Photograph courtesy Better Anyway
On July 12, touring music festival idobi Radio Summer School Tour made a stop at Bogart’s in Clifton as a part of its third annual tour. This year’s tour, inspired by and partnered with Vans Warped Tour, featured five mainstay independent artists for each show: Honey Revenge, South Arcade, Games We Play, Winona Fighter, and Chase Petra. The tour kicked off last month in San Diego and will end on July 25 in Long Beach, California, where each artist will perform at Warped Tour.
New this year, though, is a local act performing at each tour date. Dayton-based rock band Better Anyway joined the other artists for the show at Bogart’s. “It was a cool realization to see we had a message in our inbox asking if we had any interest in playing at the show,” says Better Anyway via email. “It’s nice to leave a good first impression on an audience that wouldn’t normally see our band. I mostly just hope people can connect with our music.”
Summer School Tour founders Michael Kaminsky, CEO of music management company KMGMT, and Eric Tobin of Hopeless Records created the touring music festival to fill the gap caused when the Warped Tour ceased operations in 2019. (The festival resumed in 2025.) Since then, they’ve partnered with Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman to create an affordable, fun, and exciting experience for both the featured bands and concert-goers.
“We wanted to be the change we wanted to see,” says Kaminsky. “So, we created a festival that supports and promotes upcoming independent artists, with a focus on affordable ticket prices and hot bands on their way up.”
The five headliners are a varied group of artists and bands on the verge of breaking out. Pop rock band Honey Revenge recently released its new single “Hot Commodity” and was an opener on the last run of the Summer School Tour. Pop-punk and alternative rock band South Arcade, who has gone viral on social media for videos of their band practices, hails from Oxford, England, and released its EP “Play!” last November. Solo artist Games We Play and trio Winona Fighter are also pop-punk; the former has an upcoming album releasing in September and the latter releases a single in May. Chase Petra describes themself as “quarter-life-crisis pop” and released EP “A Terrible Ennui” a few weeks ago, addressing topics of imposer syndrome and gender discrimination.
Photograph by Kiara Vaziri
The additional local band at each show is a new addition to the tour that aligns with its original vision of propping up independent artists and giving them a chance to break out and find larger audiences.
“We spoke to the national acts on the tour, spent a lot of time listening to music submissions, and worked with local institutions like labels, managers, and agents in each market to find the best upcoming talent in each market,” says Kaminsky. “But we try not to change too much of what has worked in prior years.”
Better Anyway is proud to have represented the Dayton music scene at the show. Their hometown has yielded successful bands such as Hawthorne Heights, The Breeders, and The Devil Wears Prada.
“It’s hard to be a band if there isn’t a strong foundation or community to come up in,” says Better Anyway. “Dayton has shown us what a community is. Bands in our area are always lifting each other up and we all love to see each other win. If we’re representing Dayton, that’s an honor.”
The five-member rock band, who have been together since 2018, takes influences from bands like blink-182, The Wonder Years, and The Starting Line. At Bogart’s, they hope to use their music to connect with the community. “Performing music is immediately rewarding in the way of having a human experience and connecting with people who are watching our band,” says Better Anyway.
To Kaminsky, live music is important because of its ability to build a community more directly than most things in the world. “For me personally, I made some of my closest friends at a show and discovered my love and appreciation of art. We have to keep shows affordable so the next generation are able to continue having these experiences.”
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