Merchants & Music Festival

Merchants & Music Festival A great day of fun for the whole family! Free festival. Non-stop music! Food & beverage, local business booths, wine festival, and shopping.

🎸The full Merchants & Music lineup is here!🎸Get ready for a full day of music, vendors, and fun on Saturday, September 1...
08/25/2026

🎸The full Merchants & Music lineup is here!🎸

Get ready for a full day of music, vendors, and fun on Saturday, September 19!

🎶Tower Park Music Lineup:
• Gina & Johnny - 5:30pm
• Noah Smith - 6:30pm
• The Tillers - 7:30pm
• Toad the Wet Sprocket -9pm

This year the festival is expanding to an all-day event throughout Fort Thomas. Check out the Inverness District from 11:30am-1:30pm where Tickle Pickle Restaurant, Tracy Davis-State Farm Insurance Agent, and K. Anderson Jewelers will be having a street party featuring 4th Day Echo!

Tallant Music Studio, Taste Cellar & Pantry, Fort Thomas Coffee, and Improv NKY will be hosting musicians from 1:30-3:30pm in the Cultural Arts District.

Head on over to the Midway District from 3:30-5:30pm to enjoy live music at Midway Cafe Fort Thomas, The Olde Fort Pub, Fort Thomas Pizza and Tavern, and That Lady Barber.

Kids activities will be happening in various districts throughout town! From 10-11:30am, the Fort Thomas Branch of Campbell County Public Library will be hosting the School of Rock band and Blue Marble Bookstore will be doing storytime & crafts. The Post - Pours & Rations will be partnering with the YMCA to do crafts from 11:30am-1:30pm and the Inverness District will be having a kids carnival! Check back at The Post from 1:30-3:30pm for the YMCA Teen Band.

🚐Need a ride? Executive Transportation will be providing shuttles throughout town to get you from district to district! We will also designated shuttle stops in the evening where you can park your car and hop on the shuttle to Tower Park. Stay tuned for more parking details.

🎟️Merchants & Music is FREE to attend. Mark your calendars for September 19 and have a full day of fun and live music in Fort Thomas!

Check out the 2026 Merchants & Music Lineup in Tower Park on September 19! 🎶🎸Gina and Johnny will get the night started ...
07/30/2026

Check out the 2026 Merchants & Music Lineup in Tower Park on September 19! 🎶🎸

Gina and Johnny will get the night started in the park following an entire day of live music at each of the different business districts in Fort Thomas. Noah Smith and The Tillers will keep the good vibes going, and Toad the Wet Sprocket will take the stage at 9pm for an unforgettable finale!

The Merchants & Music Festival is one of NKY's largest, FREE music festivals featuring an entire day of live music, food trucks, vendors, and local businesses. See you in Fort Thomas on September 19!

07/27/2026

One of your favorite '90s alternative rock bands is coming to Northern Kentucky!

Toad the Wet Sprocket, celebrating their 40th band anniversary this year, is headlining the 2026 Merchants & Music Festival at Tower Park on Saturday, September 19! They'll take the stage at 9pm after an incredible lineup of opening acts - Gina and Johnny, Noah Smith, and The Tillers.

The 2026 Merchants & Music Festival is a entire day of live music, delicious food, and local vendors. Businesses in Fort Thomas will be hosting musicians all day long, so keep an eye out for the FULL Festival Lineup coming soon.👀

"All I Want" is to see you at Merchants & Music - one of NKY's largest & FREE music festival - on September 19!🎶🎸

🎶Song - All I Want by Toad the Wet Sprocket

You've all been asking who's next. We figured it's time to tell you...We're thrilled to share that The Tillers will be o...
07/20/2026

You've all been asking who's next. We figured it's time to tell you...

We're thrilled to share that The Tillers will be opening for Toad the Wet Sprocket at the 2026 Merchants & Music Festival!🎶

The Tillers have been thumping their own distinctive sound of string band style folk music for nearly two decades, riding it all over the country and across the sea. Four studio albums and one live record have won them praise as modern folk storytellers of the national soundscape.

See The Tillers and our 2026 headliner Toad the Wet Sprocket live on Saturday, September 19th at Tower Park!

