The rock world gives back

One of the funnest and craziest bands in town,

, is throwing a

. I wouldn't expect anything less from this crew. They are wild and rowdy, and ready to get this weekend started! $5 gets you into

for the party, which includes: a dunk tank (uh-oh!), a "big belly" contest, photo booth, live music, DJ sets, prizes and raffles. This party is supporting the making of their newest music video, a part of which will be shot at this outrageous event. Buckle up folks! It's gonna be a good time!

Over at Jimmie's Ladder 11, another major showdown is going down: The Big Damn TNT Jam featuring Chris Houser. For those of you who have no idea what any of that means, don't worry, I'll explain: several years ago, a rotating group of rock, jam, jazz, funk and soul musicians would get together at a bar and jam all night. No one was really in a band, they all took turns and figured each other out from a musical perspective. Some of Dayton's best bands emerged from this experimentation, that I was lucky enough to experience. TNT, one of the first bands that came out of that scene, and is reuniting after a long hiatus. It's extra exciting that Chris Houser from The Werks is sitting in. If you're into improv and jams, this is going to be a great night! $3 cover. 18+ show.

Friday, July 10th

Combined efforts are coming together to bring downtown a Summer in the City Street Party after work on Friday, from 5-8pm. Bust out of the office, grab a Link bike and head to 2nd Street between Main and Ludlow. This section of the street will be shut down for the festivities. The Dayton Philharmonic issued a city-wide search for the best guitar players. The runners up will join The Fries Band on stage during the street party. There is a lot more going on too -- for more details, click here. Look for me with the Dayton Ballet Barre and Dayton Encore groups! We have special ticket deals and t-shirts for sale. This a free event, so please join us!

After the street party, grab a ticket to the Philharmonic's first of four summer rockin' shows. The Guitar Heroes performance starts at 8 p.m. and features guest band Jeans 'N Classics, along with the winners of the guitar search, Mike Craft and Max Mobarry. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased here or at the Schuster Center box office.

Want to keep the party going? Take another Link bike (hint, hint) and head over to Riverscape for the R&B Hot Summer Night season finale, featuring one of my favorites, Jah Soul. Those ladies, my my my! Another great outdoor free live music event. Having no money is no excuse to stay home!

There is a great mix of rock, soul and reggae coming together to help Jonny Dreads, a fellow musician, recover from getting all his music gear stolen. The Get the Gear Back Benefit is happening at Gilly's . The line-up is stacked: Chris Houser (from The Werks), TNT,  Tony Red Band, Jah Soul and Jonny Dreads and the Mystiks. $5+ donation gets you in the door, however you are more than welcome to donate as much as you would like to help the cause. Doors at 8 p.m. Pre-sales for Hog Jam 10 will also be available for this event.

I'm super excited for the Funky Friday that is throwing down at

, with

and

. The latter band is from Cincinnati, and doesn't play in Dayton too often. Whenever they do, it's quite a treat! A no-brainer for fun music to shake yo thang! $5 cover.

Jimmie's Ladder 11 is hosting the 2nd of 3 great nights of music, this time featuring groovetronic band Jones for Revival from Youngstown with very special guests Emily and the Lost Cat Ramblers. There is a lot of personality, fun and talent here, and is guaranteed to be a great time. Music gets going at 10 p.m. with a $5 cover.

More of a hard rocker? Check out the Ossicles vs. Skurt show at Vex. Show starts at 10 p.m., $5 cover. Rock on!

Saturday, July 11th

No better way to celebrate Dayton's brewery boom than heading over to Yellow Cab Tavern for Beer! A Celebration of Dayton Brewing from 3-9 p.m. You get a 6-oz. pour from all 12 Dayton breweries and then vote on your favorite. There will be live music provided by Old News and The Blackbirds . Nice! Oh and of course, food trucks on hand. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. You can purchase pre-sales at any of the breweries around town. If you love craft beer, you gotta go! Not familiar with Yellow Cab? Check out a podcast interview I did with the owners recently. Great conversation! They are doing amazing things with that space.

Another interesting, earlier-in-the-evening option is Greek Night at Boston's, north of downtown. There will be live Bouzouki music, belly dancing from one of my favorites, Deniz, and great Greek food and wine. This event is going from 7-11 p.m. for just $5, with an additional $15 for the dinner.

A cool way to celebrate a fellow musician's birthday? Throw a show celebrating him! Brian Hoefilch is a staple in the Dayton music scene, and has played with several original bands around town. A collection of these bands is playing together at Gilly's and calling it a Hoeflichathon. Ha! Love it! The bands are a mix of southern rock, rockabilly and Americana, featuring Trey Stone and the Ringers, Cherry Lee & The Hot Rod Hounds, Linden Davis, The Big Wazu and special guests. Show starts at 8:30 p.m.

Into indie and hard rock? I'd recommend supporting the Moore Family Benefit featuring The Flesh Pets, Sam at Eleven and Hallelujah Johnson at Canal Public House. The Moore family suffered a horrific tragedy, and the music community is coming together to ease the burden this family is going through. Truly heart-breaking. If you cannot attend this event, please consider a donation to their Go Fund Me campaign.

If you're in the Oregon District and into indie/punk, check out McGuff and the Dumpster Fires, Fight Before Surrender and The Greeks. They will be rockin' out the Oregon Express.

Jimmie's is closing out a great 3-night run with Grover and Salvadore Ross. These bands are progressive, jammy and a great way to spend a Saturday night. $5 music starts at 10 p.m. (I pre-warned you -- there are too many good options this weekend!)

Bonus Material: Click here for a 1-minute video from my first concert last week. This is a cool impromptu moment that happened in between sets, courtesy of Laurana Wong, Adam Elfers and The Gathering . One of the moments that stole the show! Thanks for everyone's support!

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

Your Dayton Music Insider,

Libby Ballengee

Note to Readers:   The information above is for July 9th-11th. 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