And speaking of free, the Springfield Arts Council has announced a full slate of acts that will play at Turner Pavilion in Veteran’s Park in Springfield. the vast majority of the bands are tribute bands honoring music from major artists like Jimmy Buffett, Journey, Huey Lewis and the News, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Elton John, ELO and others. Our favorite one had to be “The Little Mermen” a cover band playing Disney hits — it sounds like a whole new campy world and we are here for it.
May is the month where summer concerts get in gear, and from there the music concert calendar goes into full swing. Get ready for some amazing live music locally, to our neighboring cities and throughout the state. There’s no shortage of things to choose from, only a shortage of time and resources (if you’re going somewhere besides the Levitt or Turner Pavilion), so choose carefully.
Here’s a look at other concerts scheduled in the Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus areas:
LOCAL CONCERT VENUES
Arbogast Performing Arts Center
500 S. Dorset Road, Troy
www.arbogastpac.com, 937-418-8392
Upcoming: Hotel California – The Original Tribute to The Eagles, May 18
The Brightside Music and Event Venue
905 E. Third St., Dayton
www.thebrightsidedayton.com, 937-559-4590
Upcoming: Jeff Plankenhorn, May 16; Angelo Moore Dr Madvibe and the Missin Links, May 20; Shanon Clark and The Sugar, May 24; Michael Harris Trans-Fusion, June 7; Emo Night, June 13; Ellis Paul, Sept. 19
Hobart Arena
255 Adams St., Troy
www.hobartarena.com, 937-339-2911
Upcoming: Jo Dee Messina and Tracy Byrd, May 18; Zach Williams, Oct. 10
Kuss Auditorium Clark State Performing Arts Center
300 S. Fountain Ave., Springfield
pac.clarkstate.edu, 937-328-3874
Upcoming: The Greatest Piano Men, April 19; Béla Fleck, May 18
Schuster Center
1 W. Second St., Dayton
www.daytonlive.org, 937-228-3630
Upcoming: The Music of Whitney Houston, May 18; The Music of Green Day, June 1
Victoria Theatre
138 N. Main St., Dayton
www.daytonlive.org, 937-228-3630
Upcoming: The Magic of Motown, May 10
LOCAL OUTDOOR CONCERT VENUES
Hickory Hills Lakes
7103 Ohio 55, Ft. Loramie
www.countryconcert.com, (937) 295-3000
Upcoming: Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Trace Adkins, Jo Dee Messina, Ian Munsick, Conner Smith, Drake Milligan, Wyatt McCubbin, July 11; Lainey Wilson, Dustin Lynch, Big & Rich featuring Wilson, Craig Morgan, 49 Winchester, Anne Wilson, Lauren Watkins, July 12; Hardy, Bailey Zimmerman, Clint Black, Warren Zeiders, Sara Evans, Kameron Marlowe, Colt Ford, Kolby Cooper, Ella Langley, Rayne Johnson, July 13
Credit: Cooper Neill
Credit: Cooper Neill
Fraze Pavilion
695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering
www.fraze.com, 800-514-3849
Upcoming: The Menus, June 14; Joey Fatone and AJ McLean, June 15; Mr. Speed KISS Tribute Concert, June 22; A1A - Jimmy Buffet Tribute Show, July 3; The Beach Boys, July 1; Ludacris, July 18; Night Ranger, July 19; Rick Springfield and Richard Marx, July 20; Wilson Phillips and Debbie Gibson, July 21;The Electric Light Orchestra Experience featuring Evil Woman - The American ELO, Aug. 1; Scotty McCreery, Aug. 8; Crowder, Aug. 12; Get the Led Out, Aug. 14; Happy Together Tour featuring The Turtles, Jay and The Americans, The Association, Badfinger, The Vogues, The Cowslips, Aug. 15; That Arena Rock Show, Aug. 16; Joe Bonamassa, Aug. 20; Brantley Gilbert, Aug. 30; Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band, Sept. 15
Credit: ARON HARRIS
Credit: ARON HARRIS
Levitt Pavilion Dayton
134 S. Main St., Dayton
www.levittdayton.org, 937-281-2144
