Dayton has given the world the cash register, the automobile self-starter, powered flight, and the pop-top can, among other innovations. It also is the birthplace of funk music, fueling the 1970s funk music boom with nearly a dozen Dayton bands on major record labels during the latter half of that decade, including the Ohio Players, Zapp, Lakeside and Heatwave.
In 2018, the University of Dayton launched the Dayton Funk Symposium and Dance Party, bringing together scholars, teachers, students, and performing artists to explore the rhythmic groove-based genre that put Dayton on the musical map.
Browse the video presentations, transcripts, and printed materials from the symposia.