Celebrating 10 years of Sideshow!

Credit: Libby Ballengee

Credit: Libby Ballengee

The weekend of Sideshow is one of my favorites in Dayton: it's a glorious time of year, it's a free 2-day festival and it combines music, comedy, food and art in a fantastic spectacle that will delight people of all ages. Started in 2006 by the Dayton Circus Creative Collective, the group is now celebrating the 10th anniversary of this legendary local event.

>> 5 reasons to go to Sideshow

"The Sideshow hopes to expose the burgeoning underground art scene and interconnect it with the more established art community," explained Laurana Wong , who spurred the idea for the festival.

By featuring over 50 visual artists, 40 bands,  children's events , food trucks and breweries, this is the don't-miss event of the weekend! (And did I mention it's FREE?!)

Credit: Libby Ballengee

Credit: Libby Ballengee

HOW TO GO:

WHAT: Sideshow X - "An Event of Grand Proportions"

WHERE: The "Old" Yellow Cab Building , 700 E 4th St., Dayton (north of the Dublin Pub)

WHEN: 5 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday, May 8 and 3 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturday, May 9

COST: Free, but donations are accepted to support the event. Volunteers are needed, as well.

INFO: Proud part of Art in the City - downtown Dayton's giant street party and celebration of the Arts!

Find me! I'll be at the  Gem City Podcast tent most of the weekend, so come over and say hello! We are going to be hosting live interviews, "hot seat" questions and general fun and mischief! We'd love to see you!

Thursday, May 7

A special treat Thursday night at  Oddbody's Music Room for the post-grunge, alternative hard rock fans in the area: just $2 gets you in to see Sean Danielsen , the LA-based singer/guitarist from the band  Smile Empty Soul. If you haven't been to Oddbody's yet, you are missing out on the best sound setup in the city! Conveniently off Route 35 at the Woodman exit, off Burkhardt, it's one of my favorite places for live music!

Friday, May 8

I don't know what's going on with promoters in town, but WOW did they stack this Friday night with so many awesome music options. (Almost TOO many!) It's going to be lovely out, so check out one of these acts. Hopefully this helps you navigate which will rock your soul.

Credit: Libby Ballengee

Credit: Libby Ballengee

11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. - The

recently launched their lunchtime summer music program at Courthouse Square called

The Square is Where.

Beatlejuice

an appropriately-named Beatles cover band, will be performing. Beatles music, sunshine, food trucks? I'm in!

5-10 p.m. -  After work, wander over to Riverscape Metro Park where you will find  Blue Caboose and  Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill  Hustle  playing progressive bluegrass as part of the " Pickin' in the Park " series. Another free event! And these guys are GREAT! If you like country, bluegrass or just folks killin' it on acoustic instruments, this is your show. There will be craft beer and food trucks on hand as well.

5 p.m.-1 a.m. - Don't forget Sideshow -- 2 stages and FREE!

6:30 p.m. - Jason Owens, a young country music rising star, will be performing south of town at JD Legends in Franklin right off I-75. I don't often say too much about country artists because I'm not super familiar with them, but I checked out this guy online, and man, he really gets after it on the guitar! Pretty impressive for the country genre. Check it out and let me know what ya think.

7 p.m. -  Mushroom Head, very popular heavy metal band from Clevelandwill be taking the stage at Oddbody's this evening. A highly anticipated show for this crowd. Paint your faces and paint the town!

9 p.m. - Hometown favorites  Shrug will be performing with Frontier Folk Nebraska at  Jimmie's Ladder 11. If you in the South Park / UD area, this is a great way to spend your evening!

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Saturday, May 9

3 p.m.-1 a.m. - Sideshow continues... In my opinion, some of the best musical acts are playing today on the Rejuvenation Stage, including party band and crowd favorite The Nightbeast at 10 p.m. If you're over by the Reflection Stage, check out some lovely friends of mine -- The Blackbirds at 7 p.m. It's truly difficult to say what bands to watch... they are all SO good.

Ready to sit inside and just chill? Get over to  Canal Public House for a night of Nasty Bingo  with very special guest  Sharon LaneNasty Bingo is a lively folkadelic / indie-pop group. They do a pretty sweet cover of "Fearless" by Pink Floyd that I might just request! Sharon Lane is a singer, pianist and local legend. Music starts at 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 10

Take a break from the party and call your Mom! I'll be listening to Elvis records with mine.

As always, thank you for supporting the live music scene in Dayton. Cheers!

Your Dayton Music Insider,

Libby Ballengee

Note to Readers:   This lineup is for May 7th - 9th, 2015. Please click the links to find out detailed information about the bands, venues and events, including start times, directions and pricing. I try to link band names with samples of their music. Always check with the venue about start times and ticket availability. As you can see, I try to promote as many shows as possible, but there will be some I miss. Keep me in the loop:  @LibbyBallengee

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