Cleveland Cares

More than a dozen Cleveland night clubs and restaurants will contribute to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort on Thursday, October 20, hosting Fat Tuesday on Thursday. More than 30 local groups of all styles will perform.

"Such a widespread disaster deserves the help of anyone who can offer it, no matter where they live," says singer-songwriter Ryan Humbert, who will perform at Lakewood's Winking Lizard (14018 Detroit Avenue) with Anne E. DeChant. "I'm more than happy to be a part of any relief effort that I can. It may seem small, but with the whole country banding together, I think we truly can make a difference."

A suggested donation of $10 will provide entrance to all venues for the evening. All the money raised will be donated to the New Orleans Musicians Clinic, a nonprofit organization providing health care for artists, which has expanded its mission to help fund musicians' other needs in the wake of the hurricane.

Musicians scheduled to perform at the city-wide benefit include jazz trumpeter Kristine Jackson, rhymer Iyan Anomolie, blues group Blue Lunch, and reggae rockers Carlos Jones and the P.L.U.S. Band. Participating venues include 2527, the Barking Spider, Fat Fish Blue, the Hard Rock Café, Wilbert's, Wish, and others. See this week's clubs listings for a complete entertainment schedule and addresses.

"This is a real general fund, not the Red Cross," says John Lattimer, president of the musicians' networking group Undercurrents, who organized the drive with Tommy Wiggins of Cuyahoga Community College's Recording Arts and Technology program. "This money goes to help musicians get health care and to get them what they need, whether it's gasoline or school uniforms for their kids."

· In other Cleveland hurricane-relief efforts: On Sunday, October 30, the Agora (5000 Euclid Avenue) will host an all-day CD-release party for NOMAD, a three-disc Red Cross benefit compilation featuring blues and rock acts, among them the Buffalo Rose Band and Robin Stone. Hip-hop DJs Mick Boogie, Joey Fingaz, and Terry Urban have contributed to The Hurricane Relief Mixtape, a CD available through www.mickboogie.com. And on Saturday, November 5, the Grog Shop (2785 Euclid Heights Boulevard, Cleveland Heights) will host Urban Relief, an all-star soul and hip-hop benefit show featuring Conya Doss, Suave Goddi, and others.

· Veteran blues singer-guitarist Travis Haddix will record his set at the Savannah (30676 Detroit Road, Westlake) on Saturday, October 22. Haddix plans to use the material as part of a live album he hopes to release by the end of the year. Still untitled, the disc will be his 13th solo album.

· Singer Tony Webster has left throwback metal band Mo Rage and joined Archetype, a Cleveland prog-metal band with a modest international following, managed by Danish metal agency Intromental Management. Mo Rage has yet to announce a replacement.

· Cleveland's the Vacancies have landed a supporting slot for a 25-date national tour with crusty punk rockers the Dwarves, Mondo Generator, and the Turbo A.C.'s. The Vacancies' latest, A Beat Missing or a Silence Added, is set for a November 1 release on Joan Jett's Blackheart Records.