The Bands

ACME Swing Mfg. Co.

ACME Swing Mfg. Co. is a high energy, solo-swapping, hot jazz combo. Vintage guitars, violin, sax, clarinet, upright bass, brushes on drums, banjo, ukulele, accordion, vocal solos, and harmonies: all pre-1940s tunes and originals.

Solomon Douglas Sextet

Solomon Douglas is a jazz pianist and bandleader, whose various bands have played at countless lindy hop events in North America, Asia, and Australia in the past 11 years. His experience as a swing dancer and dance instructor gives him an understanding unique among musicians of the music that dancers like to dance to!

The Solomon Douglas Sextet includes Alison Dreyfuss (from New Hampshire) on vocals, John D'earth on trumpet, Brennen Ernst (from Leesburg, VA) on guitar, Pete Spaar on bass, and Aaron Tucker (from North Carolina) on drums.

Solomon's influences as a pianist include Erroll Garner, Oscar Peterson, and Gene Harris. Alison Dreyfuss is a beautiful singer with a sound reminiscent of both Blossom Dearie and Billie Holiday. Together, they will play a mixture of musical styles including blues, old-school swing, and groovy mainstream swinging standards with tinges of bebop and soul-jazz.

The DJs

Dan Repsch

Dan Repsch: Dan is a Philadelphia native whose obsession with music has been life-long. He’s taken to DJing because he loves sharing his music, inspiring other dancers, and guiding the energy of a dance. He’s constantly challenging himself to bring new material to his fellow dancers and works hard to offer a variety of music in his sets that stays true to the roots of the dance. He loves all styles of music and his sets tend more toward vintage-style jazz and blues, but he can bring the funk if the dance calls for it.

Stasi Palaia

Stasi Palaia cut her teeth on the small-town swing scene in Gainesville, Florida. As a dedicated DJ and organizer, she promoted awareness of vintage jazz and swing rhythm within the University of Florida swing dance club. While in Gainesville, she founded Death Letter Blues, a biweekly dance that focuses on bringing a broad array of traditional blues to dancers throughout Central Florida. Now living in Northern Virginia, she has DJed at Cville Savoy and Cat’s Corner, Charlottesville’s weekly swing dance. Her sets dig deep to find the roots of swing and blues sound and inspire dancers through a dynamic range of tempos and rhythms.

Laura Lackey

Laura’s love affair with Jazz & Blues has been developing for quite some time now. Ever since she began DJing local house parties, she has committed herself to the art and is now a regular DJ at Dance Blues Friday, Hot Club and Triangle Swing Dance Society in Durham, NC. You may also remember her from Holy City Blues Exchange in Charleston (returning again this year), Cheap Thrills Charlotte and Big Ten in Greensboro, NC. Ultimately, when it comes to DJing, she prides herself on providing a variety of styles and eras in each of her sets, and loves to choose music that dancers will enjoy & interact with, making each song count.

Some of Laura’s favorite artists: Artie Shaw, Big Mama Thornton, Koko Taylor, Roy Eldridge, James Cotton, Anita O'Day, Nina Simone, Duke Ellington, and Sidney Bechet.

Chris Crawford

Chris Crawford Currently lives in Ruckersville VA. In recent years he has been seen as a teacher and DJ in cities such as Tampa FL, Raleigh NC, Charleston SC, Atlanta GA, Chattanooga TN, Ridgecrest CA and throughout VA. (Blacksburg, Williamsburg, Richmond, Virginia Beach, and Charlottesville). ”His skills as a veteran in this scene make him a solid go to guy that strengthens the depth chart for any event”. As a DJ, Chris endeavors to share the historic sounds that continue to move people just as they did in our treasured past. He displays music that shows the evolution from the vintage era to the sounds of today. His goal is to blur the lines between old school and new school tunes and use the common ground to build a dance floor experience that transcends the boundaries of time.

Mike Guzzo

Mike Guzzo is back again to the Charlottesville area after his great experiences with last year's Lindustrial Revolution and Cheaper Than the T-Shirt Blues. He has also DJed at several Cville Savoys, Virginia Beach Lindy Exchanges, Dirt Cheap Blues Exchanges, Piedmont Swing Dance Society's Big Ten event, and is a regular DJ in the Raleigh/Durham area. Mike started dancing seriously in 1999, and taught for many years in Greenville, NC, and recently took first place in the Amateur Jack and Jill at Twin Cities Balboa Festival. As a DJ, Mike likes to bring a variety of bands and music to the table. Recently, he has included some new selections from Hal Kemp, Bunny Berigan, Jack Teagarden, and the Casa Loma Orchestra.