Andy Downing's Avatar

Andy Downing

@andydowning33

director/editor @matternews

1,283
Followers
207
Following
1,038
Posts
30.06.2023
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by Andy Downing @andydowning33

I don't care what people say 43 free throw attempts is unethical hoops

11.03.2026 13:17 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

the ejection of jaylen brown by the coward tyler ford

11.03.2026 01:27 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Lily Seabird feels slightly less like an impostor now – Matter News The Vermont musician, who visits Rumba Cafe for a concert on Thursday, March 12, has a new record coming this fall that finds her emerging from a tough couple of years with at least a shred more confi...

β€œI still feel uncertain all the time, but now it’s like, I’ve made four albums, I guess I can kind of do this.”

Lily Seabird, who visits Rumba Cafe this week, has a new record coming this fall that finds her emerging from a tough couple of years with at least a shred more confidence.

10.03.2026 18:30 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Lesley Jenike scrapes away the veneer with β€˜City of Toys’ – Matter News In her new essay collection, out today (Monday, March 9), the Columbus author said she opens up β€˜in a way I don’t in my everyday life.’

β€œIf something weird happens to me, or I overhear a weird thing, or somebody says something weird to me and it disturbs me, that, to me, is a good opportunity for an essay." CITY OF TOYS out today from OSU Press! Thank you @matternews.bsky.social!
matternews.org/culture/word...

09.03.2026 22:51 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

*THE* inappropriate relationship

09.03.2026 14:35 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

the records request I put in six months ago asking for carter's emails on a handful of specific subjects is now roughly as valuable as those bored ape nfts

09.03.2026 14:22 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
In a fraught time, TAKAAT fearlessly pushes toward the edges – Matter News Mdou Moctar members Mikey Coltun and Ahmoudou Madassane will perform together as a duo at Cafe Bourbon Street on Sunday, March 8, supported by Idioms and Winston Hightower’s Perfect Harmony.

β€œI don’t know a lot of bands that are touring [the U.S.] from that part of the world right now, so we have no reference for how it’s going to be. And we know it’s a risk. But in talking to Ahmoudou, asking, do we still want to do this? The answer is yeah. It’s part of our life. We need to do this.”

04.03.2026 17:20 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

thank you!

04.03.2026 16:19 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

icymi from yesterday.

04.03.2026 15:28 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Church of the Red Museum resumes service for Lost Weekend Records anniversary show – Matter News The sprawling Columbus band will bring its ramshackle murder ballads to the stage for the first time in 16 years when it performs at Natalie’s Grandview on Saturday, March 7.

In the band’s first run, Butler said he viewed Church of the Red Museum's music through a gnarlier lens, with time and experience having collided to shift his perspective. β€œI’m struck by how the songs used to feel aggressive to me, and now they feel melancholy.”
matternews.org/culture/musi...

04.03.2026 14:11 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Evolved Body Art wrestles with accountability – Matter News In interviews with Matter News, former staff members described what they termed a history of inappropriate behavior within the shop enabled and perpetrated by owner Nick Wolak, who said the business i...

In interviews with Matter News, former staffers described what they termed a history of inappropriate behavior within the shop enabled and perpetrated by owner Nick Wolak, who said the business is "putting in the work to make Evolved Body Art better from the ground up"
matternews.org/community/ev...

03.03.2026 14:31 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
Preview
Evolved Body Art wrestles with accountability – Matter News In interviews with Matter News, former staff members described what they termed a history of inappropriate behavior within the shop enabled and perpetrated by owner Nick Wolak, who said the business i...

In interviews with Matter News, former staffers described what they termed a history of inappropriate behavior within the shop enabled and perpetrated by owner Nick Wolak, who said the business is "putting in the work to make Evolved Body Art better from the ground up"
matternews.org/community/ev...

03.03.2026 14:33 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

one of my favorites in columbus

03.03.2026 16:17 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Evolved Body Art wrestles with accountability – Matter News In interviews with Matter News, former staff members described what they termed a history of inappropriate behavior within the shop enabled and perpetrated by owner Nick Wolak, who said the business i...

Good stuff from @matternews.bsky.social

matternews.org/community/ev...

03.03.2026 14:55 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Evolved Body Art wrestles with accountability – Matter News In interviews with Matter News, former staff members described what they termed a history of inappropriate behavior within the shop enabled and perpetrated by owner Nick Wolak, who said the business i...

