How to go
What: Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival
When: Noon to 11 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept. 9
Where: Three stages in downtown Dayton
Tickets: $75 for two-day pass; Children ages 10 and younger can attend the event free of charge when accompanied by a pass-holding adult.
More information: www.downtownrevival.com
Schedule of events*
Saturday, Sept. 8 (Doors open at noon)
Budweiser Stage
1:30-2:30 p.m.: Bronze Radio Return
3-4 p.m.: Griffin House
5-6:15 p.m.: Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk
7:15-8:30 p.m.: Guster
9:30-10:45 p.m.: John Legend
—-
CareSource Stage
1-2 p.m.: Burnt Sugar
2:30-3:30 p.m.: Kristy Lee
4-5:15 p.m.: The Werks
6:15-7:30 p.m.: Cowboy Mouth
8:15-9:30 p.m.: Guided by Voices
—-
Monster Stage
12:15-12:45 p.m.: Prima Luce
1:15-1:45 p.m.: The Giant Steps
2:15-2:45 p.m.: Customer Service & the Gem City Horns
3:15-3:45 p.m.: The Right Now
4:15-4:45 p.m.: Crusher
5:15-6 p.m.: Wheels
6:30-7:15 p.m.: Motel Beds
7:45-8:30 p.m.: Jordan Hull
9-10:15 p.m.: Needmore
—-
Sunday, Sept. 9 (Doors open at noon)
Budweiser Stage
1:30-2:30 p.m.: Heartless Bastards
3-4 p.m.: Andy Grammer
5-6:15 p.m.: Rusted Root
7:15-8:30 p.m.: Mat Kearney
9:30-10:45 p.m.: Train
—-
CareSource Stage
1-2 p.m.: Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers
2:30-3:30 p.m.: Red Wanting Blue
4:15-5:30 p.m.: Karl Denson's Tiny Universe
6:15-7:30 p.m.: The Ohio Players
8:30-9:45 p.m.: Robert Randolph & the Family Band
—-
Monster Stage
12:15-12:45 p.m.: Good English
1:15-1:45 p.m.: Lauren Eylise
2:15-3 p.m.: Bad Sines
3:30-4:15 p.m.: Green Light Morning
4:45-5:30 p.m.: Buffalo Killers
6-6:45 p.m.: The Cliftones
7:15-8 p.m.: Brent James & The Contraband
8:30-9:45 p.m.: Tony Lucca
*Schedule subject to change
Source: www.downtownrevival.com
Tony Lucca, a self-described “soul-folk” singer/songwriter from Michigan, will perform at the first-year Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival, which will take place Saturday, Sept. 8, and Sunday, Sept. 9.
Lucca is slated to perform from 8:30 to 9:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, on the Monster Stage in downtown Dayton.
Lucca, who appeared on “The Mickey Mouse Club” in the early 1990s, was a finalist on season two of NBC’s TV show “The Voice.” He has released more than seven albums, including his most recent record, 2011’s “Under the Influence.”
We talked to Lucca about his upcoming local appearance and musical career.
Q: What should we expect from your performance at the Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival?
A: "Fortunately, I'm going to have my band with me. We'll be meeting up there. We've been having a lot of fun lately. These are the guys that I was out on the road with before 'The Voice.' They were certainly excited to watch me go through the whole gamut. Of course, we were all eager to get back together and revisit our show and integrate some of the things from 'The Voice' and some new material."
Q: This will be the Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival's inaugural year. Festival organizers hope the event brings Dayton into the national music scene. From your perspective, why is this event important for the Dayton region?
A: "Certain cities, obviously they historically have been known as music cities. As I've traveled, (I've) encountered a lot of towns that just have a great deal of local interest in good music and big shows and festivals and things. From the sound of it, if that's the case with Dayton, this will be a great chance for them to sort of prove that. Truth be told, I don't care where they (bands) play, so long as there are people there that are excited to see them play. It will be important for Dayton if that turns out to be the case, if they get a nice turnout for the event, if the artists that are on the bill come and have a nice connection with the crowd, then you can bet they'll be back. That's always a good thing."
