This Saturday, the Empress Theatre in Vallejo will be hosting a Battle of the Bands competition, but the acts featured are not your typical upstart bands. Instead, two acts will be paying tribute to two of the great bandleaders of the 1940s and audiences will get to vote on which ones they like best. It’s “The Battle of the Big Bands.”

Musical Director Roger Lloyd Wood is touring the Western United States with a pair of bands paying tribute to Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey. Each band is fronted by unique vocalists and backed up by a combined 30 musicians.

Fronting the Glenn Miller band is Bill A. Jones, a singer who has opened for the likes of Tony Bennett and Steve Tyrell as well as a revised version of Miller’s namesake orchestra. Jones has two albums available on CDBaby.com featuring renditions of such standards like “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “Mack the Knife” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” the latter of which was originally recorded by Miller and his orchestra. Jones is also an actor, having notched notable roles on “Glee,” “Days of Our Lives,” “Workaholics,” “The King of Queens,” CSI: New York” and more.

Singing for the Tommy Dorsey orchestra is Nancy Osborne, a vocalist who has been performing since the age of 3. She performed in the national tours of such musicals as “My Fair Lady,” “Cabaret,” “Gypsy” and “Lil’ Abner.” These roles resulted in her performing with Disneyland’s “Kids of the Kingdom” ensemble, including a lead role as saloon owner Slue Foot Sue in the Golden Horseshoe Revue. She later performed in orchestras led by the likes of Nelson Riddle, Tex Beneke and Ray Anthony.

“The Battle of the Big Bands” tour has already performed in Modesto during this tour and has shows coming up in Lodi, San Ramon, San Jose and more. In some stops, the Dorsey orchestra will be swapped out with a band paying tribute to legendary bandleader Harry James. Solano County residents unable to make the show on Saturday will have another chance to see it at the Vacaville Performing Arts Center on Oct. 14 with special guests, L.A.-based female vocal trio The Satin Dollz.

At the end of the tour when all votes have been counted, the winner will square off against a tribute to the Benny Goodman Orchestra in 2019.

“Battle of the Big Bands” will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at the Empress Theatre, located at 330 Virginia St. Tickets range from $39 to $49. For more information, go to the Empress website at https://empresstheatre.org/events/1940s-battle-of-the-big-bands/ or the “Battle of the Big Bands” website at battleofthebigbands.com/#california-tour.

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