Join us for the August edition of Central Jazz Big Band – dust off your dancing shoes, grab your partner, and come join the fun! Your $5 admission goes directly to the church food pantry, which provides food assistance to over 100 people every week
Dayton Music
Free Funk Fest Sunday
Sunday, August 13th, from 1p-9p at the Levitt Pavilion, the City of Dayton’s Recreation Department proudly presents the 4th Annual Dayton Funk Festival.
Live entertainment! Multiple food and merchandise vendors. Cold beverages!
The lineup features local funk performers DAY 10, Skin Tight Nation, The Swagg Band, Top Secret and The Deron Bell Band. The festival will will be emceed by Stan “The Man” Brooks.
*This is a free event but please no coolers or outside food/beverages. Local food vendors will be on site. Also, please no dogs or no tents….
Voices of America Country Music Festival
The inaugural Voices of America Country Music Fest launches in August 2023. The multi-day event takes place in the heart of West Chester, Ohio at the Voice of America Museum and is a celebration of the region’s rich history.
Lebanon Blues Festival
In historic downtown Lebanon, Ohio’s Bicentennial Park. Enjoy 11 incredible Blues Bands (3 on Friday night and 8 Saturday), your favorite foods, a deluxe beer garden, and our re-designed astisan and craftsman row. In addition to our live blues music, gaze at over 150 classic cars in the Blues, BBQ, and Bumpers Cruise-In on Broadway Street.
FRIDAY AUGUST 4TH
5:30 pm – Ricky Nye & Bekah Williams
7:00 pm Brad Hatfield Band
8:30 pm – Lady Joya Band
SATURDAY AUGUST 5TH
11:00 am – Greg Schaber
12:30 pm – Ralph and The Rhythm Hounds
2:00 pm – Tony Houston and the Primetime Blues Band
3:30 pm – Freddie G and The Swamp Bees
5:00 pm – Leroy Ellington’s Sacred Hearts
6:30 pm- Johnny Fink and The Intrusion
8:00 pm – Doug Hart Band
9:30 pm – Noah Wotherspoon Band
The Lebanon Blues Festival is the single largest fundraiser for the Lebanon Optimist Club. Our Optimist Club is a service organization (think of Rotary, Kiawanis, etc.) The thing that sets us apart from other clubs is our mission…we strive to serve as many youth in our community as possible by funding as many programs as possible.
Every dollar we raise with our festival is used to help children and teens here in Lebanon.
On Repeat – An Evening of Loops, On Loop
You’re invited to a very special evening of live music by loopers – musicians who expand their songs by layering sounds & rhythms. “On Repeat” is curated by our friend Vibes, and featuring performances by 6 amazing artists:
Fire Flower – Mt. Analogue – BJSR – Kari Diehl – Isicle – JRose Loops
***How to Go?*** – Wed, Aug 2, 2023 – Doors 7:30pm / Show 8-11pm – The Brightside (905 E 3rd St, Dayton) – Patio show (unless rain, excessive heat) – $10 Advance Tickets here: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/80041/orders/new – $15 at the door – All ages welcome!
The Temptations & The Four Tops at The Rose!
The Temptations, often referred to as “American Music Royalty,” are world-renowned superstars of entertainment, revered for their phenomenal catalog of music and prolific career. The group celebrated their 60th Anniversary throughout 2022. To mark this milestone, The Temptations released a brand-new album, Temptations 60, with nearly all-original songs in January of 2022 and toured in the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The legendary quartet, originally called the Four Aims, made their first Motown hit, “Baby I Need Your Loving” in 1964, made them stars and their sixties track record on the label is indispensable to any retrospective of the decade.
Lyle Lovett & His Large Band at The Rose
An Evening with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band will feature an arrangement of Lovett standards, as well as songs from his critically acclaimed album 12th of June. Watch the band perform on PBS’ “Austin City Limits” last fall.
12th of June was released last year on Verve Records. Produced by Chuck Ainlay and Lovett, the album features a mix of new originals, standards by Nat King Cole and Dave Frishberg, and a Horace Silver instrumental, representing Lovett’s dynamic live performances with his Large Band. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the new album continues to highlight Lovett’s ability to fuse elements of jazz, country, western swing, folk, gospel and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers. Of the album, The Wall Street Journal hails, “Few artists can bring all of these moods and sounds into one place and put a personal stamp on them all; Lyle Lovett does that.”
Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums. Whether touring with his Acoustic Group or his Large Band, Lovett’s live performances show not only the breadth of this Texas legend’s deep talents, but also the diversity of his influences, making him one of the most compelling and captivating musicians in popular music. Since his self-titled debut in 1986, Lovett has evolved into one of music’s most vibrant and iconic performers. Among his many accolades, besides four Grammy Awards, he was given the Americana Music Association’s inaugural Trailblazer Award, was named Texas State Musician and is a member of both the Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association Hall of Fame and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Star City Concert Series – Brass Tracks Tonight
Join us at Veterans Memorial Park to enjoy an evening of entertainment! While Riverfront Park is under construction this summer, the Star City Concert Series will be moved to Veterans Memorial Park located at 426 E Central Ave in Miamisburg. Stop by the Miamisburg Parks & Recreation tent for a free handout during the first few concerts! Various food tucks will be in attendance this year as well as a special appearance by our Traveling Playground at some concerts.
Live music back at the Dayton Arcade on Thursday!
Last summer, Culture Works, presented a 6-week local music series in the Tank space, which is located in the basement of the Dayton Arcade, under the Rotunda. This year, the series kicks off again on Thursday, July 27, 2023 with the Dayton Battle of the Bands winner: Crabswithoutlegs!
This series and show in particular is highly anticipated by the community because the Tank is such a unique entertainment space, and the band performing is such a phenomenal talent. This space and series is “inspired by Centerpoint Energy.”
What makes the Tank unique starts with its entrance, which is located at 35 W 4th St, between Main Street and Ludlow Streets in downtown Dayton. Look for the walls of glass coming out of the sidewalk. That marks the entrance! Go downstairs to a space with intentional, artist c reated graffiti, and into a cool space with blue neon lights leading you to a theater in the round. It’s like nothing you’ve seen before!

Eleanor Dakota will kick off the evening with a couple solo songs. Photo by Fea Fotos
The band is a 9-piece jazz ensemble of very young musicians (age 20-23), several of whom studied at Stivers School for the Arts and are currently studying music on the collegiate level. Led by singer Eleanor Dakota and bass player Carter Griffin, the band has been wowing audiences since they made their debut at The Brightside Music & Event Venue (also located in downtown Dayton).
What makes this concert even more special is that there will be 3 live artists paining in the lobby, curated by Culture Works, and a pop up photo booth by Fea Fotos. A bar is on site for patrons as well!
“This is the first of several concerts we are planning for the back end of the summer season,” Libby Ballengee shared with us. She is working with Culture Works on the music booking, and is a big supporter of live music downtown. “We’re looking forward to having an eclectic season again with jazz, hip hop, Latin, and rock bands. If you’ve been missing Gilly’s – this first show is a don’t miss event for sure!”
HOW TO GO?
July 27, 2023
At the Dayton Arcade’s Tank (35 W 4th St – look for glass entrance in stairwell)
Doors open 6pm
Music 7:30-9pm from Eleanor Dakota & Crabswithoutlegs
$10 cover at the door
18+
Find out more about the Tank here:
https://www.arcadedayton.com/arcade-events/category/the-tank-inspired-by-centerpoint-energy/
Get a preview of Crabswithoutlegs here:
Angie K at Levitt Friday Night
Angie K is shaking up Nashville with her fresh blend of hard-hitting country with a nod to her Latin roots. Her first bilingual single ‘Real Talk’ catapulted her onto the country scene by making her a ‘Highway Find’ on Sirius XM the Highway. Since then, she has accumulated over 20 million+ streams, 500k+ followers, and was the only independent artist to play on the Nissan Stadium stage during the 2022 CMA Fest. She was recently named to the 2023 class of CMT’s ‘Next Women of Country’ after scoring 3 back-to-back #1 music videos on the channel’s 12 pack countdown. Angie has shared the stage with artists like Big & Rich, Tanya Tucker, Sammy Kershaw, Trace Adkins, Melissa Etheridge, Jake Owen and more.
UK band makes a stop in Dayton on US Tour!
UK’s Project Blackbird is on their first US tour, and are prioritizing Dayton as one of their stops! You can see them Tuesday, July 18th at 8pm at The Brightside.
This “extraordinary” band, as BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson has described them, offers an atmospheric, genre-fluid listening experience that draws equally upon intellect and emotion. They are made up of 5 core members are vocalist Ming Nagel (originally from the USA), multi-instrumentalist Jon Read (former trumpet player for The Specials), guitarist Alan Roberts, multi-instrumentalist Jamie Varley, and drummer Eddie Dublin.
“Imagine a party at Ronnie Scott’s,” one fan suggests, “where Sade, Björk, Jeff Beck, and David Byrne meet Portishead and then go for a late night curry to exchange ideas…sublime”.
Local support comes from Rude Scholar. On site food truck, Phat & Rich, will be on site!
