Music lovers are sure to be delighted for Dream by Dream’s local debut. A Philadelphia-based band, Dream by Dream comprises Bradford native Manu Gajanan and Ben Seltzer of Philadelphia.

They pair will play from 6 to 8 p.m. July 9 at the Bradford Club. The next night they will play along with Darkwater Duo from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Corner Bar.

“I am really excited to be returning to my hometown,” said Gajanan. “I can’t wait to introduce people there to the type of music I am playing now.”

The musical partnership blends elements of funk, jazz and soul. Their performance is sure to make perfect easy listening to accompany a night out.

For Gajanan, it is a bit surreal to be heading back to where his musical ambitions began. He can’t help but reflect on his journey as a musician.

“I gave my first ever piano recital at UPB in 2011,” said Gajanan. “I played a few events for the United Way and I used to play out at the Willows (restaurant), that was my first ever real piano gig.”

After graduating from Bradford Area High School in 2015, Gajanan went on to the University of Pittsburgh where he earned an undergraduate degree in music.

“I always knew I wanted to get into producing and performing,” said Gajanan. “I eventually went on to get my master’s in music technology at Temple.”

Throughout his college days, Gajanan stayed active in the local music scenes of Pittsburgh and then Philadelphia. He met Seltzer onstage at a jam in 2022 but the pair didn’t start playing together until 2023.

“We are a very dynamic duo at heart,” said Gajanan. “It is our two different worldviews coming together to create this really tasteful, artistic, dreamy and eclectic palette.”

Gajanan plays keys and is the group’s production and audio engineer. Seltzer, who plays guitar, has more of a folksy, singer/songwriter vibe.

“It is a very interesting world we create, that is for sure,” said Gajanan. “We come from a lot of different traditions but we are thinking of calling ourselves Philadelphia new-funk pop.”

He describes their sound as “Steely Dan meets Silk Sonic meets Jason Mraz with some Mac Miller influence.”

“It is a very spacey kind of soulful smooth jazz sound,” said Gajanan.

He hopes that locals will enjoy this musical project and looks forward to seeing some familiar faces in the crowd.

“This is a big deal for me because I am very passionate about the type of music we are making now,” said Gajanan. “Working alongside Ben has allowed me to reach new depths of creativity – I think we bring that out in each other and I am excited to share that with others.”