Buffalo NY Best of WNY Band, Music and Entertainment Event News

What: Roswell Park & Tops Markets 5K/10K
When: August 27, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.
Where: 6363 Main St., Williamsville, NY 14221

Join Roswell Park and Tops Friendly Markets as they team up on Saturday, August 27, at 9:30 a.m., for the 4th annual Tops 5K/10K Run/Family Walk!

The Tops 5k/10k is a celebration of community support for Roswell Park Cancer Institute and its core mission to understand, prevent and cure cancer.

The day is filled with prizes, basket raffles, an award ceremony, and music happening all day! Make sure to join us for the best post-race party in WNY, catered by Joe’s Deli.

New for 2011, we are offering a special $10 registration fee for students! Regular registration is $20. Register online at www.TeamCureChallenge.com.

Remember all the money raised will directly benefit cancer research and patient care programs at Roswell Park.

On Thursday March 11, 2011, Free Henry! performed a live concert in front of their most loyal fans as well as top music industry professional judges at Niagara Falls, NY's Hard Rock Cafe to compete in this years Battle of the Bands.

Their first round performance won them a chance to move on to compete in the final live battle against 2 other bands from the WNY area; all seeking a chance to represent the Greater Buffalo Niagara region and ultimately win a performance at the 2011 Hard Rock Calling festival in London's Hyde Park.

On March 11th, the judges votes were tallied, and the announcement came that Free Henry! would represent Niagara Falls, NY in this years contest and also perform live at the famous Hard Rock Cafe in Boston, MA.

The concert date will be announced within the next few months. The band's video will be sent to the Hard Rock Cafe International corporate offices for final judging by a distinguished panel of judges.

There are a total of 19 bands internationally that have made it to this point and on April 12, 2011 the Hard Rock Cafe will announce the top 10 list at Hard Rock Battle of the Bands. All voting will take place online. The top four bands with the most Internet votes will win a trip to perform alongside with international superstars Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart and Bon Jovi.

Last year's Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls winners, More Than Me, went on to win the national contest and opened for Sir Paul McCartney. The café is looking for a repeat in 2011.

Free Henry! has also been producing and recording their next studio album. “We're definitely in a real groove and this upcoming record is undoubtedly a confident, deliberate plunge into something entirely special and sonically rejuvenating", said lead singer Bob Buckley.

The album is being recorded at the acclaimed GCR Audio owned by Robby Takac from the Goo Goo Dolls. "The depth of what we've achieved through the expertise of the engineering staff at GCR is something to be sanctified by any band looking to take their step onto the national stage and that is truly our passion", said Buckley of Free Henry!

What we need to do as music lovers and musicians is connect to Free Henry! at their website, join their mailing list there, follow them on Twitter and Facebook and on April 12, vote as much as we can online to send our local musicians, four hard working guys that deserve every break they get, to the UK. This is their chance to bring their music: outstanding, healing, rock, blues and soul, global. They need us to help them get there.

Free Henry! Productions, LLC
www.freehenryband.com info@freehenryband.com

Sunday, March 27th - ESI Events Presents
Walter Trout & the Radicals @ The Tralf Music Hall
6:00pm Doors / 7:00pm Show
$23.00 presale $25.00 day of show
Tickets on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000

"Walter Trout isn't just a great guitar player...he works from the heart with a flawless and fiery edge. When Walter Trout plays, he owns you." - David Wilson/The ToneQuest Report. Whether an improvisational jam or a carefully arranged song, Walter Trout's thirst for musical satisfaction is seemingly unquenchable.-Equally capable of spontaneous serendipity as well as pre-planned perfection, this guitarist is truly in the midst of an all-encompassing love affair with the music he creates-

For Fans of... Coco Montoya, Albert Cummings, and The Free Radical


Thursday, March 31st - ESI Events Presents
David Lindley @ The Tralf Music Hall
7:00pm Doors / 8:00pm Show
$20.00 presale $23.00 day of show
Tickets on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000

Recognized through his collaborations with artists such as Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder Henry Kaiser, Lindley’s acoustic and electric guitar work is unparalleled. Ben Harper has even cited Lindley’s slide guitar playing as influential on his own playing.-- encyclopedic knowledge of music, his indomitable arsenal of stringed instruments

For Fans of...Jackson Browne, El Rayo X, and Warren Zevon


Saturday, April 2nd - ESI Events Presents
John Mayall @ The Tralf Music Hall
7:00pm Doors / 8:00pm Show
$26.50 presale / $29.50 Day of Show
Tickets on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000

The blues doesn't get much more exciting than this! John Mayall is of course a pioneering English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His musical career spans over fifty year.

