Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More
The Almond Butter Band is the region’s premiere tribute to the legendary Allman Brothers Band.
On Friday, November 12, they’ll be in concert at The Sorg Opera House in Middletown OH, 8-11pm, performing a cross section of classic songs and deep cuts that span the entirety of The Allman Brothers’ 45-year history.
Join Mike and I at the coolest new music club in the Dayton area. We will be playing more great music. Great food, beers, drinks and atmosphere
The Brightside Music & Event Venue has announced their 2021-2022 concert season (listing below), which will run from November 2021 through early April 2022. The season offers a mix of concerts ranging in genre from jazz to metal, dinner theater, shopping events, burlesque, drag and wellness events.
The Brightside is a newer venue downtown, opening in the spring of 2019, just a year before the covid shutdown. After years of sitting in disrepair, the multi-purpose event space was rehabbed by local artists Carli and Hamilton Dixon
The venue hosted a mix of entertainment and private events their first year. During the covid shutdown, they didn’t stop working. While the building was empty, they took the opportunity to continue improving the space, by adding a second-floor loft and giving the exterior a facelift.
Financially, covid was very tough on independent venues across the nation. Pivoting to weddings helped the team make it through the shutdown. Through it all, the team has remained passionate about getting back to live music and public events.
“We were so grateful we got to host some really memorable concerts this summer,” Libby Ballengee, the venue’s event creator shared with us. “However, we’ve collectively decided that our time to shine is autumn through spring when the big outdoor venues like Levitt, Fraze, and Rose are closed for the season. We’re excited to host to bring Dayton audiences amazing up-and-coming national and local acts.”
The Nth Power performs at The Brightside on Nov 9, 2021.
The Brightside kicks off the season on Tuesday, November 9th with a very funky dance party featuring The Nth Power, a sensational trio born out of New Orlean’s Jazz Fest. They’ll be paired with Ernie Johnson From Detroit, a 10 piece afro-funk-rock band that is known for their electric on-stage energy.
Their season also features annual events with Ekoostik Hookah, Scythian, The Werks, and Miss May I, two all-day music festivals, and the Dayton Battle of the Bands. This season includes Sunday evening Dayton Dinner Theater engagements, with live jazz, dinner, and a cult favorite film.
“The winter gets so dark and depressing, I like to host events that lift people’s spirits, including my own!” John Boucuvalas, Dayton Dinner Theater’s owner told us.
Ballengee told us that more dates are to be confirmed soon yet. “We’re not done booking yet, so look for more dates to be announced! We may have a big show over the summer, here or there, but by and large, we’re going to enjoy our summers along with everyone else!”
Ekoostik Hookah performs at The Brightside on Nov 19, 2021.
They’re also focused on providing a safe, indoor experience. The venue has installed UV-C air sanitation filters in their HVAC units. There are also asking guests to wear masks unless a patron shows proof of vaccination, negative covid test, or antibody test result.
Tickets and information for The Brightside events can be found at https://www.thebrightsidedayton.com/event-calendar. See list to date of events planned below. Note: Not all events tickets are available for purchase yet.
The Brightside is located at 905 E 3rd St in downtown Dayton and has free, on-site parking.
