THE JUDGES
Brandon berry
MUSIC JOURNALIST & MUSICIAN
Brandon Berry writes about the Southwest Ohio music and art scene for the Dayton Daily News. He’s contributed to myriad short-run publications, and believes in using the word “myriad” at least once per article. He sometimes makes music.
KHRYS BLANK
SINGER, SONGWRITER, PERCUSSIONIST, DANCER
Khrys has been a staple in the Dayton music community! She is currently performing in Solistic, Heather Redman & The Reputation, and performs solo, as well as the local Last Waltz and This Must Be the Party tribute shows. She's also one of the organizers of the Mardi Gras Threauxdown. This talented multi-instrumentalist is excited to be part of the Dayton Battle of the Bands
Khellie Braxton
DJ BREEZY EZ, IHEARTMEDIA
Khellie, also known as DJ Breezy Ez, is a vibrant wedding and event DJ, as well as a social media radio professional at iHeartmedia. With her background as a former broadcast DJ, she has been right at the heart of commercial and corporate productions. Khellie’s expertise spans radio, broadcasting, music, and social media.
ed carter
LONGTIME MUSIC FAN, SPONSOR, PRINTER
Ed Carter is one of the original supporters & sponsors of Dayton Battle of the Bands. This is his first year being a judge! He is a longtime Dayton music patron and supporter. He's also a printer extraordinaire at Creative Impressions in Kettering. Creative Impressions has served the Dayton region since 1975 and has established a reputation of providing high quality offset and digital printing with quick turnarounds and great pricing.
kevin Carter
HIP HOP ARTIST, PODCASTER, IMPROVISATOR
Kevin Carter aka K.Carter is a hip hop artist born and raised in Dayton, Ohio he is the founder and creator of the “For Dayton By Dayton Music Festival” and he is also a producer and co host of “The Novelizers” podcast. You can also see him perform improv at Black Box Theater. Along with 7 albums under his belt, K. Carter is both a guy that knows music and his city.
juliet fromholt
MUSIC DIRECTOR, WYSO 91.3 FM
Juliet Fromholt is proud to be music director at 91.3FM WYSO, Southwest Ohio’s public radio that serves the community with news, music and storytelling. Juliet Fromholt began volunteering at WYSO while working at WWSU, the student station at her alma mater, Wright State University. After joining the station staff in 2009, Juliet developed WYSO’s digital and social media strategy. She moved into the music director role in 2021. An avid music fan and former record store employee, Juliet continues to host her two music shows, Alpha Rhythms and Kaleidoscope,featuring studio performances from local musicians every week. She also co-hosts Attack of the Final Girls, a horror film review podcast.
Madeline hart
DIRECTOR MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS, LEVITT PAVILION DAYTON
Madeline Hart is the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Levitt Pavilion Dayton. They have their Bachelor of Science in Music Business from Murray State University and have called Dayton home for over 6 years now. They have been with the Levitt Pavilion since it opened in 2018 and love seeing people connect through the power of music. In their free time Madeline sings with the Dayton Bach Society, loves riding their bike on Dayton’s incredible bike trails, playing tabletop RPGs, and creating art.
curt Hedberg
SOUND ENGINEER & CO-OWNER, DAYTON SOUND STUDIOS
Curt Hedberg is an audio engineer extraordinaire and the owner of Dayton Sound Studios in Kettering. Dayton Sound Studios is the proud title sponsor of Dayton Battle of the Bands for two years now, and they are excited about this opportunity and partnership! Curt is also a DJ who appears at exclusive events around the Dayton area.
Valentino "tino" halton
HIP-HOP ARTIST
Cleveland, Ohio, born and raised, and son of a preacher, TINO found his love for rhyming while attending college in Dayton, Ohio. Since 2012, TINO has performed hundreds of shows across multiple states, opening for Talib Kweli, Del The Funky Homosapien, Cappadonna, and more as a solo artist, a member of the band Sidekick Complex, and half of hip hop duo Safe Money. He has released numerous projects both locally and internationally, with his latest release, “La Pa Bavarde,” - a collaboration with French producer DJ Martin. TINO has a unique style that blends the Golden Era of hip-hop with modern elements, bridging the gap between the old and new school.
brad Denson
MUSICIAN, SOUND ENGINEER, FESTIVAL ORGANIZER
Brad Denson is one of the sound engineers at The Brightside, Oregon Express and other music venues around town. He's also in several area bands including Solistic, The Mystiks, and won a gold record for his work with Caamp. Brad was the organizer of Miami Valley Music Fest, a beloved local music festival in Troy. His prolific community-building projects demonstrate his passion for local music.
jamy Holliday
SINGER & GUITARIST
Jamy Holliday is a legendary Dayton musician, known for rockin' out in bands including Haunting Souls, Luxury Pushers, and Mystery Addicts. He was also a staple at Canal Street Tavern, the beloved stomping grounds for musicians in Downtown Dayton for decades. Jamy has also been a great friend and partner to The Brightside Music & Event Venue.
