Cliff Porter, the longtime drummer and singer for the soul/roots-rock band Jelly Bread, is celebrating his 50th birthday with a big show that goes beyond being a fantastic musical party—it’s a performance with a purpose.
He and a group of guest musicians—including his son, Cliff Porter Jr.—will perform tunes from Stevie Wonder’s classic album Songs in the Key of Life on Monday, Sept. 28, at the Hawkins Amphitheater. The show will also serve as a benefit for and the debut of Porter’s new nonprofit, MACS Foundation.
Porter said that MACS stands for “Musicians Actively Confronting Suicide.” It’s named in honor of his brother-in-law, MacArthur Wrights, a fellow musician who Porter said died by suicide. The MACS Foundation is meant to be a meeting place and safe haven for musicians dealing with depression, loneliness and suicidal thoughts.
“Even if they are feeling like their career isn’t doing what they want it to do, and need somebody to bounce ideas off of, or they just want to talk about it or be together with other musicians, we can do that,” Porter said.
Porter’s been a Reno musician for decades. Besides Jelly Bread, he also plays in Full Blast Collective, which, like Jelly Bread, also includes Porter Jr. on bass. Porter Sr. also tours with an Indiana group called Dead Funk Summit that plays originals and covers mixing New Orleans funk with jam-band styles.
Jelly Bread will start the show at Bartley Ranch, and after that, guest musicians will perform songs from Wonder’s masterwork, which was released on Porter’s birthday, Sept. 28, 1976. Among those guests are veterans from Wonder’s backing bands: Brandon “Pastor Funk” Brown (bass), Errol Cooney (guitar), Pete Ortega (sax) and Fausto Cuevas (percussion).
Porter secured all of these musicians through former Beyonce and Dumpstaphunk drummer Nikki Glaspie, who leads her own soul/funk band, Nikki and the Homies, and is the musical director for Porter’s show.
“Nikki called me up to play a Homies show down in L.A,” Porter said. “She calls all of her musician friends, and they just ended up being friends of mine from playing with them. So, I asked her to reach out to them to see if they’d be willing to come out and support the foundation, and they all said yes. So I feel very blessed to play with this caliber of musicians and that it’s something they wanted to do.”
It’ll also be another great night of playing together for the Porters. Porter Jr., who started playing music with his father in 2014, said he considers every show with his dad a special moment in his life.
“He doesn’t give himself enough credit for how much of an incredible musician he is,” Porter Jr. said. “I don’t think the reality hits him that he’s in the same caliber of the people who are playing this show with him.”
Cliff Porter’s 50th Birthday Celebration will take place at 6 p.m., Monday, Sept. 28, at the Hawkins Amphitheater in Bartley Ranch Regional Park. For details and tickets, which are $71,21, find the event on Eventbrite. You can also learn more about Porter’s bands on Instagram @cliffnotes775.
Riffz and Rhymez moves to downtown Reno
Two weeks ago, I told you about the new Rage on West Street music festival, slated for Saturday, Sept. 26, in downtown Reno. Now, another a festival in its second year is planning its first Reno edition—Riffz & Rhymez 2.
This festival took place last October at Saltwater Tavern in Carson City, but for its second edition, on Saturday, Sept. 12, at The Alpine (324 E. Fourth St.), everything is bigger—more bands, more lights, lounder sound, and more diversity beyond the first year’s mix of rap and rock.
Once again, the festival is being organized by Ozzwald Intoxx, who is part of the rap/rock combo Tha Intoxxikated Pedeztrianz. He also works as security or on the stage crew for show promoters such as Jmax Productions and One Vision Entertainment Group.
“It’s definitely grown, and going from a little local bar to a big venue is a major step and a challenge,” Intoxx said of Riffz & Rhymez. “Basically, I hit up everybody who did it last year and gave them a chance to be on it first, but then I also posted that we were looking for bands, and it filled up within four days. It was bonkers, dude.”
Among the artists announced for this year’s Riffz and Rhymez are rappers Doc Gruesome, Luck Pida, Akbadd and MC Frend. For heavy rock and punk, there’s Silence the Crowd, Machine Gun Vendetta and Deathbed Clique. Other artists include reggae group False Rhythms. And that’s just a handful of the dozens of artists on the event poster.
Intoxx said he will always maintain a diverse lineup at Riffz & Rhymez, and that last year’s inaugural event went over well with a broad audience.
“The cool thing about it was that people would be there for certain artists but then got turned on to music they really didn’t know about,” Intoxx said. “Everybody is gaining fans from each other in the community, which is really great.”
He added, with a laugh: “There was no weird shit going on. Everyone was open and ready to see what we’ve got to offer out here.”
For more information about the event or to buy tickets, which are $27.50, go to The Alpine’s website, or at intoxx-1.eventcube.io/events.
Fervence returns to Reno on eve of Metal Blade Records debut
The three members of the Texas progressive-metal band Fervence who used to live in Reno— vocalist Stevie B., guitarist Trent Odneal and drummer Chris Tufino—are returning to the city for a show this Friday, Sept. 4, at The Alpine along with headliners Kingdom Collapse and tourmates Beauty Is Betrayal.
It’s not the group’s first show back in Reno after moving away in 2024, as they played at Alturas Bar last year. But this is a higher-profile outing with a sneak preview, kind of, of Constructs, its album being released by Metal Blade Records on Oct. 16. The band’s been playing some songs from the record on tour.
“The whole experience of working with them is so lovely,” Stevie B. said about Metal Blade. “They are a wonderful group of humans. They are like, ‘Yeah, you make your music, and we’re going to promote it.’ It’s not like they are controlling how it’s going to be or what we are doing. Super supportive.”
The two members of Fervence who aren’t from Reno—guitarist Austin Bentley and bassist Jon Daniels—joined the rest of the group for extensive touring since the band announced it had signed to Metal Blade in June 2025.
“I think we did 50 shows last year, and it’ll be about that this year,” said Stevie B. “So you get your reps in, and you start discovering who you are and what you sound like. It’ll tighten you up for sure.”
On the horizon after the Reno show is a 14-date, late-October tour of the South and East Coast, the band’s first jaunt to that part of the U.S., to promote Constructs. It also includes a slot at the October Obliteration metal festival on Oct. 18 in Loganville, Ga., which is close to Atlanta.
Oh, and Stevie B. and Tufino will be getting married, also in Reno, among family and friends, the week before the album release.
“So, basically, the next two months are going to be crazy,” Stevie B. said. “It’s all been pretty surreal.”
For more details on Fervence, go to www.fervence.net or follow www.instagram.com/fervenceband.
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