2021-2022 The Brightside Season
Ernie Johnson From Detroit performs at The Brightside on Nov 9, 2021
Tuesday, Nov 9, 2021 – Power Funk from The Nth Power & Ernie Johnson From Detroit
Sunday, Nov 14, 2021 – “A Night in Paris” featuring Howard Hewett & fashion from Curvy Kouture
Thursday, Nov 18, 2021 – Jazz Fusion with Jonathan Scales Fourchestra
Friday, Nov 19, 2021 – Ekoostik Hookah with special guests Subterranean
Sunday, Nov 21, 2021 – Dayton Dinner Theater premiere featuring Star Wars & live jazz
Friday, Nov 26, 2021 – Celtic Rock with Scythian and Arbo
Saturday, Nov 27, 2021 – The 10th Annual Werksgiving Celebration featuring The Werks and Dustin Smith & The Daydreamers
Friday, Dec 3, 2021 – Soul-Reggae-Funk Dance Party with Jah Sol and Solistic
Scythian performs at The Brightside on Nov 26, 2021
Sunday, Dec 5, 2021 – Daytime: Katrina Reelfish Presents a Holiday Drag Brunch
Evening: Dayton Dinner Theater featuring Christmas Vacation & live jazz
Friday, Dec 10, 2021 – HoliDayton
Sunday, Dec 12, 2021 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring Elf
Friday, Dec 17, 2021 – Miss May I with special guests TBA
Thursday, Jan 13, 2021 – Dayton Battle of the Bands – Round 1 featuring Funk, Rock’n’roll, & Jam
Sunday, Jan 16, 2021 – Dayton Dinner Theater premiere featuring Wizard of Oz & live jazz
Thursday, Jan 20, 2022 – Dayton Battle of the Bands – Round 2 featuring Hip-Hop, R&B, & Soul
Jah Sol performs at The Brightside on Dec 3, 2021
Thursday, Jan 27, 2022 – Dayton Battle of the Bands – Round 3 featuring Alternative, Punk, & Metal
Sunday, Jan 30, 2022 – Dayton Dinner Theater premiere featuring The Princess Bride & live jazz
Thursday, Feb 3, 2022 – Dayton Battle of the Bands – Round 4 featuring Folk, Americana, & Singer-Songwriter
Friday, Feb 4, 2022 – Punk Rock Prom with Nightbeast, Safe Money, & Knavery
Sunday, Feb 6, 2022 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring Caddyshack & live jazz
Thursday, Feb 10, 2022 – Dayton Battle of the Bands – Round 5 featuring Dance, Electronic, & Experimental
Monday, Feb 14, 2022 – Valentine Day Dinner & Jazz with the Blue Heron Trio
Thursday, Feb 17, 2022 – Dayton Battle of the Bands Finale
Friday, Feb 18, 2022 – Femme Fatale Dayton Burlesque Revue
Friday, Feb 25, 2022 – ENMY with special guests TBA
Blue Heron Trio performs at The Brightside on Valentine’s Day, 2022
Saturday, Feb 26, 2022 – Sound Valley Winter Music Festival – featuring the winner of the Dayton Battle of the Bands
Sunday, Feb 27, 2022 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring Airplane & live jazz
Saturday March 5, 2022 – Mardi Gras Extravaganza featuring Solistic & special guests
Sunday, March 13, 2022 – Daytime: Venus Rising Wellness Workshop
Evening: Dayton Dinner Theater featuring The Holy Grail
Sunday, March 27, 2022 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring Napoleon Dynamite
Sunday, April 10, 2022 – Dayton Dinner Theater featuring The Big Lebowski & live jazz
Tickets and information for The Brightside events can be found at https://www.thebrightsidedayton.com/event-calendar. See list to date of events planned below. Note: Not all events tickets are available for purchase yet.
The Brightside is proud to host a truly epic evening with The Nth Power and very special guests Ernie Johnson from Detroit! This is truly a “don’t miss” evening featuring the funk-jazz-rock fusion masters!
On Saturday, November 6, 2021 at 8:00 pm in the Mead Theatre of the Schuster Center, Artistic Director and Conductor Neal Gittleman and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) are bringing the funk as they kick off the 2021‒2022 Dayton Philharmonic Rockin’ Orchestra Series withDayton Funk: A Tribute to Dayton’s Funk Legacy. The DPO welcomes to the stage the Dayton Funk All-Stars and other special guest to celebrate a definitive era of music that electrified the Gem City in the 1970s and 1980s.
The DPO is honored to perform this concert in partnership with The Funk Music Hall of Fame & Exhibition Center (aka “TheFunkCenter”) and in conjunction with the University of Dayton’s Funk Symposium. The Dayton Funk Symposium returns to the University of Dayton on November 3-6, 2021, with a lineup of academic, cultural and community events celebrating the rhythmic groove-based genre that put Dayton on the musical map in the 1970s and early 1980s.