BRANDON HAWK
MUSICIAN & MUSIC BOOKER AT BLIND BOB'S
Brandon Hawk is a longtime Dayton music booker and promoter at Blind Bob's in the Oregon District. He's known for hosting Open Mic nights on Tuesdays, and programming the rest of the week with fantastic local & national rock bands. Brandon is a also a musician himself! We're so excited to welcome Brandon, who is a new judge this year.
gary king
MUSICIAN, MUSIC TEACHER, SOUND ENGINEER &
CO-OWNER, DAYTON SOUND STUDIOS
Gary D King is an audio engineer, producer, musician and co-owner of Dayton Sound Studios. He studied Recording Studio Technology at the Institute of Audio Research in New York City. He toured the world with the iconic funk band, Sun (Capitol Records). He has worked with hundreds of artists and has decades of professional recording and music experience. Gary has Platinum and Gold album awards. Gary plays trombone with several Dayton area bands (including Jah Soul, Heather Redman, Nasty Bingo) After 19 years, Gary has retired from teaching the Recording Arts program at Stivers School for the Arts.
SamANTHA king
SINGER, SONGWRITER
Evan miller
ASSISTANT MUSIC DIRECTOR, WYSO 91.3 FM
Evan Miller is a percussionist, lover of sound. He got his start in radio in 2012 at WWSU at Wright State University, where he was studying percussion performance. He followed through with both endeavors and eventually landed a lucrative dual career playing experimental music at home and abroad, and broadcasting those sounds to unsuspecting listeners Sunday nights on The Outside. Maintaining a connection to normal music, Evan also plays drums in bands, and hosts WYSO's weekday music show Excursions.
MITCH MILEY
CHIEF INSPIRATION OFFICER, VENUS CHILD PRODUCTIONS
Mitch Miley is an integral part of Venus Child Productions, the primary organizer and catalyst for the Dayton Battle of the Bands each year. His wife, Libby Ballengee, is the face of the competition, but Mitch provides valuable support and insight for all VCP events. He inspired the fan favorite show This Must Be the Party, a tribute to the Talking Heads. Mitch is a longtime music fan and an avid supporter of Dayton's local music scene.
KELLY MORELOCK
DRUMMER, PERCUSSIONIST
Kelly Morelock is a local drummer and percussionist who has played with numerous bands, most notably: Bongo Bay, Glee and Beak, The Danny Voris Project, Jayne Sachs Band, Paige and the Belairs, The Nicky Kay Orchestra, and Darren Callahan. Most recently, Kelly can be seen playing with Nick Kizirnis, Phil’s Big Azz Brass Band, Spill the Wine, The Kerry Smith Band, Last Call, and VCU. Kelly is a hired gun, a lifelong student of music, especially when it comes to Latin and Brazilian percussion, and a collector of odd and interesting drums.
CHRIS "POPPY" POPADAK
DRUMMER & OWNER, LITTLE MONSTER PRINTING
Chris "Poppy" Popadak is the drummer for the Dayton rock band The Story Changes, and the former drummer for Hawthorne Heights. During his long musical career he's done multiple world tours and has served as a tour manager and festival organizer.
Chris is also the owner of Little Monster Printing, which has been a long-running sponsor of Dayton Battle of the Bands. He also helps us stage manage the shows. We're grateful for his support!
Ron rollins
ARTIST & RETIRED ARTS/CULTURE EDITOR
Ron Rollins is a writer, editor, poet and artist who lives in Kettering, Ohio. Married to Amy, he has two grown children and two grandchildren. Ron is retired from the Dayton Daily News, where he was a staple since 1986. Ron has served on the boards of several local arts, cultural and social-service organizations, including: Dayton History, FilmDayton, House of Bread, Antioch Writers Workshop, and TEDx Dayton.
