Brandon Berry
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Brandon Berry
@brandonberry.bsky.social
160 followers 130 following 150 posts
Music, arts & culture writer at Dayton Daily News, Dayton.com
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www.daytondailynews.com/staff/BrandonBerry
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Brandon Berry @brandonberry.bsky.social · Oct 13
Hey, know what? Amazon sucks. Buy the book here: shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params...
brandonberry.bsky.social
A GameCube kiosk sits in a corner between a maximalist glass display of NES games and the front counter. A CRT TV plays a demo disc trailer on a loop, awaiting the next player.

Read about Vacuums and Video Games here:
www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Vacuums and Video Games has a schtick that works, keeping the owners in business
A GameCube kiosk sits in a corner between a maximalist glass display of NES games and the front counter. Two black controllers protrude at waist level, shiny from myriad hands that have graced them — ...
www.daytondailynews.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:36 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
I'm not supposed to be here: inside Dayton's exclusive DIY music scene.

One day you’re whispering a password to a doorman; the next, the doorman’s moved on to another door.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
I’m not supposed to be here: Inside Dayton’s exclusive DIY music scene
Earlier this year, I heard rumblings of an invite-only funk jam on the West side of Dayton. Eventually, I was invited.
www.daytondailynews.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:12 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
A note to GBV fans in my inbox: Yes, I'm aware GBV is not on this list.

Here's a not-so comprehensive look back at (some of) the Dayton music scene in 2025:

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Looking back at Dayton’s music scene in 2025: New albums, singles and standout moments
As we round out another remarkable year for Dayton music, I encourage everyone to listen beyond this list — keep exploring, show up for shows and support local artists by buying directly from them. Wh...
www.daytondailynews.com
January 1, 2026 at 8:58 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
"Some people get stuck in what they normally listen to, and I think it’s a great opportunity to kind of find out new things that you might enjoy.”

The next show in the Levitt UpClose series is in January at _____________.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Where are the next three Levitt UpClose series shows in Dayton? Guests find out 36 hours before
As the 2025 Eichelberger Concert Season came to a close, the Levitt Pavilion Dayton invited the community to continue experiencing live music, but in more intimate spaces.
www.daytondailynews.com
January 1, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by Brandon Berry
venuschild.bsky.social
We're so excited for Saturday's show at The Brightside!! 🤩 Join us for Andy & The Dreams / The Motel Beds / Me Time on Dec 13th! Get your ticket at thebrightsidedayton.com - all ages welcome - music at 8pm.

Thank you, @brandonberry.bsky.social for this!

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Trio of Dayton rock royalty to perform at the Brightside
Every so often, Motel Beds, one of Dayton’s more reclusive garage rock bands, will reunite for a big show. Earlier this year, lo-fi indie pop band Me Time did a similar thing, returning to the stage a...
www.daytondailynews.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:35 AM
brandonberry.bsky.social
David Payne preserves things that weren’t meant for rock ‘n’ roll, co-opted for rock ‘n’ roll purposes. Read more about his LoFio microphones here:

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Local instrument repairman turns dead tech into rock ‘n’ roll gear, and you can buy it
David Payne wants to be a rock ‘n’ roll preservationist. In some ways, he already is one.
www.daytondailynews.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:32 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
“I always wanted to know what else was happening on stage, beyond the close-ups,” Jeff Opt said. “So that’s what led me to do our own live version of it. I just wanted to get the full picture.”

Dayton's tribute to The Last Waltz is Nov. 26 at the Victoria.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Annual tribute to The Band’s ‘The Last Waltz’ returns to Victoria Theatre
On Thanksgiving Day, 1976, one of rock and roll’s most influential groups, The Band, held its final concert.
www.daytondailynews.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
Thirty years ago, alt-country/punk legends the Supersuckers opened for the Ramones and White Zombie at Hara Arena. GeeGee Bradley was at that show.

Three decades later, GeeGee’s band Viceroy Kings is opening for the Supersuckers on their 2025 tour.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Punk, alt-country rides again with Supersuckers, Scott H. Biram and more
Thirty years ago, alt-country/punk legends the Supersuckers opened for the Ramones and White Zombie at Hara Arena. GeeGee Bradley was at that show.
www.daytondailynews.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:48 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
The first rule of dream interpretation is that you are everything in the dream.

After learning that, I was understandably concerned about the 717-word journal entry I’d just emailed to Dayton-based dream interpreter April Angel.

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A local dream interpreter walked me through what I was dreaming about
The first rule of dream interpretation is that you are everything in the dream.
www.daytondailynews.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:34 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
Bluesmen have conversations, sometimes arguments, with their instruments. The back-and-forth commentary is the nature of the blues.

Cincinnati blues icon Sonny Moorman will perform a duo show Nov. 8 with harpist Jeff Dion.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Sonny Moorman brings stripped-down blues to Waynesville Music
Everything about the blues is call and response.
www.daytondailynews.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:19 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
The dynamics of Jason Scott & the High Heat’s 2025 album, “American Grin,” reflects a restless mindset. There’s cleaner production mixed with occasional lo-fi vocals, and a balance of raw emotions and humor.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Roots-rock band Jason Scott & the High Heat will kick off national tour at The Brightside
Ahead of its seven-date run with Blackberry Smoke, Oklahoma City roots-rock band Jason Scott & the High Heat will kick off its tour with a show at the Brightside on Nov. 6.
www.daytondailynews.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:34 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
The ‘hippie hop jam rock’ band Boogie Matrix Mechanism brings new energy and a costume contest to Yellow Cab Tavern on Nov. 1. Dayton dynamic rock band WAHFU is also on the bill.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Boogie Matrix Mechanism returns for Crushoween in Dayton
Continuing on the Halloween spirit after the holiday proper, Toledo’s Boogie Matrix Mechanism and Dayton’s WAHFU are bringing Crushoween — three full sets of jam music with a costume contest — to Yell...
www.daytondailynews.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:32 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
When I called Steve Poltz and told him who I was, he said, in a sarcastic voice, "what are you doing calling me?" At that point I knew it'd be a fun talk. And it was! Weird guy! Love his stuff.

www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
‘I’m just being a weirdo up there’: Singer, guitarist Steve Poltz brings his ‘greatest show’ to Yellow Springs
Every show Steve Poltz plays is the greatest of his life.
www.daytondailynews.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Brandon Berry
venuschild.bsky.social
Next week at The Brightside - the one and only Ellis Paul!
www.daytondailynews.com/entertainmen...
Singer whose songs have appeared in several films to perform Oct. 23 at Brightside in Dayton
Ellis Paul’s tours never start or end. They only continue.
www.daytondailynews.com
October 15, 2025 at 1:08 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
Hey, know what? Amazon sucks. Buy the book here: shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?params...
October 13, 2025 at 2:42 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
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
October 8, 2025 at 1:02 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
“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
October 6, 2025 at 2:15 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
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
October 6, 2025 at 2:14 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
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.
October 3, 2025 at 4:53 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
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
October 3, 2025 at 1:59 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
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
October 3, 2025 at 1:52 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
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
October 3, 2025 at 1:50 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
“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
October 3, 2025 at 1:49 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
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.

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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
October 3, 2025 at 1:46 PM
brandonberry.bsky.social
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
September 26, 2025 at 4:44 PM