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Friday evening. 5:30. The Village Idiot.

At first glance, it looks familiar enough. Two men stand on a small stage, playing acoustic guitars as the happy hour folks put away a few beers.

A few things set the scene apart, though. There’s a good-sized crowd – an amazing crowd, really, when you consider how early it is. And this is not your typical happy hour crowd. It’s not a bunch of work cronies complaining about the boss and shaking off the pressures of the week. These people are actually listening to the music. They even applaud the solos, something you seldom see outside of a jazz club.

Then again, this is not your typical acoustic set. It’s not background music. There aren’t any silly sing-alongs. No “Margaritaville.” Just two musicians who share the telepathy that comes from years of playing off one another. John Barile and Bobby May can play, and they’re turning Friday evenings at the Village Idiot in Maumee into a music lover’s destination.

Barile and May have been combining folk, blues and bluegrass forms since they first started jamming together in 1991. Barile was a founding member of the Rivermen, while May was performing with Dry Bones Revival and as part of a long-standing partnership with Pat Lewandowski. 

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Political cartoonists have plenty of fodder given today’s frenzied climate.

Nonstop stump speeches, pollster analysis, Internet blogs and continual bickering between parties make political pundits giddy with glee while the overexposed candidates do all they can to win your vote.

The fever pitch can’t be denied, and those with a flair for the funny bone are quick to deliver a dose of cartoon satire sure to amuse most any political junkie.

The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont is currently honoring political cartoons with the exhibit The Golden Age of American Political Cartoons.

Although historians from the center note that political satire is dated to Egyptian hieroglyphs, the exhibit focuses on those created in the late 19th century.

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In an unassuming house located amongst the corn and bean fields between Toledo and Bowling Green is a musical oasis called Firefly Studios.

Now in its fourth year of operation, Firefly Studios, owned and operated by Brett Dennison, offers musicians one of the best non-corporate recording experiences available in the area.

Along with affordable rates, Firefly also boasts an assortment of professional equipment, professional mastering capabilities and a laid-back atmosphere conducive to the creative process.

“I’m trying to offer a service to artists. I’m trying to provide them with tools and the capabilities that used to cost 10 or 20 times as much money. I’m trying to empower the little guy, to level the playing field for artists,” Dennison said.

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