CINCINNATI — When Virginia native Melvin Dillon moved to the Queen City four years ago for his retail management job, he found a welcoming, creative community at the city’s breweries and record shops.
“This is the first place I moved outside of my home that I don’t want to move away from,” he said.
Dillon felt compelled to say “thank you” to his adopted hometown. Thus, the Cincy Brewers Series was born.
The vinyl release series, which kicks off Sept. 4 with a launch party at MadTree Brewing, combines Dillon’s passions for local craft beers, bands and vinyl records, which he has cultivated while living in the region.
“A lot of my friends in the city work at breweries,” Dillon said. “They’ve always been a very unique support system to me.”
Dillon met people at breweries such as MadTree and Listermann when they hired him to deejay events at their taprooms as a side job.
“I met Melvin when the brewery first opened up three and a half years ago,” said Kris Yock, MadTree’s taproom general manager. “We were actually his first local deejay gig.”
After moving to the city, Dillon also launched Soul Step Records, a nonprofit company that presses records for bands that might not otherwise be able to afford the cost of producing a vinyl album.
“Soul Step came around when I realized that going to the record store was not as fun because I collected everything vinyl-wise I wanted,” he said. “As someone in my younger days as a touring musician, I thought, what service would I have liked to have had? That turned into ‘Well, I want to make this.’”
The way Soul Step is structured, Dillon sells the first 100 copies of an album to recoup production costs and then splits profits with the artists. Soul Step’s profits then go into financing his next project, Dillon said.
“I feel like it is a win for my company,” he said. “For the artists, here’s the opportunity to have a physical product and make money.”
For the inaugural Cincy Brewers Series album, Dillon has partnered with MadTree, which is making a special infused beer for the launch party, and local band Krystal Peterson & The Queen City Band, which recorded two songs for a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl and will play a free show in MadTree’s taproom.
“He reached out to me and said he wanted to hear more about our music,” Krystal Peterson said of her band’s involvement in Dillon’s project. “He told me about this idea he had about pairing with local breweries. Melvin is super passionate about music. It’s pretty obvious within a few minutes of talking with him.”
Peterson, whose band has been together for two years, gave Dillon the choice of songs to put on the first Cincy Brewer Series album. He selected “Ain’t Crying No More” and “Better Way.”
“Melvin’s a heart guy,” Peterson said. “After I met with him, I realized why he picked those songs. I think it is very powerful when different creators in the community come together."
Dillon worked with Peterson to choose the design and color of the 100 custom records he made for the series, then contacted Yock to discuss having MadTree host the first brewery pairing for the record release.
“I can’t think of a better place to kick it off with since that was the first place I deejayed at,” Dillon said. “That was a cosmic connection from there."
Dillon is currently working to line up other artists and breweries for future Cincy Brewers Series releases.
“My ultimate hope is that we can hit every single brewery in Cincinnati,” he said. “My hope is everyone benefits from this. The fact that [Krystal Peterson] and her band will do a free show in MadTree will drive more people back into MadTree and give the band more exposure. It’s just a really unique way to celebrate three unique things in this city.”
Cincy Brewer Series
Kickoff event at MadTree Brewing
6:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 4
5164 Kennedy Ave., Columbia Township
For more information visit the Facebook event page.