In interviews with Matter News, former staffers described what they termed a history of inappropriate behavior within the shop enabled and perpetrated by owner Nick Wolak, who said the business is "putting in the work to make Evolved Body Art better from the ground up"
matternews.org/community/ev...

03.03.2026 14:31 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2

ike reilly is the best.

03.03.2026 00:50 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It's taken some wrangling, but I think I can safely say I'll have roughly 3,400 words on Evolved Body Art publishing at Matter tomorrow.

03.03.2026 00:39 πŸ‘ 10 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Why Electricity Bills Are So Highβ€”and How the Blowback Could Hit Trump – Matter News As Democrats and climate activists seize on energy costs as a political issue, new data shows electricity rates rose 5 percent nationwide in 2025. The figures were much higher in some states.

β€œIt’s just getting harder and harder now to live,” said Steve Van Kuiken, a Columbus pastor who is part of a community group opposing utility rate increases. β€œThe working class is really getting squeezed, and everything’s going up.”

New from Dan Gearino and Marianne Lavelle of Inside Climate News.

02.03.2026 19:42 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Calendar – Matter News The Cringe live events calendar at Matter News was updated on Sunday, March 1, and includes listings through Sunday, March 15. Visit Cringe.com here for four full weeks of listings and send your Colum...

A reminder that we've partnered with Cringe to maintain a robust live events calendar, which was updated today with events through March 15.

matternews.org/calendar/

01.03.2026 15:59 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

ha. congrats to you as well.

27.02.2026 17:23 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

so it was basically exactly this

27.02.2026 16:37 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

matter news just received a friends of oft award for our labor/union coverage and I was told we weren’t speaking but people did anyway and then I had to follow shannon hardin invoking jesse jackson and basically shaking the rafters

27.02.2026 16:37 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Trek Manifest lives out the stages of grief onstage with β€˜Tosca’s Boy Session Part 1’ – Matter News The Columbus rapper’s new live album, the first in a planned trio, is out now on Bandcamp and hits the remaining streaming services on Monday, March 2.

β€œTosca’s Boy Sessions is really just a way for me to tell the story of how I’m doing, what’s going right, what’s going wrong, and then how I’m moving forward.”

matternews.org/culture/musi...

27.02.2026 15:00 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
a man is rowing a red kayak in a river . ALT: a man is rowing a red kayak in a river .
26.02.2026 18:04 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

a high school student just reached out about shadowing me at the office and I can't stop laughing thinking of them sitting on the kids' trampoline in the basement a few feet from my desk

26.02.2026 17:38 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Fifteen years in, Ken Eppstein remains committed to Nix Comics – Matter News β€˜There’s just the improbability of 15 years, and all of the things that have to happen to end up where I am now, doing what I’ve done, and doing what I continue to do.’

β€œThere’s just the improbability of 15 years, and all of the things that have to happen for me to end up where I am now, doing what I’ve done, and doing what I continue to do. It’s a tapestry, you know, and it’s pretty crazy,” Ken Eppstein said.

matternews.org/culture/art/...

26.02.2026 16:39 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

fingers crossed but might be less than a week away from pushing out a feature that I did my first interviews for like 10 months ago

26.02.2026 00:51 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Stefan Doke puts his back into the making of new Forever Strange EP – Matter News The Columbus rock quartet will celebrate the release of β€˜EP 2’ at Rambling House on Saturday, Feb. 28, supported by Wax Teeth and Brian Damage.

β€œWhether it is or isn’t popular in whatever kind of specific way, I don’t care as much now. … It’s almost like, why would a painter keep painting if nobody buys their paintings? And I’ve just gotten to the point where the answer can be because I like painting.”

matternews.org/culture/musi...

25.02.2026 19:22 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
β€˜They took away our voices’: Administrators quash planned Plain City student walkout – Matter News In a statement sent late last week to district families, the Jonathan Alder Board of Education wrote that while it recognizes and respects the constitutional right of students to express their views, ...

Explaining the Board’s decision in a recorded call, Walker cited the potential that students could be physically harmed or even killed if allowed to exit the building, proposing a scenario in which β€œsome psycho lays down in the field across the street with a shotgun and kills one of our students.”

24.02.2026 17:37 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0