JAYNE SACHS
SINGER, SONGWRITER
Jayne Sachs (pronounced Jane Sax) is an award winning songwriter with two first place wins in The John Lennon Songwriting Contest (country and pop categories) and top winner in The UK Songwriting Contest and the IAMA in the country category, along with others. Jayne writes primarily for the country market now after coming from the indie alt/pop world as an artist, and is a veteran performer having done countless shows, live radio and National television as well. She co-writes with talented people from around the world and in Nashville and continues to write solo as well.
nick testa
SINGER / SONGWRITER
Nick Testa is the singer and songwriter for Dayton's most popular party band, Nightbeast. He's also a DJ and media personality. Nick participated in Dayton's Battle of the Bands with his side project, FlashBreak. You can watch Nick on "We Arre Family" game show on FOX. You never know what Nick will get up to!
LUKE TANDY
OWNER, SKELETON DUST RECORDS
Luke Tandy has been a music lover for the last 30+ years, enjoying nearly all types of music (really!) and is the owner of Skeleton Dust Records, a brick-and-mortar record store opened in 2017 in Dayton, Ohio. The record store recently moved to 2101 E. 5th St. in the Huffman Historic District.
don thrasher
MUSICIAN / RETIRED MUSIC JOURNALIST
Writer and musician Don Thrasher moved with his parents and brother from small town Alabama to Dayton in the mid-70s. He has played music since the early 1980s with groups like Guided By Voices, Swearing At Motorists, and the New Creatures. He has been the drummer for Smug Brothers since 2008. Thrasher has covered music and arts since the early 1990s. He has written for media outlets such as Dayton.com, Dayton Voice, Impact Weekly, In These Times, Sponic, and Treblephonic. Last April, he retired after 20 years as a contributing writer with the Dayton Daily News.
VIBES
MUSICIAN, COMMUNITY & EVENT ORGANIZER
Vibes is an artist, activist, musician, event organizer, and electrical engineering technician. He's also one of our biggest supporters at The Brightside and works directly with Venus Child Productions to organize events. His signature event is "On Repeat" where you can find him performing music himself. Additionally, Vibes is a Kettering Foundation Dayton Democracy Fellow. One of his many projects, Heart Connectz, strives to build community bonds and bridge the gaps between Dayton organizations.
Photo by Jordan Lynn Freshour
Lisa wagner
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LEVITT PAVILION DAYTON
Lisa Wagner is the Executive Director for the Levitt Pavilion Dayton, hired in 2017 to build and lead the non-profit organization with the mission of building community through the power of music, one free concert at a time. Previously, Lisa spent 15 years working for the Victoria Theatre Association, as the Vice President of Ticketing and Hospitality. Lisa attended Miami University and she holds a certificate in Strategic Leadership for Non-Profits from the University of Pennsylvania and she completed the Senior Management Institute in a joint program with National Arts Strategies and University of Michigan.
NIKKI WEBB
DJ LADY BOUNCE
Nikki Webb aka Ladi Bounce began her DJ career at age 10 alongside her father; Fred "The Boss". As co-host of the "Fly With Us Podcast", she shares her passion and commitment to Mental Wellness and Self-Care in each episode. Ladi Bounce can be seen and heard playing your favorite songs from 8pm-12am at The Barrel House on the third Friday of each month for “Fenom Friday”. She is a proud Daytonian, a community advocate, and a graduate of International College of Broadcasting in Dayton, Ohio and Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio.
Alayna Yates
UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON GRADUATE, ATHLETE & MUSIC FAN
Recent University of Dayton graduate and former student-athlete, Alayna Yates, is a self-proclaimed music enthusiast and aspiring writer. A journalism class assignment brought her to Battle of the Bands last year and this year she returns as a fan and judge. Although she has a deep love for boy bands and Broadway musicals, her taste in music is wide-ranging.
LAURA ZELLER
OWNER & MUSIC BOOKER, OREGON EXPRESS
Laura Zeller is a life long resident of the Dayton area. She has always been a regular at local shows, national acts and music festivals. Her taste in music varies from Propain to Parliament to Patsy Cline, but Punk and Y'allternative dominate her playlist. Laura and husband, Brandon, recently became the new owners of the Oregon Express in Dayton. As avid music fans, Laura and Brandon are committed to carrying on the legacy of the OE; providing a quality venue for musical acts from a variety of genres.
TONY HERDMAN
SINGER-SONGWRITER
Tony Herdman is a talented songwriter known for his unique blend of country, folk and rock. He has released several singles that include one of his latest “Fare Thee Well” and albums such as “Tony Red Band” and “90 Miles to Nashville," which was recorded at Nashville’s famous Reel Love Recording Company. Tony has a strong presence in the Dayton, Ohio music scene and has been involved in various music projects along his journey. In addition, Tony has opened for legendary Rock Band Heart to a sold-out crowd at Kettering Fraze Pavillion. His dedication to showcasing local talent and his love for music make him a favorite in the music community.