banner
LightNews
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry
@brandonberry.bsky.social
160 followers 130 following 140 posts
Music, arts & culture writer at Dayton Daily News, Dayton.com Send me story ideas. www.daytondailynews.com/staff/BrandonBerry
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 8d
My book is available on Amazon. That said, while it may be cheaper there, with free shipping, if you want to better support this writer, reach out to me directly.

Here's to the continuing life of print media. 🥂

a.co/d/jdznVmY
'Unauthorized, self-republished observations about music* from the perspective of a meandering and self-indulgent rock critic *And a few other things' a book by Brandon Berry.
2 3
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 3d
As of this sentence, Scott Yoder’s found new wheels — a decommissioned morgue minivan, in fact. But instead of corpses, it now carries four 1970s-attired bandmates, sputtering toward the next gig, and the next, and the next. Lover, let them in.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Scott Yoder rolls into town on his ‘Lover, Let Me In’ US tour
Yesterday, as this sentence is typed, Scott Yoder’s van broke down in Montana.
www.daytondailynews.com
2
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 5d
“All of us are working class guys,” Coxey's Army singer Nate Rising said. “We punch the clock every day. We work hard to provide for our families. Punk rock is just our art, and our lives. And we bring that to our listeners.”

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Blue-collar punk band Coxey’s Army carries on a 19th century legacy
In 1894, Ohio businessman Jacob Coxey led a march of unemployed workers to Washington, DC, to protest economic hardship during the Panic of 1893 — the worst economic depression in the US until the Gre...
www.daytondailynews.com
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 5d
Growing up in the ‘90s, the two members of Black Violin were immersed in the hip hop world. They also happened to play viola and violin. But it’s that blend of strings and hip hop that’s evolved the idea of what classical music can be.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Hip hop duo Black Violin brings Full Circle Tour to Dayton
For nearly 20 years, hip hop duo Black Violin has fused classical strings with modern beats, breaking barriers and building community along the way.
www.daytondailynews.com
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 8d
My book is available on Amazon. That said, while it may be cheaper there, with free shipping, if you want to better support this writer, reach out to me directly.

Here's to the continuing life of print media. 🥂

a.co/d/jdznVmY
'Unauthorized, self-republished observations about music* from the perspective of a meandering and self-indulgent rock critic *And a few other things' a book by Brandon Berry.
2 3
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 8d
Roaming the haunted halls of Poasttown Elementary School in Middletown, experiencing movement in the darkness, you realize that the motto is accurate: when you leave, you believe.

I tagged along on a paranormal investigation. Here's my account:

www.daytondailynews.com/community/bu...
For $2 you can tour Middletown’s ‘haunted’ school: What you might experience
It’s 9:21 a.m. My shirt smells like palo santo and sage. There’s a smooth purple crystal on my desk that I’m told is amethyst. And I feel generally cleansed.
www.daytondailynews.com
3
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 8d
Hiroya Tsukamoto's music suggests profundity in life’s simple pleasures: reading, walking, exercising, cooking — “the regular stuff,” as he calls it. These everyday inspirations often become songs.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Solo fingerstyle champion guitarist returns to Waynesville Music
Hiroya Tsukamoto, an innovative fingerstyle guitarist and acoustic composer, fuses folk, jazz and world music to create what some have described as “cinematic guitar poetry.”
www.daytondailynews.com
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 8d
Sadbox guitarist and singer Paul Levy is precise, no matter what he’s doing in the universe.

“Anywhere I can shove enormity into something that’s mundane, I like to."

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Dayton band Sadbox’s new EP suggests ‘Everything’s A Shame’
“No matter how hard we try to get away from ourselves and write in character, that character is still informed by what we do every single day.”
www.daytondailynews.com
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 8d
“Art will… you can’t squash it. The question is can people below a certain means have any hope of having their kids be exposed and encouraged to be artistic, and have that be part of their education."

I spoke with Ben Folds ahead of his show at the Schuster.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Ben Folds & A Piano Tour at the Schuster Center in Dayton this weekend
Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter Ben Folds has made his mark with genre-bending music, including pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, a holiday album and numerous collaborative record...
www.daytondailynews.com
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 8d
Springfield country rock quintet Matt Clarkson Band is nominated in four categories at the 2025 Josie Music Awards in Nashville. The band is also releasing a new single “Used To” on Oct. 8.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Springfield’s Matt Clarkson Band continues award momentum with four nods
Following on the boot heels of last year’s recognition, Springfield country rock quintet Matt Clarkson Band is once again nominated for Josie Music Awards, “the most revered award in the independent m...
www.daytondailynews.com
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 15d
Here's my conversation with Hanif Abdurraqib, New York Times bestselling author of “There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension." Great talk.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Author kicking off Yellow Springs Speaker Series is an award-winning poet, essayist and cultural critic
Mad River Theater Works will begin its Ohio Arts Council supported Yellow Springs Speaker Series with the highly regarded author Hanif Abdurraqib.
www.daytondailynews.com
1 5
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 25d
Hey, I know the guy who filmed that!
1 1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 26d
@brightsidedayton.bsky.social
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · 26d
“With music, it’s an art where there’s always been a really strong appreciation for the people that have paved the way and come before."