For Fans of... The Bluesbreakers, Peter Green Splinter Group, and Coco Montoya

Mountains @ Big Orbit's SoundLab
w/ The Skull Defekts, Gnome
Saturday, April 2nd
9:00pm Doors / 10:00pm Show
$10.00 Presale / $12.00 Day of Show
Tickets on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000

Brooklyn-based ambient/experimental rock duo Mountains formed in Chicago around the talents of long-time friends Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp. The pair founded their own label, Apestaartje, in 1999 while attending the Art Institute of Chicago which became a vehicle for collaborations, individual projects, and eventually live performance. Mountains recorded two albums of experimental ambient music before relocating to New York City in 2008 to record the follow-up. The resulting album, Choral, an ethereal hybrid of electronic and acoustic instrumentation was released on Thrill Jockey in 2009.

“While the label press release namechecks Fennesz and Brian Eno, there is something far less minimal and far more intricate going on here. Mountains lists everything from acoustic and electric guitars to accordion, cello, pianos, organs, and voices, to synths, melodicas, books, metal bowls, electronics, and even field recordings. [Choral] was recorded live in front of an audience with a few (literally) overdubs added later to add a more "choral" like effect to some tracks.” – AllMusic.com http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/index.html?id=11985


Cults @ Big Orbit's SoundLab
w/ Magic Kids
Tuesday, April 5th
9:00pm Doors / 10:00pm Show
$12.00
Tickets on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000

Pitchfork.com declared, “There's more information on the wrapper of a candy bar than there is on the Internet about Cults.” The band’s website is mysteriously vague. Their bandcamp site lists tour dates and three tracks. With a bit more digging, it’s unearthed that Cults consist of a pair of Californian film students transplanted to New York, named Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin.

Which may explain their sound. On the surface, it’s sunny and sweet girl-pop a la the Shangri-Las. But there is something underneath – the opening line of their first single, “Go Outside” is a quote from Jonestown cult leader Jim Jones. Cults obviously take the best of both coasts – the surf pop of the West Coast and the dark seedy underbelly of the Big Apple – and make it uniquely their own.
http://cultscultscults.com/
http://cults.bandcamp.com/

Place - THE TRALF MUSIC HALL
Date - SUNDAY MARCH 27th, 2011
Time - Doors @ 6pm Show @ 7pm
Price - $23 Adv. $25 Day of Show

"Walter Trout isn't just a great guitar player...he works from the heart with a flawless and fiery edge. When Walter Trout plays, he owns you." - David Wilson/The ToneQuest Report
Stylistically hard to pigeonhole - - Is Trout's music too blues for rock - or too rock for blues? -- to label Walter Trout's music is to limit it. With more than 35 years of touring and recording under his belt, this New Jersey native has been "loved and hated, accused and vindicated, packaged and presented for everyone to see," as his autobiographical song ‘Welcome To The Human Race' details.

Being in the studio with Trout approaches temporary insanity - the excitement, the unknown, the experimentation. Truly tantalizing sounds on par with those infamous Eric Clapton licks and Stevie Ray Vaughan riffs, are testament to Trout's talent. His music speaks to your soul, warms your heart and has your foot tapping. Trout brings the blues to life and invigorates rock in a manner all too rare these days.

Whether an improvisational jam or a carefully arranged song, Walter Trout's thirst for musical satisfaction is seemingly unquenchable. Equally capable of spontaneous serendipity as well as pre-planned perfection, this guitarist is truly in the midst of an all-encompassing love affair with the music he creates.
This is a must see event for anyone who loves stunning axe work, powerful singing, and an all around incredible performance sure to blow you away!

Please welcome to The Tralf Music Hall: Friday, April 16th, 2010: Rick Knapp - bass, Michael Leasure - drums, Sammy Avila - Keyboards and WALTER TROUT - lead vocals and guitar!

