Dayton Native Brings Global Piano Bar Experience Home with "GRANDSTAND"
Ian Benjamin returns to Dayton March 16 with 'GRANDSTAND, Piano's Pop Icons,' a high-energy show spanning decades of hits. Expect sing-alongs and a lively piano bar vibe at Sinclair's Centerville Campus.
Dayton Native Brings Global Piano Bar Experience Home with "GRANDSTAND"
A full menu of hit songs, spanning over seven decades and from nearly twenty different artists will be served by Ian Benjamin at ‘GRANDSTAND, Piano's Pop Icons.’ At the piano, Benjamin looks forward to entertaining audiences with his musical stylings. A Dayton native, the show serves as a homecoming for Benjamin, who has spent the last ten years performing around the globe.
Benjamin aspires to create a piano bar type atmosphere where rather than sitting quietly those in attendance sing and clap along while creating an everlasting memory. “The whole point of the show is to celebrate great music, and great songwriters, and most of all, to have fun while doing it. A year from now, I hope every single person who sees the show will think back on how much fun they had at GRANDSTAND, and how it offered a space for unity and escape through music,” he said.
A 2011 graduate of Centerville high school, Benjamin earned a BFA in Musical Theatre from Wright State University. Currently residing in North Carolina, Benjamin has been performing on international cruise ships and riverboats, in New York City and across the southeast.
Benjamin considers it a privilege to perform and share his love of music in a meaningful way. It provides him with a healthy dose of nourishment as he feeds on the audience enjoying his talents. “Performing without an audience is just a dress rehearsal. So when I’m on stage and people are watching and listening, having a good time, then I’m having a good time. It creates this beautiful, joyful, energetic feedback loop where everyone in the room is connected through music,” he said.
The return to Dayton is especially meaningful to Benjamin as a presentation of all the enrichment he received while developing as an entertainer. From his father’s teachings (a classically trained pianist) to the performing arts programs at Centerville City Schools and the drama ministry at Epiphany Lutheran Church, as well as at Wright State all helped shape him. “I’ve spent the past ten years building upon those lessons and skills while performing for strangers on cruise ships, so I’m very excited to come home and share GRANDSTAND with familiar faces. Who I am as an Entertainer is so very much the product of talents that were nurtured by so many friends, family, and teachers while I grew up in the Dayton area, a lot of whom are going to be in the audience, so I can’t wait to feel that energy when it’s finally showtime,” he said.
Songs from stars like Jerry Lee Lewis, John Legend, Carole King, Billy Joel, and Elton John will be featured. Audience members are expected to lose themselves in the music and become active participants. “In GRANDSTAND, I bring the clap-along, sing-along high-energy style of the piano bar in the form of a concert; this is not a show to be quietly enjoyed,” said Benjamin. “The whole point of the show is to celebrate great music and great songwriters, and most of all, to have fun while doing it.”
About the show
MVCCA Concert: Grandstand, Piano's Pop Icons is part of the headline season for the Miami Valley Community Concert Association, on Sunday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. at Sinclair College-Centerville Campus, 5800 Clyo Road.