King Kyote will make Ohio debut at the Brightside in Dayton on Sept. 19.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Maine’s King Kyote to make Ohio debut days after dropping debut album
For Maine musician King Kyote, aka Jon King, the best parts of life happen in the analog — surfing frigid waters, developing film in a darkroom, or grinding through guitar practice until fingers bleed...
www.daytondailynews.com
1 2 3
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Sep 8
Thank you! Best get those tix, 'cause it might actually be the last tour! 🤯
1 1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Sep 8
I interviewed Exene Cervenka ahead of the X & Los Lobos show at the Rose. She only frightened me a little bit.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
X & Los Lobos: 99 Years of Rock ‘N Roll tour makes stop at the Rose
Two legendary punk bands, pillars of the Los Angeles music scene, are teaming up for their first national tour together, to celebrate 99 years of rock ‘n roll.
www.daytondailynews.com
1 2
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Sep 4
@hiphoptino.bsky.social gets cold emails semi-regularly about collaborating on tracks. Generally, they never materialize into anything more than a few exchanges, and hardly ever make it to the music-making phase. Even fewer of those emails come from the EU.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
French DJ and Dayton emcee bring hip-hop and graffiti art across town
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dayton hip-hop artist TINO got an email from a producer in Rennes, France.
www.daytondailynews.com
1 3
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Sep 4
“We didn’t have bathrooms at first. We had to throw shows for people who didn’t care about it being a very nice, clean place. So that’s metal and punk shows and EDM raves.”

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Fairborn Phoenix to host 1950s throwback gala for city’s 75th anniversary
As the city of Fairborn continues to celebrate its 75th anniversary this year, the Fairborn Phoenix, the city’s historic theater, will step back in time for a night of swing, sparkle and small town ma...
www.daytondailynews.com
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Sep 4
For 21 years, Dayton Music Fest has been the city’s biggest showcase of local sound.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Dayton Music Fest this weekend to have 27 acts at 5 local bars and venues
For 21 years, Dayton Music Fest has been the city’s biggest showcase of local sound.
www.daytondailynews.com
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Sep 4
Before the release of 'Breach,' Twenty One Pilots is giving fans a chance to step inside the new album. The Columbus-born duo is celebrating with listening parties worldwide, including stops in Dayton, Troy, and Yellow Springs.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Twenty One Pilots to host new album listening parties in Dayton, other local areas
Before the release of “Breach,” Twenty One Pilots is giving fans a chance to step inside the new album. The Columbus-born duo is celebrating with listening parties worldwide, including stops in Dayton...
www.daytondailynews.com
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Sep 4
Like Kittinger the man, Kittinger the band, hailing from the darkened alcoves of Dayton, Ohio, fearlessly traverses the limitless skies, but with analog instruments and electronic gadgetry, throwing its influences openly into an eclectic sound.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Dayton band Kittinger explores the limitless possibilities of sound with debut EP
In 1960, as a part of Project Excelsior, United States Air Force test pilot Colonel Joseph Kittinger rose 102,800 feet in a balloon, into the stratosphere. He jumped back to the ground, falling upward...
www.daytondailynews.com
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Sep 4
The Brightside, an independent female-led Dayton venue, kicks off its programming in September with a mix of local legends and national acts. @brightsidedayton.bsky.social

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
The Brightside unveils 2025-2026 season: What’s on the schedule
The Brightside Music & Event Venue, one of the few independent and female-led music venues, has announced its 2025-26 season, running September through May.
www.daytondailynews.com
1 3 4
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Aug 29
After months of thinking about it, I finally put it in motion to (re)publish a collection of stories I've written over the past few years. Mostly about music, but also about a few other things. Here's the cover:
4
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Aug 21
Kicking off the Foundry's 2025-2026 season Sept. 2 is vocalist Moira Smiley & The Rhizome Quartet, with special guests The World House Choir.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Foundry Theater announces 2025-2026 performing arts season
With an exciting mix of disciplines and genres, concerts and speaker series, dance and original theater, The Foundry is expanding its vibrant programming to host artists from our community and from di...
www.daytondailynews.com
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Aug 21
For Bill Manspeaker and Green Jellÿ (Green Jellö), what matters is that you're in front of the stage, a pool noodle in your hand, wearing a “Three Little Pigs” mask, singing “not by the hair of my chinny chin chin” like it’s the greatest day of your life.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
‘World’s Worst Band’: Green Jellÿ brings punk rock puppet show to Dayton
Bill Manspeaker, the frontman and Punk Rock Pope of “The World’s Worst Band,” respects the underdogs — because he’s one, too.
www.daytondailynews.com
1
brandonberry.bsky.social
Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Aug 12
“The funnest comment we get when we play,” Bill said, “is how in the world do you get that huge sound out of that little box?”

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
‘Hamilton’s Only Cigar Box Band’ is a duo playing their own handcrafted instruments
Bill and Alice Saurber are just regular folks from Hamilton, Ohio, playin’ with cigar boxes and pallin’ around. But that didn’t stop the married couple from vying for the title of “America’s Favorite ...
www.daytondailynews.com