* Cleveland hot dog joint and local music hot spot, The Happy Dog, has launched a new Kickstarter to record and release a live album by the classical music group, Ensemble HD, a collection of Cleveland Orchestra musicians and their friends. The goal of $15,000 may be on the ambitious side, but so is the mission of Ensemble HD. How many other classical troupes have regular gigs at rock clubs? That’s a rhetorical question.

* In the past couple years, Cleveland musicians Nick Tolar and Tony Vorrell have seen their profile rise thanks to their work with local power-pop band, Herzog. Yet, before Herzog, and all of the rowdy gigs around town, the two of them also collaborated on a quieter, folksier kind of rock band, Expecting Rain. Expecting Rain’s new album, Fuck the World, will be celebrated with an album release show this Saturday at The Happy Dog. Locals Mike Uva and Little Bighorn will serve as openers. The album, available in its entirety for streaming, can be clicked and checked out below.