On the evening of Saturday, November 6, the Dayton Philharmonic travels back in time to when Dayton emerged as the “World Capital of Funk.” The R&B charts of these two decades topped out with more hits from Dayton artists than from almost any other American city. Often these hits leapt right off the R&B charts and straight up the pop charts! Celebrate this era of Dayton with us as symphony fuses with jazz, blues, and rock, and we relive the history of music in our funky town.
Audiences will groove to the sounds of Dayton funk groups, including Faze-O, Dayton, Sun, Platypus, the Ohio Players, and others who were pioneers on the scene as this new genre of music emerged nearly 50 years ago. The DPO, the Dayton Funk All-Stars, and guest artists will perform such iconic jams as “More Bounce to the Ounce,” “Your Thing is Your Thing,” “Love Rollercoaster,” “Boogie Nights,” and “Fantastic Voyage,” among other R&B chart-topping hits.
The University of Dayton Graul Chair’s second Dayton Funk Symposium will begin Wednesday, November 3, at the Neon Theatre with a 7 p.m. showing of the documentary “Summer of Soul” and will run through this Saturday, November 6, performance at the Schuster Center. For more information on the Dayton Funk Symposium, visit https://udayton.edu/artssciences/endowedchair/graul/funk-symposium/index.php.
A reception benefitting TheFunkCenter will be held before the concert in the Mathile Theater from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and available athttps://www.eventbrite.com/e/funk-box-reception-tickets-178201173507.
The Drawing Room Chamber Series at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center is a special opportunity to experience professional musicians and orchestral instruments in an intimate atmosphere. These concerts are usually composed of up to five musicians. One thing that is unique to chamber concerts is that the musicians are presenting music that that they have chosen themselves. This is not practical for a larger philharmonic where the pieces that are performed may have been chosen by committee agreement.
Musica
The chamber experience is intimate because the music that they perform are pieces that especially move them, pieces that they love to play. The musicians will have the time to talk about why they are playing the music that they chose. They will share bits of wisdom and history and help you to understand what the music means to them. Another thing unique to Hayner’s chamber concerts is that the audience is seated on the same level and in close proximity to the musicians. One tends to hear the instruments with the entire body and not just the ears. The Drawing Room Chamber Concert series is a rich and unique way to experience the same instruments that our young people are learning for band. The series is curated and hosted by Steven Aldredge of Wright State University. Steven is a gifted collaborative pianist as well as a soloist and published composer in his own right.
The 2021- 2022 Drawing Room Chamber Concert Series is on the last Tuesday night of most months in the school year at 7:30 pm. It opens this year on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at 7:30 pm with violinist with violinist Tom Sobieski. He will be performing some of his favorite macabre and spooky pieces as only the violin can play. He will be performing some of his favorite macabre and spooky pieces as only the violin can play.
Western Ohio Tuba Quartet
In November the Western Ohio Tuba Quartet will return to the Hayner to masterfully perform holiday favorites on four tubas. Their work is called “masterful” because of the skill of the four tubists. This concert is guaranteed not to overwhelm as one might think, although it might make you vibrate a little!
Amanda Roberts
Tuesday, January 25, 2022, will be a concert with Dayton’s volunteer chamber choir, Musica. Over 18 vocalists will light up the Hayner Ballroom. Flutist Christopher Chaffee will return to the series on Tuesday, February 22 and Amanda Roberts and friends will take the March 29 Drawing Room Chamber Concert. Closing the season on Tuesday, April 26 will be Steven’s own quartet Tutti Solisti. This final concert always brings surprises and special treats.
The Troy-Hayner Cultural Center is located at 301 West Main Street in Troy, Ohio. Most concerts, including the Drawing Room Chamber Concert Series are free to the public. Free reservations will be needed for the series due to limited seating. You may obtain your tickets at www.TroyHayner.org/music . Just navigate to the Drawing Room Chamber Concert page and select your favorite concert or phone the Hayner at 937-339-0457.
90’s kids unite as Blessid Union of Souls comes to the Sorg Opera House! Emerging from the Cincinnati music scene in the 1990’s, Blessid Union of Souls became one of the most commercially successful bands ever from the area. They have released six studio albums, charting an impressive seven top 40 songs, five of which cracked the top 20. Three of those were top 10’s, and one (“I Believe”) climbed all the way to number 1! They have an RIAA certified Gold album as well as a Gold single, and have been featured in many movie soundtracks and TV shows.