Getting the night started in Tower Park for Merchants & Music 2026 is the Gina and Johnny Band! 🥁The Gina and Johnny Ban...
07/18/2026

Getting the night started in Tower Park for Merchants & Music 2026 is the Gina and Johnny Band! 🥁

The Gina and Johnny Band was formed in 2022 and is a combination of Cincinnati's finest blues musicians. Gina McCann, lead vocalist, has an amazing voice and an equally strong stage presence. Johnny Fink provides both soulful guitar and powerful vocals. Johnny is also a member of the Northern Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. Mike Grosser, bass/vocals, has traveled all over the US playing with numerous artists and is a three-time member of the Northern Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. Roger Bates is a veteran drummer, touring with many various blues artists.

Gina and Johnny were semi-finalists at the 2025 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. The band's debut CD "Free Your Soul", released in January 2025, has received worldwide airplay and critical acclaim across the board.

See them kick off the night of live music in Tower Park at 5:30pm on September 19!

🎸Get ready to turn up on September 19!🎸We're excited to announce Noah Smith as one of our opening acts for this year's M...
07/16/2026

🎸Get ready to turn up on September 19!🎸

We're excited to announce Noah Smith as one of our opening acts for this year's Merchants & Music Festival! He'll be bringing the best of both worlds to the stage, Country and Rock. 🎶

Noah Smith is a national and international touring songwriter from Cincinnati, Ohio, delivering road-forged songs anchored in fearless storytelling and unfiltered honesty. With more than a decade of touring across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, including performances across 16 states and multiple tours in Denmark, he has earned his place on major stages while building a fiercely loyal following of his own, sharing stages with artists including Lonestar, Ashley McBryde, The Steve Miller Band, Joe Diffie, Chris Janson, Josh Turner, and more.

His live show moves seamlessly from explosive, communal moments to stripped-down, intimate performances that pull audiences closer. Noah’s studio recordings have been streamed millions of times and capture the same intensity and authenticity that define his live shows, with songs built to be felt as much as heard. A staple in the Cincinnati music scene, Noah is also the creator and host of a monthly songwriter show, Noah Smith’s Crooner Circus, as a long-running showcase that has featured hundreds of artists and grown into an annual multi-stage songwriter festival. Noah is as committed to building community as he is to writing songs that last. As a seasoned performer, he is stepping confidently into his strongest chapter yet.

Come out to Tower Park on Saturday, September 19 to see Noah Smith take the stage at 6:30pm!

And the 2026 Merchants & Music headliner is…🥁TOAD THE WET SPROCKET!For more than 30 years, Toad the Wet Sprocket has rem...
06/01/2026

And the 2026 Merchants & Music headliner is…🥁

TOAD THE WET SPROCKET!

For more than 30 years, Toad the Wet Sprocket has remained one of the most iconic bands of ‘90s alternative rock era. The Santa Barbara quartet broke into the mainstream with their platinum-selling album Fear, featuring hit singles “All I Want” and “Walk on the Ocean” before following it up with another platinum record, Dulcinea, which included fan favorites “Fall Down” and “Windmills”. Their music has been featured in countless films and television shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek, Empire Records, and Friends.

Known for their heartfelt songwriting, signature harmonies, and unforgettable live shows, Toad the Wet Sprocket continues to connect generations of fans nearly 40 years after forming. With the recent release of Rings: The Acoustic Sessions and a 2026 tour celebrating the band’s 40th anniversary, the group continues to prove why their music remains timeless.

Toad the Wet Sprocket will be taking the Merchants & Music stage Saturday, September 19 at 9pm. Check out www.merchantsandmusic.com for more details. Merchants & Music is a FREE festival to attend.

Super Sharp Entertainment
Toad the Wet Sprocket

All the pieces will "fall down" in a few more days. 🧩OFFICIAL announcement coming Monday.😉
05/29/2026

All the pieces will "fall down" in a few more days. 🧩

OFFICIAL announcement coming Monday.😉

Only TWO more puzzle reveals until the full Merchants & Music headliner announcement. 👀🔥We’re excited for the big reveal...
05/26/2026

Only TWO more puzzle reveals until the full Merchants & Music headliner announcement. 👀🔥

We’re excited for the big reveal. Get ready… June 1st is almost here. 🎶🧩

Address

Fort Thomas, KY
41075

Opening Hours

1pm - 12am

Telephone

+18595721209

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