Last week, MidPoint co-founder Bill Donabedian placed an ad in the Memphis Flyer, the city's alternative weekly newspaper, touting Cincinnati's superior claim to past and present musical glory.

Sure, rock 'n' roll was born in Memphis, the ad argues, when Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right Mama" for Sam Phillips in 1954. But it was conceived in Cincinnati in 1947, when Wynonie Harris cut the hit "Good Rockin' Tonight" at King Records.

"We just fired the first shot to get everyone's attention that this city has a really strong history of music, and that we're coming back," Donabedian says.

The ploy is partly a playful promotional stunt to get people talking about MidPoint, which features 250 independent bands, that runs today through Saturday, Donabedian says. And it's partly a serious effort to draw attention to Cincinnati's rich musical history and vibrant contemporary scene.

Donabedian says that both Memphis and Cincinnati are vying to be the independent music capital of the world, but he's already trademarked the title for his hometown. And with a thriving local music community spotlighted by the MidPoint festival, we're more deserving of it, he says.

So, does Memphis consider the Queen City a rival?

"No, we don't, actually," says Heather Hayslett, executive administrator of the Memphis and Shelby County Music Commission, which is spearheading efforts to promote Memphis' independent music scene.

Well, no matter how this match turns out, you can be sure that musicians in both towns will continue to make a lot of noise.

E-mail chanifin@enquirer.com

Give MidPoint Music Festival's Bill Donabedian credit for nerve for placing this ad in the Memphis Flyer that touts Cincinnati's music credentials.