March 12, 2011
Doors Open at 7:30pm - Show Starts at 8pm

The Metropolitan Entertainment Complex
1670 Main Buffalo NY

U.S.T. Topaze ( Reunion) & The Exoutics
Hosted by The Fabulous
DJ Eric Martin
Special Guest DJ Slim

Partial Proceeds to Benefit the Family of Marvelous Marvin Valentine
$20 in advance $25 at the Door
For Info Call Doris Records 883 2410
Eric Martin 308 3328 Ron Walker 310 6221
www.Taylormadejazz.com

Steak & Cake Records celebrates their debut release on March 2nd with Bb's self-titled EP. This record, along with all S&C releases, kindly features a "pay whatever you damn well please" download option for all us starving artists.

Born out of a variety of local collaboration, Bb is the solo project of Casey Backus, a well versed collaborator in the Buffalo music scene. Classically trained on piano at SUNY Fredonia and empowered by the sultry sound of glitch-beat-overload, her music carves out its own home in a genre over-saturated by female vocal supported beats. Her melodies are a twisted kind of retro pop layered amidst spastic break-beats and keep even the attention deficits at bay.

This album marks the start of Steak&Cake's "Cincinnati-triology" series which is set to feature follow up with releases from Jacob Levin's lo-fi rock masterpiece CAVES as well as a collaborative project between these two artists called Pets! Personified. And for the real cherry, these two separately talented people are actually a happy couple patiently awaiting their first born in a few weeks!

featuring Billy McEwen, Barbara St. Clair, Mick Hayes, and Bella Buscarino

Event: "The Buffalo Shuffle"- Defining the Buffalo Sound
Event Date: SATURDAY MARCH 12TH, 2011
Event Time: 7pm Doors 8pm Show

Like many other aspects of the Queen City, Buffalo has always been under-appreciated as a music city. To a certain extent, it can’t be helped. The nerve centers of the music industry are elsewhere, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Nashville. And then there’s the Buffalo Mentality; that secondary market syndrome that contends that something or someone from out of town is better than something or someone from here (except for Chicken Wings, and occasionally the Sabres and Bills).***

Fifty some odd years ago, a Rock and Roll, boogie woogie blues style band called Stan and the Ravens started playing the local bar circuit with a sound influenced by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles . Many local musicians worked with the pianist and band leader, Stan Szelest, following his pounding left hand. When Stan and the Ravens broke up, bassist Tommy Calandra and drummer Gary Mallaber joined a band called The Rising Sons with vocalist Tony Galla, guitarist John Weitz, and pianist/keyboardist Jimmy Calire. This line up became Raven.

Many Musicians have followed in the footsteps of these players, all recognizing the feel, the sound, and the energy that is The Buffalo Sound. Sometimes referred to as the Buffalo Shuffle, the drum beat is a shuffle best described by drummer Gary Mallaber:
“If you boil a shuffle down to something you go to a Jimmy Reed record. That’s what I go to, or I go to the song Honkey Tonk by The Bill Dogget Quartet. Between those two, anything Jimmy Reed does and “Honkey Tonk,” you have the absolute shuffle the way it should be. If you play it the right way, that's Buffalo and it’s gusty, earthy.

There’s a geography, it’s true to itself. There’s a Texas shuffle. There’s a Chicago shuffle. There’s a New York City way of playing a shuffle. There’s almost a California way of playing the shuffle. However, much like our signature food, we as Buffalonians refer to it as a chicken wing, the rest of the country calls it a “Buffalo Wing.” This is about rediscovering another identity that is truly our own.

“The Buffalo Shuffle” every Monday night at The Tralf Music Hall will showcase the development and foundation of the Buffalo style of traditional rhythm and blues. We welcome musicians young and old to take part in the ongoing development of the Buffalo Sound. The house band each Monday will be featuring local Buffalo Musicians Doug Yeomans, Mick Hayes, Pete Holquin, Jim Ehinger, Steve Sadoff, and Al Monti with special guest musicians weekly. (More detailed information on individual musicians below)