Upcoming: Monophonics, May 20; McGuffey Lane, May 31; Lemon Bucket Orchestra, June 1; Motherfolk with Matt Rouch and the Noise Upstairs, June 6; Jordy Searcy, June 7; Pride Month Celebration featuring Pom Pom Squad with Kyle Downes; June 8; Huntertones, June 13; Kazha with Somersault, June 14; Juneteenth Concert featuring E.U. featuring Sugar Bear, June 15; Wilderness with Smug Brothers, June 20; Mike Wade and the Nasty NATI Brass Band, June 21; Reverend Horton Heat with Kyle Eldridge and the Kentucky Cowhands, June 22; Chapel Hart, June 27; The Vines, June 28; Shamarr Allen with The OG Players, June 29; OKAN , July 5; Ron Artis II, July 6; Lauren Anderson, July 11; Nikki Hill with the Cafe Unit, July 12; Alexander Star and the Golden People, July 13; Buffalo Nichols, July 18; Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, July 19; Blues Amplified featuring Anthony Rosano and the Conqueroos, July 20; John Jorgensen Bluegrass Band, Aug. 1; Jesse “JT Jazz” Thompson, Aug. 2; Scythian, Aug. 3; Ruthie Foster, Aug. 8; Blair Crimmins and the Hookers, Aug. 9; World Indigenous Day Celebration featuring Digging Roots with Topknot, Aug. 10; Alanna Royale, Aug. 15; Toubab Krewe, Aug. 16; Funk Amplified featuring Slapbak, Aug. 17; Cool Cool Cool, Aug. 22; Cole Chaney with Josh Webb and the Home Sown Band Opening, Aug. 23; Levitt National Tour Presents: The War & Treaty, Aug. 24; Tonya Baker, Aug. 29; Jennifer Hartswick, Aug. 30; Reggae Amplified featuring Wailing Souls, Aug. 31; Light In the City featuring Building 429 with Melody Baccus, Sept. 5; Sweet Lizzie Project with Yuppie, Sept. 6; Hot Toddies Jazz Band with Hannah Gill, Sept. 7; Sierra Green and the Giants with Joe Waters and the Back Porch Band, Sept. 12; Hispanic Heritage Month with the Iguanas, Sept. 13; Honoring Our Veterans concert, Sept. 14
Rose Music Center at The Heights
6800 Executive Boulevard, Huber Heights
www.rosemusiccenter.com, 513-232-6220
Upcoming: Jewel and Amon Amarth, May 7; Gary Allen, May 10; Brit Floyd, May 17; Let’s Sing Taylor - A live band experience celebrating Taylor Swift, June 1; Warrant, Firehouse and Bulletboys, June 14; Trombone Shorty with Big Boi, June 18; The Fab Four - Ultimate Beatles Tribute, June 21; Brit Floyd, July 7; Old Crow Medicine Show, July 9; Norah Jones, Mavis Staples, July 10; Whiskey Myers, July 12; moe., July 19; Elle King, July 20; 311 with Awolnation and Neon Trees, July 24; Lyle Lovett, July 26; Warren Haynes, July 27; Straight No Chaser, Lisa Loeb, July 30; Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, Aug. 2; Melissa Etheridge, Aug. 3; Alice Cooper, Aug. 6; Stray Cats, Aug. 12; Travis Tritt, Aug. 15; Trampled By Turtles, Aug. 16; Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket, Aug. 18; Lindsey Stirling, Aug. 19; Tribute to ABBA, Aug. 20; Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Sept. 7; Crowded House, Sept. 10; Burton Cummings, Sept. 26; Testament and Creator, Sept. 28
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Turner Pavilion in Veteran’s Park
250 Cliff Park Road, Springfield
www.springfieldartscouncil.org, (937) 324-2712
Upcoming: Griffin House, June 7; Parrots of the Caribbean, June 8; Resurrection - A Journey Tribute, June 15; Allison Road, June 20; The Next Generation LEAHY, June 21; Honky Tonk Chicks, June 22; McGuffey Lane, June 23; Motor City - The Mowtown Revue, June 26; The Little Mermen - The Ultimate Disney Tribute Band, June 27; Brass Tracks Band, June 28; The Heart of Rock and Roll - Huey Lewis and the News Tribute Band, June 29; Big Bam Boon - A Daryl Hall and John Oates Tribute, June 30; Elton Rohn - Elton John Tribute Show, July 6; Turn to Stone - A Tribute to ELO, July 10; Jim Donovan and the Sun King Warriors, July 11; Phil Dirt and the Dozers, July 12; Boys in the Band - The Alabama Tribute, July 13
CINCINNATI CONCERT VENUES
Bogart’s
2621 Vine St., Cincinnati
www.bogarts.com, 513-872-8801
Upcoming: Atmosphere, April 26; Thievery Corporation, May 9; Band of Horses, July 9; Drive By Truckers, Nov. 3
Great American Ballpark
100 Joe Nuxhall Way, Cincinnati
http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com, 513-381-7337
Upcoming: Foo Fighters, July 25; Green Day, Aug. 22; Thomas Rhett, Aug. 29; Nelly, Sept. 20
Hard Rock Casino
1000 Broadway St., Cincinnati
www.hardrockcasinocincinnati.com, 513-250-3150
Upcoming: Trace Adkins, April 26; Nate Smith, May 31; Boyz II Men, June 22; 311, July 20; I Love the 90′s featuring Vanilla Ice, Rob Base and Montell; Brad Paisley, Sept. 7
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Heritage Bank Center, formerly U.S. Bank Arena
100 Broadway, Cincinnati
heritagebankcenter.com, 513-421-4111
Upcoming: AJR, July 23; Heart, Aug. 13; Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Sept. 13; Billie Eilish, Nov. 8
The Icon Festival Stage at Smale Park
25 Race St., Cincinnati
www.livenation.com/venue/KovZ917AJK3/the-icon-festival-stage-at-smale-park-events
Upcoming: Maggie Rogers, June 7; Vampire Weekend, Sept. 20
The Andrew J Brady Music Center
25 Race St., Cincinnati
https://bradymusiccenter.com, 513-232-5882
Upcoming: Madison Beer, April 30; James Arthur, May 11; Social Distortion and Bad Religion, May 12; George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, May 28; Jacob Collier, June 4; Pixies, Modest Mouse, Cat Power, June 5; Orville Peck, June 8; Bryson Tiller, June 22; Donny Osmond, June 26; The Kid LAROI, June 28; idol Radio, July 11; Old Crow Medicine Show, July 12; Lake Street Dive, July 14; Tate McRae, July 24; The Struts, July 28; Primus and Cohered and Cambria, July 30; The Gaslight Anthem, Aug. 27; Kings of Leon, Sept. 14; Manchester Orchestra, Sept. 17; Ray LaMontagne and Gregory Alan Isakov, Oct. 4
MegaCorp Pavilion
101 W. 4th St., Newport
https://promowestlive.com/our-venues/megacorp-pavilion, 859-900-2294
Upcoming: Dustin Lynch, April 27; Kraftwerk, May 16; Pokey LaFarge, June 1; Taking Back Sunday, July 30; Avett Brothers, Aug. 24; King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Aug. 25; O.A.R., Aug. 30; Chromeo and the Midnight, Oct. 10
Paycor Stadium
1 Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati
www.bengals.com
Upcoming: Luke Combs, Aug. 2-3
PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
6295 Kellogg Ave., Cincinnati
www.riverbend.org, 513-232-6220
Upcoming: Brit Floyd, May 18; Walker Hayes, May 30; Cole Swindle, June 8; Sarah McLachlan, June 14; Little Feat, Los Lobos, June 18; Slash, Keb’ Mo’, ZZ Ward, July 22; Warren Hayes, July 28; Rumours of Fleetwood Mac, Aug. 7; Deep Purple and YES, Aug. 21; Jamey Johnson, Sept. 13
Credit: John Parra
Credit: John Parra
Riverbend Music Center
6295 Kellogg Ave., Cincinnati
www.riverbend.org, 513-232-6220
Upcoming: Hootie and the Blowfish with Collective Soul and Edwin McCain, June 7; Dierks Bentley, June 15; Dan + Shay, July 18; New Kids on the Block, June 21; Janet Jackson, Nelly, June 22; Niall Horan, June 25; Santana and Counting Crows, June 28; Third Eye Blind, Yellowcard, July 2; Red Hot Chili Peppers, July 5; Train and REO Speedwagon, July 12; Luke Bryan, July 13; Dan + Shay, July 18; Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire, July 19; Alanis Morissette, July 24; Hardy, July 25; Totally Tubular Festival 80′s New Wave Tour featuring Thomas Dolby, Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey, Modern English, Men Without Hats, The Romantics, Bow Wow Wo, July 27; Creed, Aug. 2; Five Finger Death Punch, Aug. 8; Barbie the Movie in Concert led by Macy Schmidt and the Barbie Land Sinfonietta, Aug. 9; Bush, Aug. 14; The Doobie Brothers, Aug. 18; Styx, Foreigner, Aug. 23; Glass Animals, Aug. 25; Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, Jason Bonham, Aug. 27; Cage the Elephant, Aug. 30; Kidz Bop, Aug. 31; Meghan Trainor, Sept. 4; Ohio Is for Lovers Music Festival, Sept. 7; Outlaw Music Festival featuring Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp and more, Sept. 11; Parker McCollum, Sept. 14; Megadeth with Mudvayne and All That Remains, Sept. 17; The Marley Brothers Legacy Tour featuring Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley, Julian Marley, Ky-Mani Marley, Damian Marley, Sept. 18; Pitbull with T-Pain, Sept. 19
Taft Theatre
317 E. Fifth St., Cincinnati
tafttheatre.org, 513-721-8883
Upcoming: The Testy Brothers, April 30; Super Freak: The Rick James Story, May 1; Kurt Vile and the Violators, June 23; Buddy Guy, June 29; Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs, July 9; Girls Night Out tour featuring Kierra Sheard, Naomie Raine, Koryn Hawthorne and Wade, July 14; Ezperanza Spalding, Sept. 13; Extreme, Sept. 24; Burton Cummings, Sept. 25; AMERIA, Oct. 25; Adrian Below, Steve Via, Tony Levin, Danny Carey, Oct. 26; Mania - The ABBA Tribute, Oct. 27; Straight No Chaser, Dec. 18
TQL Stadium
1501 Central Pkwy
https://tqlstadium.com, 513-977-5425
Upcoming: Kenny Chesney with Zac Brown Band, Megan Moroney and Uncle Kracker, July 6
