Not your purple dinosaur’s band: Big Bang Boom! plans to blast Dayton kids and parents out of their lawn chairs

“I don’t see why children’s music has to be dumb-ed down,”  Chuck Folds said. “Mom has the keys. Mom has the wallet. I want her to be happy.”

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There's no reason children's music has to sound, well, childish.

At least that's the way Chuck Folds sees it.

He and his band mates in the pop/rock trio Big Bang Boom!  are scheduled to bring children's music parents can actually enjoy to the Levitt Pavilion at Dave Hall Plaza in downtown Dayton at 3 p.m. this Sunday, Aug. 26.

>>  RELATED: Who is playing at Levitt Pavilion in downtown Dayton? Full schedule  

Like all Levitt shows, the Big Bang Boom! performance is free.

Lawn chair, blankets, well-behaved dogs and drinks and meals are encouraged at the recently opened venue located at 36 S. Main St.

The pavilion will have shows through Oct. 7 by a list of musicians known locally, nationally and internationally playing a range of music that includes jazz, rock, blues, folk, R&B, country, pop, world and children’s music.

Folds said parents shouldn't think they'll be sitting through something that sounds a heck of a lot like BarneyThe Wiggles or Kidz Bop.

“A big thing to us is engaging the kids as much as possible. There is no sitting down at a Big Bang Boom show,” he said. “Don’t come there as an adult sitting there thinking  you can sit back and chit-chat with other adults and play with your phone.”

Big Bang Boom! is set to release its fourth album by the end of the year. Folds said it will feature a song included in WFMY's Emmy Award winning community service program “Read 2 Succeed!”

>> INSIDER’S GUIDE: Best places to eat and drink near Dayton’s brand new Levitt Pavilion 

Folds said he and his band mates,  Steve Willard and Eddie Walker, make it a point to get parents involved in the fun.

A father himself, he said parents don’t always have to be serious.

“It’s one thing to bring the kids; it is another thing to interact with them,” he said. “You are setting an example for them. You can see the difference in the kids.”

The lyrics might be different, but musically, Folds said he and his band don’t dumb down their songs because they are family friendly.

“We don’t record it differently. We don’t sing it differently, nothing,” the current member of a handful of grown-up bands said.

>> RELATED:  Interest in Dayton’s new Levitt Pavilion leads to daily requests to buy tickets … which are free

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The younger brother of Ben Folds, the former frontman of the internationally known alternative rock band Ben Folds Five, Chuck Folds said he intentionally steered clear of the music because his brother was so into it.

“When I was in college, I had to admit to myself I really like this,” said Folds, who has a master’s degree in geography.

The North Carolina native started playing in bands when he was 18. The first performances were at frat parties.

One of his band mates was really into The Knack, so that was among the first music he performed.

Folds said the idea for Big Bang Boom! came after he wrote and performed kid-friendly rock and roll songs for his now 18-year-old son’s seventh birthday party.

“The grown-ups loved it,” he said.

Sunday’s show here in Dayton will not leave parents out, Folds said.

“I don’t see why children’s music has to be dumbed down,” he added. “Mom has the keys. Mom has the wallet. I want her to be happy.”

>> RELATED:  Everything you need to know to make the most of a concert at Levitt Pavilion

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