By: John Appeldorn

Cincinnati’s music scene among other things is proficient at cultivating the young musical talent of the region. Rio & the Ramblers, a Cincinnati-based rock and roll band, is one of these groups continuing to carve out their place in the music scene.

This summer the band has been busy working to promote their name and signature blend of blues and rock and roll.

“This has been a great summer of successes,” Xavier senior and lead singer Rio Van Risseghem said.

“We’ve been definitely breaking into the Cincinnati music scene, and played a lot of gigs (that got us a lot of exposure).”

In June, the five-piece band participated in Cincinnati’s Next Big Band, a competiton that offers local bands the opportunity to showcase and promote their work on a larger scale.

Rio & the Ramblers won the contest and was awarded eight hours of free recording time along with a $500 cash prize.

Rio & the Ramblers has been just as busy recording songs as it has been performing.

“We’ve been really focusing on writing songs this summer,” Van Risseghem said.

“Of course for larger gigs we had to add a few covers, but for the most part, we are sticking to original music.”

The group has recently completed an EP of three original tracks and is currently in the process of putting together a full album of original work.

“It’s neat to see how what we listen to infuses into our own music,” Van Risseghem said.

Although this summer has been successful for Rio & the Ramblers, the band continues to plan for the future.

“Currently we are in the position of finding a management company,” Van Risseghem said.

“We’ve been talking to a few different management groups which would allow us to stop having to book ourselves and have someone else start booking us.”

In addition, the band is in the process of planning a regional tour for next summer, playing in cities from Cincinnati to Atlanta.

“The goal is to get our EP heard, and build on the gigs that we played this summer,” Van Risseghem said.

Rio & the Ramblers will be headlining the Women in Blues Night on Sept. 13 at the Cincinnati Beer Festival, which features the products of hundreds of brewers from the Tri-state area.

Sometime in September, the band will also be performing at the Rock Bar in Cincinnati’s Horseshoe Casino.

For more information on Rio & the Ramblers, visit their pages on Facebook and Twitter.