Voices of America MetroPark
7850 VOA Park Drive, West Chester Twp.
https://voacountrymusicfest.com, 513-867-5835
Upcoming: Country Music Fest featuring headliners Jason Aldean and Keith Urban, Aug. 9-11
COLUMBUS CONCERT VENUES
Celeste Center
Ohio State Expo Center
717 E. 17th Ave,. Columbus
www.ohiostatefair.com; 614-466-8346
Recently announced: Kids Bop Live, July 24; Alabama, July 25; Stone Temple Pilots with Soul Asylum, July 26; Boyz II Men, July 27; La Zenda Norteña, July 28; Lauren Daigle, July 29; Steven Sanchez, July 1; Ohio Players and Midnight Star, Aug. 2
Columbus Crew Stadium
One Black & Gold Blvd., Columbus
https://sonictemplefestival.com, 614-447-2739
Upcoming: Disturbed, Evanescence, Mudvayne, May 16; The Original Misfits, Falling in Reverse, Seether, Anthrax, May 17; Pantera, Stand, breaking Benjamin, May 18; Slipknot, limpbizkit, A Day to Remember, 311, May 19
Jerome Schottenstein Center’s Value City Arena
555 Borror Drive, Columbus
www.schottensteincenter.com, 800-273-6201
Upcoming: The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie, April 30; Gunna with Flo Milli, May 4; Heart with Cheap Trick, May 15; Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire, June 13; Chris Stapleton, July 19; Phil Wickham, Brandon Lake, Aug. 2; Hozier, Aug. 7; Blink-182, Aug. 13; Pink, Oct. 9; Kacey Musgraves with Lord Huron and Nickel Creek, Nov. 13; Aerosmith with The Black Crowes, Jan. 13
KEMBA LIVE!
405 Neil Ave., Columbus
www.promowestlive.com, 614-461-LIVE (5483), ext. 101
Upcoming: Chris Young, May 3; Say Anything, May 7; Kameron Marlowe, May 10; Kraftwerk, May 17; RiverFest 2024 featuring Cory Asbury, CAIN, Blessing Offer, May 18; Bleachers, June 4; Khruangbin, June 5; T-Pain, June 11; The Mars Volta, June 12; Brothers Osborne, June 13; Taking Back Sunday, July 25; Sad Summer Festival with Mayday Parade, The Maine, The Wonder Years, We the Kings, Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, Hot Milk, Daisy Grenade, Diva Bleach, July 24; Primus and Coheed and Cambria, Aug. 6; The Avett Brothers, Aug. 20; New Found Glory, Aug. 28; O.A.R., Aug. 29; Goth Babe, Sept. 11; Sublime with Rome, Aug. 16; Descendents and Circle Jerks, Sept. 14; Underoatch, Sept. 29; Dispatch, Oct. 13
Mershon Auditorium
1871 N. High St., Columbus
https://wexarts.org/rentals/mershon-auditorium or 614-292-3535
Upcoming: Morgan Wade, April 26; Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton, May 31; Tye Tribbett and Friends, June 5; Donny Osmond, June 22; Ben Platt with Brandy Clark, July 2; Girls Night Out featuring Kierra Sheard, Naomi Raine, Koryn Hawthorne, Wande, July 16
Nationwide Arena
200 W. Nationwide Blvd., Columbus
www.nationwidearena.com, 614-246-3199
Upcoming: Chris Brown, June 10; Melanie Martinez, June 13; AJR, June 28; New Kids on the Block, Aug. 23; Weezer, The Flaming Lips, Dinosaur Jr., Sept. 7; Twenty One Pilots, Oct. 4-6; Jelly Roll, Oct. 9; Justin Timberlake, Oct. 23; The Black Keys with The Head and the Heart, Oct. 24; Little Big Town and Sugarland, Oct. 26
Ohio Stadium
411 Woody Hayes Drive, Columbus
www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com, 937-292-6330
Upcoming: Buckeye Country Superfest featuring Zach Bryan with Billy Strings, Turnpike Troubadours, Charley Crockett, Charles Wesley Godwin and Levi Turner, June 22-23
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