The Brighside story…is our story.

We are Carli & Hamilton Dixon, artists and business owners in downtown Dayton for nearly a decade, and residents of downtown for over two decades.  Carli is the co-owner of Bloombeads by freezeframe (bloombeads.com), a local company that has specialized in preserving meaningful flowers as jewelry and art since 1996.  Hamilton is a local metal sculptor (hamiltondixon.com)   whose work can be seen at the Dayton Art Institute, The University of Dayton, and Hospice of Dayton, along with many other public and private installations. 

When NCR and other major corporations were leaving Dayton in 2008-09, we had a realization that this town had sustained us as full-time artisans, a gift and a privilege that we did not take lightly. So instead of leaving like so many others were during that time,  we decided to dig deeper roots.  We purchased three abandoned commercial properties at 811, 817 & 905 E. Third Street, with the hope of creating the community in which we wanted to live.  

Ever since then, we have been slowly breathing life back into the buildings. The Brightside is located in the 905 E. Third Street building, which was 18,000 sq. ft. filled with abandoned clothes and trash when we purchased it  (see photos below). But over the last 10 years, we have worked to clean it out, restore all of its services, and renovate it to become one of Dayton's top music and event venues.

What we knew back then, and what still resonates for us now, is that this town is special, even though people over the years haven't always been able to see its true luster.  Noteworthy and authentic things have been happening in this town since its inception, whether the rest of the world noticed or not.  With that history and heritage, we could not think of any better love letter to our city than to breathe life into this building and create a destination that makes Daytonians proud.

It has been a long and difficult road, so we are thrilled to be at this point in the story.  We invite you to follow our music and event website so you can catch a show, belly up to the Vodil Bar, and say, “Hello!”

#ShineOnDayton

Carli and Hamilton Dixon

The journey of a thousand miles starts with a first step…

…and a desire to connect! Our adventures have lead us all over the world and have shaped who we are. In fact, we love traveling and bringing back cool ideas from far-off places to keep making The Brightside the wonderfully welcoming and eclectic place that it is today. Scroll through the gallery below to see some of our favorite travel adventures.

Our love of authentic experiences began early. Hamilton spent his childhood in France camping with his family throughout Europe, and Carli’s journey started in 1991 with a trip to Germany to chip off a piece of the Berlin wall followed by travel through Indian, China, and Majorca Spain. Now we spend time camping on our property in Red River Gorge, Kentucky (you can learn about renting it here), and take off whenever we can with our kids and dog Max in tow.

In 2020, we used the quarantine and homeschooling to our advantage and surprised our kids with a cross-country trip in our camper. In 2021, we made trips to California, Pittsburg, Seattle, and Greece (so amazing!). As you can see, we love an adventure and hope to have many, many more to come!

So what’s all this mean for you?

We're dreamers, but even in our wildest dreams, we never expected to own a popular music and wedding venue.  We host weddings, celebrations, and performances because we love sharing our dream with our Dayton neighbors, fellow artists, and couples who believe in it too.

We are a family and staff that genuinely cares about you and the details of your big day, and a venue that consistently earns glowing reviews for going above and beyond. We believe firmly you aren't a "number" or a "package" and that you are our guests. We treat you like friends and family.

Since we opened to the public in 2015 the venue has grown into something we never imagined. We've listened to our couples and have done our best to make improvements each and every year.  The Brightside is an evolution with our clients, artists, and community at heart.

We hope that sharing our family’s story with you shows you what makes The Brightside so special to us and hopefully you too! We look forward to adding your story to ours.