Upcoming · Sep 7, 2026 · Dayton, OH

This free evening of live music celebrates jazz in all its forms with a lineup full of groove, soul, improvisation, and high-energy performances that bring the community together through rhythm and connection. 🎵 Jazz Amplified Lineup: 5:45 PM – SaxTone Arrington 6:45 PM – Nasty Nati Brass Band 8 PM – Lao Tizer Band featuring Elliott Yamin Headlining the evening, the Lao Tizer Band featuring Elliott Yamin returns to Levitt Pavilion Dayton with their newest project, AMPLIFY. Known for dynamic live performances and genre-crossing sound, the group blends jazz, funk, soul, and contemporary influences into an electrifying concert experience led by an all-star cast of musicians. Cincinnati’s Nasty Nati Brass Band brings bold brass energy inspired by New Orleans traditions, HBCU marching bands, funk, jazz, and R&B, while Dayton’s own SaxTone Arrington opens the evening with soulful saxophone performances blending jazz and R&B. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets, enjoy local food trucks, and spend a summer evening surrounded by music, movement, and community in downtown Dayton. Everyone is welcome on the lawn. Part of the Amplified Series sponsored by the City of Dayton. Special thanks to the City of Dayton, Dayton Water, Dayton International Airport, and Lion for helping make free live music possible for our community. THIS IS AT THE LEVITT PAVILION AND THE VENUE WOULD NOT COME UP WHEN SEARCHED

An unforgettable night of purpose and generosity, including dinner, drinks, dancing, auction items and fun for all. This elegant evening is not merely a celebration, but a gathering to raise funds, to continue our commitment to providing quality care, services, and life enrichment for the residents of our communities.

$150

Hunger is a challenge we can address together. The Dayton Area CROP Hunger Walk unites people of all ages and backgrounds to take action against food insecurity. Through every step walked and every dollar raised, participants help provide meals for those facing hunger today while supporting programs that build stronger, more food-secure communities for the future. With 25% of the walk's proceeds benefiting The Foodbank, Inc. in Dayton, Ohio, your participation directly helps local neighbors in need while contributing to the fight against hunger worldwide. Register today to participate, whether walking individually or as part of a group! Join us for a day of community impact, rain or shine.

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The Contemporary Dayton is proud to present Stacy Kranitz: Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down, the culmination of a landmark multi-year project that challenges long-held stereotypes of Appalachia by Pulitzer Prize–winning photographer Stacy Kranitz. Featuring more than 40 photographs drawn from historical archives, Kranitz’s own images, historical texts, installations, and an accompanying film, the exhibition examines how Appalachia has been represented—and misrepresented—across generations. Together, these works reveal a region shaped by myth, exploitation, resilience, and the uneasy tension between representation and reality. The exhibition’s title references the gospel song “Ain’t No Grave,” made famous by Johnny Cash, evoking the resilience and resistance that run throughout the project. Recipient of the prestigious Images Vevey Book Award, Kranitz has published a companion monograph, available for purchase in The Contemporary Dayton’s CoSHOP. Born in Kentucky and based in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee, Kranitz is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship, among many other awards. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and is held in numerous public collections. Stacy Kranitz: Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down is part of the 2026 FotoFocus Biennial: The Long View. Now in its eighth iteration, the Biennial activates over 70 exhibitions at museums, galleries, universities, and public spaces throughout Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky.

The Contemporary Dayton is proud to present Ella Kraimer: Appearances, a world-premiere exhibition of large-scale photographs. Kraimer transforms herself into a cast of fictional personas through striking self-portraits, using secondhand garments gathered from thrift stores across the country. Layered with irony, humor, and cultural critique, she explores the blurred boundaries between authenticity and performance, memory and invention, self and society. Previously viewed only as a digital project, Appearances reflects on life in an age of social media, image culture, and spectacle. Inspired by childhood memories of paper dolls, Kraimer fragments and reconstructs her own likeness through costume, collage, and assemblage. At once playful and provocative, Appearances invites viewers to reconsider not only the images we create, but the stories they tell about who we are. Kraimer spent her formative years in Berlin, Germany and is now based in New Bremen, Ohio. She earned a BA in Design and Visual Communication from the University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Berlin, and an MA in Visual and Media Anthropology from HMKW University of Applied Sciences for Media, Communication, and Management, Berlin. Ella Kraimer: Appearances is part of the 2026 FotoFocus Biennial: The Long View. Now in its eighth iteration, the Biennial activates over 70 exhibitions at museums, galleries, universities, and public spaces throughout Greater Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Northern Kentucky.