***Patti Meyer Lee & Gary Lee - “Don’t Bother Knockin’...This Town’s a Rockin’” Buffalo Sound Press. Buffalo, NY 2001

Featuring Billy McEwen, Barbara St. Clair, Mick Hayes, and Bella Buscarino

Event: "The Buffalo Shuffle"- Defining the Buffalo Sound
Event Date: SATURDAY MARCH 12TH, 2011
Event Time: 7pm Doors 8pm Show

Like many other aspects of the Queen City, Buffalo has always been under-appreciated as a music city. To a certain extent, it can’t be helped. The nerve centers of the music industry are elsewhere, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Nashville. And then there’s the Buffalo Mentality; that secondary market syndrome that contends that something or someone from out of town is better than something or someone from here (except for Chicken Wings, and occasionally the Sabres and Bills).***

Fifty some odd years ago, a Rock and Roll, boogie woogie blues style band called Stan and the Ravens started playing the local bar circuit with a sound influenced by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Ray Charles . Many local musicians worked with the pianist and band leader, Stan Szelest, following his pounding left hand. When Stan and the Ravens broke up, bassist Tommy Calandra and drummer Gary Mallaber joined a band called The Rising Sons with vocalist Tony Galla, guitarist John Weitz, and pianist/keyboardist Jimmy Calire. This line up became Raven.

Many Musicians have followed in the footsteps of these players, all recognizing the feel, the sound, and the energy that is The Buffalo Sound. Sometimes referred to as the Buffalo Shuffle, the drum beat is a shuffle best described by drummer Gary Mallaber:

“If you boil a shuffle down to something you go to a Jimmy Reed record. That’s what I go to, or I go to the song Honkey Tonk by The Bill Dogget Quartet. Between those two, anything Jimmy Reed does and “Honkey Tonk,” you have the absolute shuffle the way it should be. If you play it the right way, that's Buffalo and it’s gusty, earthy.

There’s a geography, it’s true to itself. There’s a Texas shuffle. There’s a Chicago shuffle. There’s a New York City way of playing a shuffle. There’s almost a California way of playing the shuffle. However, much like our signature food, we as Buffalonians refer to it as a chicken wing, the rest of the country calls it a “Buffalo Wing.” This is about rediscovering another identity that is truly our own.

“The Buffalo Shuffle” every Monday night at The Tralf Music Hall (www.tralfmusichall.com) will showcase the development and foundation of the Buffalo style of traditional rhythm and blues. We welcome musicians young and old to take part in the ongoing development of the Buffalo Sound. The house band each Monday will be featuring local Buffalo Musicians Doug Yeomans, Mick Hayes, Pete Holquin, Jim Ehinger, Steve Sadoff, and Al Monti with special guest musicians weekly.

March 12, 2011
Doors open at 7:30 - Show at 8pm
Metropolitan Entertainment Complex
1670 Main Street
Buffalo NY

U.S.T. Topaze ( Reunion) & The Exoutics
Hosted by The Fabulous
DJ Eric Martin
Special Guest DJ Slim
Partial Proceeds to Benefit the Family of Marvelous Marvin Valentine
$20 in advance / $25 at the Door

Info Call Doris Records 883 2410
Eric Martin 308 3328 Ron Walker 310 6221

www.Taylormadejazz.com

THE ENSEMBLE of BUFFALO QUICKIES 2011 features:

Sheila Connors, Kate Olena, Andréa Andolina, Jerry Hudson, Andy Herr and Michael Starzynski.
Schedule: March 3-19, 2011. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM.

Tickets: $25/general admission; $13/students, available with no service charges online at alleyway.com or at the box office 30 minutes before each performance. A Pay-What-You-Can Performance will be offered on a rush basis only Thursday, March 10th. Group rates available.

Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo’s Historic Theatre District will present BUFFALO QUICKIES the 20th annual festival of new one-act plays, March 3-19, 2011. This year, the festival will be directed by Joyce Stilson and, once again, feature world premieres of recent finalists and one-act winners of the Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition.

Buffalo Quickies 2011 is the fifth production of Alleyway Theatre’s thirty first season dedicated to new works. Always a smorgasbord of tasty theatrical tidbits flavored with the spice of life, this year the festival boasts seven new plays. Rewriting history, making history and changing history are prevalent themes in this year’s collection of quirky short plays. Suitable for adult/teen audiences.