Their optimistic and spiritual outlook mixes influences of contagious pop, alternative rock, and soul to create a truly unique and catchy sound. Singer Eliot Sloan’s thought-provoking songwriting and the band’s extremely dedicated and loyal fan base led them to being one of the most popular acts on adult alternative radio in the mid 90’s, and their influence persists still today. After traveling the world over the course of two decades, Blessid Union of Souls comes back home and brings their show to the Sorg stage. Don’t miss your chance to see this influential alternative act live at the Sorg!
BUY TICKETS for the Oct 22nd 8pm show
Free parking behind the building off of Broad Street and off of First Street.
Join us on Oct 15th at The Yellow Cab Tavern to celebrate the Reggae, Soul, Funk & Disco sounds that the Jah Soul Family has been bringing to the region for 10 YEARS!
Featuring Jonny Dread, Sharron Lane, Khyrs Blank, Eric Henry, Brad Denson, and Skabone Stan, this will be a night you do not want to miss!
Cover starts at 8:00pm on Oct 15th with performance starting around 9:00pm! Tickets are $7 presale and $10 at the doors. **Discounted presale tickets end at Midnight on Oct 14th
Bob Ross Auto Group Jazz & Beyond series continues this Thursday, October 14th from 5:30-7:30pm with the Jimmy Leach Jazztet.
Jimmy Leach sings and plays trumpet, backed by some of the most sought after jazz players in Southern Ohio. Hear 20th century jazz standards, Latin favorites, & more.
This concert takes place in the Mimi & Stuart Rose Auditorium; all seating is general admission. Doors open at 5 & the performance begins at 5:30 p.m. A cash bar will be available in the museum’s Lower Court for drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), but no food will be served.
Free to members; included in museum general admission for non-members
Tickets may be purchased at the museum the night of each performance; all seating is general admission and includes regular admission to the museum $15
More Information: Call 937-223-4ART (4278) during regular museum hours.
Stringus Khan & Mother Stewart’s are pleased to present Mother’s Bluegrass Revival! Join us as we break in our new stage with Grammy Award winners, nominees, and future nominees(?).
Friday: The Repeating Arms, Stringus Khan, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
Saturday: Blue Moon Soup, The Devil Doves, Stringus Khan, Chicken Wire Empire
Sunday: Stringus Khan, The Travelin’ McCourys
Shows are rain or shine..Occupancy for each night is 400 (if indoors due to weather), 550 if outside.
Weekend passes are available ($55), or tickets can be purchased for individual evenings ($20 each night). All nights are rain or shine. Shows are scheduled on the outdoor beer garden stage.
With hits like How Your Love Makes Me Feel, One More Day, Beautiful Mess, Unbelievable, In A Week or Two and more, Diamond Rio is going strong celebrating their 30th Anniversary. See all the original band members — Gene Johnson (mandolin, tenor vocals), Jimmy Olander (lead guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo), Brian Prout (drums), Marty Roe (lead vocal), Dan Truman (keyboards), and Dana Williams (bass guitar, baritone vocals)
BECKY WARREN will begin at 7:00pm and THE INDIGO GIRLS will close the show
Live performances by The 1984 Draft, The Nautical Theme, The Color Fred, and Extra Arms
Pat Benatar’s staggering vocals and take-no-prisoners attitude, along with Neil Giraldo’s trailblazing artistry as a guitarist, producer and songwriter forged the undeniable chemistry and unique sound that created some of rocks most memorable hits including We Belong, Invincible, Love Is A Battlefield, Promises In The Dark, We Live For Love, Heartbreaker and Hell Is For Children. Together they have created two multi-platinum, five platinum and three gold albums, as well as nineteen Top 40 hits. They have sold over thirty million records worldwide and have won an unprecedented four consecutive GRAMMY® awards. Their rock and roll love affair has endured for more than three and a half decades
Dayton Salsa Project is a partnership of local musicians and salsa music. enthusiasts. Our group comes as a result of the vibrant, growing Hispanic population of Dayton and the great interest of Daytonian’s in Salsa music and dance.
