Röchling Stage from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, while Apostle Jones will play the same time slot on the Dollar Bank Stage.

Apostle Jones“It doesn’t matter what your vibe is, you show up and it’s an elevated show,” says Subwick, noting that the audience goes wild when Hubbs Groove plays jazz, soul, gospel, classical, and R&B. The group takes the Röchling Stage on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Also on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., national recording artist Andre Cavor will bring jazz, R&B, and soul to the Röchling Stage on his saxophone, while Northeast Ohio pop cover band Taking Off Monday will simultaneously take to the Dollar Bank Stage.

Several Rock the Block and South Euclid Food Truck Park regulars will be performing as well. Perfect Choice Band will play all of the wedding favorites, while the rocking sounds of Loconti and the explosive Akron rock from Michael Weber Show will also resonate throughout Downtown South Euclid.

“It's hard to describe Michael Weber’s talent and ability," notes Subwick, as he describes Weber’s ability to play guitar with his teeth while lying on his back or jumping around. “He's truly a guitar god in my eyes."

Subwick says there are several younger music groups and female-fronted bands that are newer to the scene this year—noting that he is particularly excited about Saturday’s performance by Hello! 3D, a seven-piece group described as having a “musical passport filled with stamps from Peru, Colombia, and other corners of the psychedelic globe.”

Other exciting groups include queer/alternative punk group Girl Cologne; hard rock husband-and-wife duo Hoooked Like Helen; and SABON—female-fronted, young, and attracting a big following for its ska and punk sounds.

“We wanted to highlight younger bands that are new to the community,” says Subwick.

All of that music and entertainment is made possible, Subwick emphasizes, by presenting sponsor Dollar Bank, as well as support from sponsors Röchling Industries and One South Euclid. The full music schedule is available on the Rock the Block page.

Hooked Like HelenWait, there’s more
Some of the South Euclid Food Truck Park’s most popular regular food trucks, of course, will offer a variety of options. Trucks include 2024 National Fried Chicken Festival finalist Grippy's Sauce Company, Celestial Treats, Tropical Snow CLE, and The Urban Wrap Company.

Black Forest Bar and Grill, South Euclid’s oldest bar, will host the Black Forest Karaoke Contest, while McGuire’s Pub will also add to the culinary options.

"Everyone's a VIP at Rock the Block," quips Subwick.

Official parking will be at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, 1545 South Green Road. Additional parking is available at various locations throughout the South Euclid Downtown District.