THE LINEUP

IN THE BEGINNING by Rebecca Ritchie

A long awaited documentary on the life of Adam Adamovich will feature his widow Eve, but is interrupted by his first wife Lilith. Will Her-story finally be told? IN THE BEGINNING is the first winner of the Alleyway Theatre 1992 Mazumdar New Play Competition and received its premiere performance in the first year of the BUFFALO QUICKIES festival.

GAME DAY by Steve Guiteirrez

Today the US-Mexican Border has moved into America and into Dan’s garage and he’s going to do something about it. GAME DAY is the winner of the 2010 Maxim Mazumdar New Play Competition one act category. World premiere.

LIKEWISE by Judy Klass

Boy and girl meet. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl move in… and then out. But who gets the cat? Buffalo premiere.

THE SECOND ACT PROBLEM by Carey Lovelace

Bryneth has writer’s block and it’s not her fault! How can she finish her second act, get the rewrite to the actors and stay out of jail? Buffalo premiere.

JUMP 2: CONCLUSIONS by Larry Smith

A beautiful girl sits on the ledge of a building at a party waiting for some company… can Jonesy talk her down? Or will he join her?

THERE’S A 200 FOOT COWBOY IN ISTANBUL by Mike Folie

Marketing has evolved over the years… Twitter and Facebook are the rage, but sometimes the old standbys are best, especially for standby products like cigarettes. Buffalo premiere.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

We are selling wristbands this year instead of lanyards.
Buy/Wear your wristband early and show your support.

WRISTBAND:
Outside: Hamburg Music Festival 2011
Inside: if not you, who? … if not now, when?
$10 /ea.

What do you get when you purchase a wristband?
· 19+ bands / 19 venues
· Admission to The Palace Theatre for the student band showcase
· Transportation on the “Music Bus” around the village (21+ only)
· The satisfaction of knowing you are supporting music and the arts in our schools and community (along with LOCAL businesses the day/night of the Festival). The Village looks GREAT!

Thanks to your past support the Hamburg Music Festival has provided:
· 3 College Scholarships
· 3 Guest Artist concerts and student workshops
· 2 Community outreach donations for music related projects for a local nursery school & a west side Buffalo Public School
· 7 Grants for various student music related activities
· Establishment of a long term endowment to fund future projects

To purchase a wristband contact:

Patrick McKee – pmckee@hamburgmusicfestival.com
Mary Jo Duggan – peacemaryjo@yahoo.com

Also available at Buffalo Street Grill www.buffalostreetgrill.com and Meridia Credit Union locations on Buffalo Street (Village), Southwestern Blvd & Hamburg High School.

*WE ARE LOOKING FOR BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN BEING A SPONSOR FOR THE 2011 FESTIVAL. PLEASE SEE ATTACHED FOR SPONSORSHIP DETAILS. CALL OR EMAIL WITH ANY QUESTIONS. Sponsorship deadline in MARCH 4th.

Hamburg Music Festival Board of Directors: Mary Jo Duggan, Patrick McKee, Luke Mumbach & Alison Pipitone.

** Check out our new website coming March 11th. www.hamburgmusicfestival.com

March 3 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: Battle of the Bands (Coterie of Stern, David Nolf Band, Free Henry!, The Innocent Bystanders)

March 4 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Hair Nation

March 10 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: Battle of the Bands Finals (Colors in the Air, Ransomville & Winner of Round 3 –TBA, also a special performance by More Than Me)

March 11 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Murphy’s Law

March 17 – Live Music 9 PM
Featuring: Irish Wake

March 18 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: The Rockaz

March 24 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: 90 West

March 25 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Mick Hayes

March 31 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: West of the Mark

April 1 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Mama Kin (Aerosmith Tribute)

April 2 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: Strictly Hip (Tragically Hip Tribute)

April 7 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: Whiskey River

April 8 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Suckerpunch

April 14 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: Everett Lee & Underground Stampede

April 15 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Blues Hounds

April 21 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: Copperhead Road

April 28 – Live Music 8 PM
Featuring: East of Eden

April 29 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Caitlin & the Jamie Moses Band

May 6 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Supercharger

May 13 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Mookie Blaylock (Pearl Jam Tribute)

May 20 – Free Music Friday 8 PM
Featuring: Cheshire Cat