HOW TO GO?
July 18, 2023
Doors 7:30pm
Show 8:15pm
All ages welcome!
$10 advance / $15 day of show.
Advance tickets: https://www.venuepilot.co/events/75846/orders/new
Venue address: 905 E 3rd St (free, on-site parking available)
UK band Project Blackbird at The Brightside
UK’s Project Blackbird is on a short US tour – and they are making a stop in Dayton at The Brightside! This “extraordinary” band, as BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson has described them, offers an atmospheric, genre-fluid listening experience that draws equally upon intellect and emotion. They are made up of 5 core members are vocalist Ming Nagel (originally from the USA), multi-instrumentalist Jon Read (former trumpet player for The Specials), guitarist Alan Roberts, multi-instrumentalist Jamie Varley, and drummer Eddie Dublin.
Beavercreek Summer Concert Series: The Hathaways
“The Heights” Presents Ebony Burks Performing Live
Dayton native Ebony Burks returns home to perform a free live concert in partnership with Huber Heights Summer Music Series.
As an accomplished vocalist, vocal producer, and hit songwriter from Dayton, Ohio. Her talent & professionalism has allowed her much success in multiple music genres. In a business where longevity is a rarity, she maintains her relevance by writing from her heart and singing from her soul.
Touring as backing vocalist or opening act for major artists such as Nikka Costa, Kci & Jojo, Ron Isley, Earth Wind & Fire, New Edition, Dru Hill, and El Debarge has opened many of her doors.
Her list of writing credits are extensive. Many artists have covered & released her records. Her credits include Bj The Chicago Kid, Antonique Smith, The Hamiltones, Heather Victoria, Kaitlyn Nikol, Brandy Norwood, Bridget Mendler, Adam Hicks, Toni Braxton, Raheem Devaughn, Jhene Aiko, Gloria Gaynor, Timbaland, Blu Cantrell , Dr. Dre, Wu Tang Clan, Karen Clark Sheard, Layzie Bone, Quincy Jones’s signee XRiss, and more. After collaborating with successful Dance Music producer Alexander Perls, she gained major chart success by crossing over to EDM & House music. Scoring hits and remixes by some of Dance music’s popular DJ’s. Her credits include remixes with Tiesto, Dj Antoine, Dj Chus, Barillo, Kylian Nash and BBX.
Film & Tv credits include Starz Network “BMF”, BET+ “The Family Business”, Fox’s “Shots Fired”, Disney’s “Lemonade Mouth”, BET’s “Gun Hill”, Warner Bros “New York Minute”, The CW’s “Hair Show”, Exodus Ent “30 Years To Life”, “Law & Order”, “Soul Food”, and more.
An Evening with Nick Kizirnis & Kyleen Downes
Donate Your New or Used Instruments to DPAA!
Did you know that the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance collects new or used orchestra and band instruments? DPAA, in partnership with Discover Classical 88.1FM/WDPR & 89.9/WDPG (Dayton’s public, full-time classical music station), is seeking musical instruments to benefit students in the Dayton region. Our It’s Instrumental program collects used orchestra and band instruments in good condition are immediately placed into the hands of a young musician.
Other instruments are repaired or reconditioned and then given to deserving students at Stivers School for the Arts and the Q the Music Strings and Band programs at Ruskin Elementary and Edwin Joel Brown Middle Schools. Even unplayable instruments may be sorted for parts. Your gift will give these children the opportunity to shine musically and improve academically. If you have a musical instrument sitting around unused, help get it into the hands of an aspiring young musician.
Last year, we collected over 85 instruments from Grismer locations during the It’s Instrumental campaign.


What Instruments Do You Need?
While almost all instruments are needed, there are several priorities:
- 1/4 to 1/2 size violins, violas, cellos, and bows for students at Ruskin Elementary School’s Q the Music program
- Band instruments, i.e. trumpets, cornets, trombones, saxophones, clarinets, flutes, keyboards, drums, guitars, and tambourines for students in Dayton Public Schools and Q the Music at EJ Brown Middle School
- We are unable to accept pianos and organs
- While all donations are appreciated, instruments in good playable condition are critical, as a quality instrument can often positively impact a student’s desire to continue with music. You can donate a used instrument—including accessories like bows, strings, mouthpieces, and reeds—to help a young musician who might not otherwise have access to a quality instrument.
How Can I Donate?
Drop off new or used instruments at any Dayton area Grismer Tire & Auto Service Center location during business hours between now and July 31, 2023. All donations are tax-deductible.
If I Do Not Have an Instrument, Do You Take Cash Donations?
Yes! You can make a tax-deductible online donation by clicking here: