HOW TO GO
What: Ladyfest Dayton, a celebration of women in art and music, featuring Sharon Lane, Jasper the Colossal, Jayne Sachs, Good English and more than two dozen others.
Where: Yellow Cab Building, 700 E. Fourth St., Dayton.
When: 6 p.m. to 2 am. Friday and 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 28 and 29.
Cost: $7 per day, $12 for two-day pass. Children under 12 free with adult admission. A portion of the proceeds benefit We Care Arts. Visit www.ladyfestdayton.org.
After a four-year absence, Ladyfest Dayton is back.
Because of the determination of local musician Paige Beller and a group of volunteers, the celebration of women in arts and music is returning to the Yellow Cab Building in Dayton on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28 and 29.
“I would’ve loved to have had something like this when I was a kid where it’s a room full of role models,” said Beller, who played the first Ladyfest in 2008 with her group Jasper the Colossal. “There are girls playing all different instruments and different genres of music. It’s getting better for female musicians every day but it’s still a novelty for a girl to be in a band. Ladyfest is to show you it’s not a novelty. There are a lot of girls playing in bands. It’s everywhere.
“This is an all ages event. I’m really excited to have the student performers and the other young kids there to see girls playing acoustic guitar, electric guitar, drums and bass. Some are playing rock ‘n’ roll, some are playing acoustic. There’s country and hip-hop, whatever they want to do.”
Each Ladyfest has a charity component. This year’s primary recipient is We Care Arts in Kettering, which will receive a portion of the proceeds from Ladyfest and a series of pre-festival concerts.
“We’ve already raised a ton of money for the charity through the fundraiser shows we’ve done the last couple of months,” Beller said. “I love doing charity events. It makes me feel worth something. When you spin your wheels long enough as a musician you’ve got to at least get something out of it and feel like you’re making a difference.
“My big goal has been to keep the budget as painfully low as possible and everybody has really pulled through with their volunteer time and lending us things, “Beller continued. “That has a lot to do with We Care Arts. The second you say their name, people really want to help.”
Ladyfest begins at 6 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday. Sharon Lane, Jasper the Colossal, Jayne Sachs, Good English and others will perform. Visual arts and live music are major draws at the event, but the entertainment also includes stand-up comedy, belly dancing, spoken word poetry, breakdancing and a burlesque show.
“I’m trying to give something for everybody,” Beller said. “We have 39 separate performers so there’s a little bit of everything. The schedule is tight — every second of the day, something is going on so there’s always something to engage people.”
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