Q: In addition to your performance, other musicians expected to perform at the Downtown Dayton Revival Music Festival include John Legend, Train, Guided by Voices, Guster and Rusted Root. Are there any performers you are looking forward to meeting at the event?
A: "I'd love to catch Robert Randolph (and the Family Band), but I believe we are playing at the same time, which is a bit of a bummer. Pretty much any of the bands you just listed are bands that I know are worth seeing. I would love to catch some of Train's show. I was a fan of Train early on in their career; some of their earlier records I was a big fan of. John Legend would be a cool voice to hear. Guster, I know we share a lot of the same fans. I've never actually gotten to see them play, so that would be a good show to catch as well."
Q: You performed on "The Mickey Mouse Club" in the early 1990s. How did that early experience shape who you are today?
A: "It was a really important time of my life. It was basically my high school years. Don't care what you are doing, at that time of your life, it's going to be important to who you become later on. For me, I was surrounded by other artists and other singers and performers, and so I was motivated and inspired to new heights at such a young age that today, that sort of motivation has stayed with me. It's definitely given me an advantage with regards to the industry at large. The things we learned on 'The Mickey Mouse Club,' you couldn't put a price tag to. It was a valuable wealth of industry know-how and hands-on experience that again, has stayed with me my whole career and benefited me every step of the way."
Q: You were a finalist on season two of "The Voice." What was the most important lesson you learned from your coach Adam Levine, the front man of pop-rock band Maroon 5?
A: "He really helped me realize the value in taking risks, taking good risks, which is I think ultimately the spark plug that my career maybe was lacking. He had a way of kind of walking me through some anecdotal advice and sharing stories with me about different chapters of his career and stages of his life where yeah, you have to take on that delusional confidence and trust the uneasiness that you feel before you do something, that if it doesn't make you uncomfortable, then it's probably not worth doing. … It definitely motivated me to be like, 'Yeah, you know what, this is a little precarious, this is a little dangerous, and I liked that. It was like, yeah, it's time for me to do something like this. It was really helpful not just on the show, but in hindsight."
Q: Let's talk about your music. What are you working on now?
A: "Right now, I'm just in writing mode. It's been great to get back to the drawing board and start to get some ideas back down on paper and with my guitar. While I was on the show, it was really (an) inspiring time, but it didn't leave a whole lot of time for creativity and actually free association and to sit down and just write songs. It was more like running a marathon. Now that I'm on the backside of it, it was definitely some big, deep breaths I've been able to take and really getting into some songwriting again. [I'm] working on material for another project and trying to wrap up details on a record deal, which is pretty exciting, obviously. Nothing I can speak about entirely just yet. But soon enough, there will be an announcement. We'll talk about it then. For now, just excited about the upcoming months and years. As well, I'm getting ready to head out on the road on a big tour, a big, national, coast to coast tour in October. … I'm going to get to get back on the road for about six weeks I think and go coast to coast. A bit of a victory lap kind of thing, getting back with fans who supported me throughout the show and all that, but as well, to connect to the new fans that we've made along the way."
Q: What's next for your musical career?
A: "I went into the whole '[The] Voice' thing with the hopes of getting some new found exposure and elevating my career, but what Adam and I tapped into while I was there was a bit of a reinvention of sorts. It really allowed things to pick up just musically, creatively, from a different angle, from a different approach, and really looking to build on that, and continue in that vein, and again, taking more risks and doing things a little more outside my comfort zone, and establishing a new comfort zone. It will be [an] interesting new chapter, I suppose."
Q: What else do you want to tell our local readers?
A:
“I’ve been pretty steadfast and diligent on the social media and online presence for a long time now. Tonylucca.com, I started in 1998, which is quite a while ago, and I’ve just been, like I said, real diligent in keeping ahead of the latest developments in social networking and have a pretty strong online presence.” [Check out Lucca on Facebook (
); Twitter (
); YouTube (
); and Instagram.]
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