Dayton Music Insider: Germanfest, Fennario, & More!

Read on to find out details on weekend long festivals in the area, stand alone shows, and a special save the date preview to flag in your calendar.

Super excited that the 34th Germanfest Picnic is back, and its new home at Riverscape MetroPark. This beloved annual festival features continuous live music, authentic German food, Biergarten, Weingarten, German Import Haus, Marktplatz with merchandise and vendors, Kidz Zone, Bavarian Fashion Show, Cultural Heritage Booth, 5K and 10k Race/Walk, raffle prizes, and more! Join in the fun all weekend: 5-11 p.m on Friday, August 11, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on Saturday, August 12, and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sunday, August 13. All ages!

The Fennario Music Festival, featuring loads of regional bans, is running now through late Saturday night at Hannon's Camp America in College Corner, near Oxford. Well worth the drive if you're up for music and camping. Tickets are $80 at the gate. All ages welcome!

Live Music Performances by:

Grateful Dead Experience: The Schwag

The Mike Dillon Band

Fareed Haque & His Funk Bros

Glostik Willy

Peridoni

The Ramshacklers

Ernie Johnson From Detroit

Kommunity Service

Electric Orange Peel

Conscious Pilot

B.C. Duo

Jimmy Tebeau & Dave Herbert Acoustic

Flatland Harmony Experiment

Creation Station

Wed ZepWeen

Derick Howard

Ol' Dirty Strangers

Artist at Large : John Arthur Gentry Jr.

Gotta love the early shows! Let's get to those first. Out near Wright State area, do stop by for Queen Victoria's Rock'n Bday Party at Wandering Griffin from 5-8pm.  Todd the Fox Trio , which includes the Queen herself, will be performing, so get in on the fun! No Cover All Ages.

Out in Yellow Springs, swing by Emporium Wines  for a lovely night of wine, beer, music and dancing with Rachel Litteral and The Abstracts. Music from 7-10pm.

Downtown Dayton, per usual, has a plethora of great late night rock parties. One of the most antipated of those is certainly

Speaking Suns, Yellow Paper Planes, Water Witches,

and

  Andy Gabbard 

at

Blind Bob's Bar. 

This is fantastic line-up of alternative / indie rock, that you won't want to miss! 9pm $5 cover. 21+

Another cool kid show is happening at  South Park Tavern  with  Salvadore Ross and The French.  I'm sure this show will be packed so get there early to get a seat! 10pm-1am. (Not sure if there's a cover, but rumor is this a free show)

The rockabilly rebels themselves, Cherry Lee & The Hot Rod Hounds  will be laying it down at Tumbleweed Connection. The combo of this band with this bar always equals a good time! 9:30pm. 21+

High energy funk is on tap at  Oregon Express with  Freakquency. Prepare for lots of smiles, dancing, and good times with this crew! 9:30pm. 21+ $5 cover

Bashiri Asad , a singer/songwriter from Indianapolis, is in town performing at Trolley Stop. He notes that his influences are Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke, and Otis Redding, which is quite compelling. Be sure to stop out and check out this new soul singer! Music at 9:30pm. $5 cover charge. 21+

Early evening out with friends on Saturday? Check out Nothing but Treble at Fifth Street Brew Pub's patio from 7-10pm. What a lovely way to spend the evening!

Sing Dayton! A Night to Vocalize and Socalize is also happening early on Saturday, from 7-10pm at Yellow Cab Tavern. Imagine: The people all around you choosing vocal parts for a popular song. The music director stands up and guides everyone through the harmonies. Voices merge, endorphins release, time slides... "Beer Break!" rings out, and the camaraderie continues, all the way to the next round of song. Sounds fun, and unique! $5 cover.  Song lyrics provided at the door. The song of the night is "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles. Newcomers, shower singers, and choral ninjas are all welcome!

Hard rock fans will love the huge line-up in store at Rockstar Pro Arena on Saturday night, featuring:  BlackWater, Pay The Toll, ThunderTaker. Monocle. Grindhouse : Band. RIND. Presale: $10.

I'm loving the line-up at Blind Bob's Saturday night, with one of my local faves The Boxcar Suite with Flying Underground and Ben Stalets. This will be a great night of rock'n'roll - not too heavy, not too soft. Get there! 9:30pm - 1:30am. 21+ $5 cover.

Check out some new roots rock from Buffalo with Miller and The Other Sinners at The Trolley Stop . Love seeing new music? Here's one to check out! Music starts at 9:30PM with a $5 cover charge.

Another rockin' show happening at  South Park Tavern with New Regrets, Yikes a Band, and Slur. 9pm-1am.

Out east of town, get your groove on with the folkadelic stylings of N asty Bingo at Wandering Griffin.  8-11pm. No cover and all ages!

In that same Wright State area, the Hog Jam XII Preview Party is going to get very funky and fun with Jonny Dreads & the Mystiks. Cozmik Spirit and The Vibe at One Eyed Jacks. $5 donation gets you in, which will be donated to The Foodbank Dayton. Canned goods are accepted as donation and they highly encourage everyone to support this amazing organization! Music 8pm-2am.

Note to readers - learn more about the upcoming Hog Jam festival on my recent interview with organizers on Gem City Podcast here.

Up north at Oscar's Bar in Vandalia, get down with  Krunk Town Boogie and Willy Clark .  9pm $5 cover. 21+

Sunday truly is a funday this weekend with The WYSO Excursions Stage at Art on the Commons at Lincoln Park in Kettering. Rosewood Arts Centre and WYSO are delighted to showcase the uniqueness of our local music heroes with  Niki Dakota as your host. 1a-12:00p enjoy  Daniel Dye and the Miller Road Band; 12:15-1:15p Lioness; 1:30-3:00p  Shrug; 3:15-5:00 The Pullouts. Now that's a line-up! Free admission!

The Singer Songrwriter Series  continues at Jimmie's Ladder 11  on their Acoustic Patio from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. This Sunday features Windsor Knotts, Ryan Jones, and Ward Lawson.

The first ever

is happening in Dayton on Aug 26th 3:30-10pm.

Please mark your calendar for this series of free mini concerts held on porches throughout St. Anne's Hill. Meet the neighborhood and support local music at the first of what will be an annual festival celebrating the quality and diversity of the Dayton music scene.

And as always, thank you for supporting live music!