The Boilermaker Jazz Band is an ecstatically fun band performing authentic American hot Jazz and Swing. The group has a wide repertoire that can make an audience Swing to a classic Jazz standard, get sentimental over an old-time ballad, Boogie to a hot Jump tune, or get low-down with a gritty Blues. From concert halls to dances, festivals to family parties, listeners and dancers agree - with their infectious beat and enthusiasm this band can make any crowd move! www.BoilermakerJazzBand.com

Solomon Douglas Swingtet (Canada)


	photo by Jeremy Stell-Smith

Solomon Douglas is a Jazz pianist and bandleader, whose various bands have played at more than fifty exchanges, camps, workshops, and other dance events in North America, Asia, and Australia in the past seven years. His experience as a Swing dancer and dance instructor gives him an understanding unique among musicians of the music that Swing dancers and Blues dancers like to dance to!

The Solomon Douglas Swingtet is a ten-piece dance band whose repertoire is rooted in that of the Basie band (One O'Clock Jump, Jive at Five, Splanky, Shorty George, Shiny Stockings) and that of the Ellington band (Cottontail, "C" Jam Blues, Mood Indigo, Take The "A" Train), with other big-band standards and classic Jazz tunes thrown in as well. They can cater to a crowd that prefers up-tempo classic Swing, to a crowd that prefers slower groovier Jazz, or to anything in between. We are excited to have them featured at the Beantown Saturday Dance Party! www.SolomonDouglas.com

The Racky Thomas Band (MA)

The Racky Thomas Band hails from Boston but plays the Blues as though they came right out of post-war Chicago or the Mississippi delta. The band has received widespread critical praise in local, national, and international Blues publications, as well as worldwide radio airplay of their two most recent self-produced CDs, Last Of The Big Spenders and Troubled All the Time. The band formed in 1995 and has been performing throughout the northeast to enthusiastic audiences, steadily gaining a devoted following ever since. The band got a great boost in 1997 by winning Boston's prestigious Battle of the Blues Bands. That earned them a trip to Memphis, TN to compete in the International Blues Competition where they made a strong showing and gained broader exposure. These guys have a great sound and energy which is sure to keep you on the dance floor! www.TheRackyThomasBand.com

Featured DJs

There is a great line-up of featured DJs to keep the music swinging, non-stop, well into the night!

Mike "Slick Mike" Smith (Head DJ) (MA): Slick Mike is a very popular and well-known DJ. He can be found every Monday night at the Five Guys Named Mike Practice Session in Cambridge (he's Mike #2). See more information on Mike on the Instructors page.

Rayned Wiles (MD): Rayned is one of the East Coast's most popular DJs with a busy schedule spinning at dances, weekends, competitions and exchanges. He is also a Beantown regular, returning for his 10^th time!

Joel Domoe (OH): See more information on Joel on the Instructors page.

Camille Fontanella (MA): See more information on Camille on the Instructors page.

Michael Gamble (NC): See more information on Michael on the Instructors page.

Mike "RetroMike" Hibarger (MA): DJ RetroMike will be hosting Get Your Groove On in an alternative dance room on Saturday night.

Matt Jones (TX)

Will Reed (CT): Wil has been dancing Lindy since 1998 and DJing since 2000. He has DJed for Shoreline Swing, Connecticut Swing Dance Society, Vinnie's Jump & Jive in Connecticut as well as for many events in Rhode Island.

Peter Strom (MN): Peter will be hosting a Soul Party in the Lodge on Sunday night. See more information on Peter on the Instructors page.

John "Spin Doctor" Tomeny (NH): John, along with his wife Sandra, are the directors of the Upper Valley Swing Dance Network. They teach weekly classes, hold dances and workshops in Vermont and the surrounding area. www.SavoyStyle.org

Andrew Sutton (CA): Andrew and Mihai will be hosting a Blues Party in an alternative dance room on Friday night. See more information on Andrew on the Instructors page.

Marc-André Vachon (RI): Marc-André is House DJ for the weekly dance at Providence Swings. See more information on Marc-André on the Instructors page.