Where the Bands Are: This Week in Live Music and Concert News

The return of Penny Lane! And some new show announcements, as well as picks for the coming weeks

Jun 24, 2025

(Have a cool concert or interesting event you know about? Email all the info and links to jeffmiersmusic@gmail.com to be considered for inclusion in Where the Bands Are.)

Hey there, music-freak family.

Some good news…

The Lion and Eagle Pub, at 10255 Main St., Clarence, was recently sold to James & Melissa Piedmont, proprietors of the The Hilltop Inn & Grove. The couple has reopened the site and rechristened the club to its original name, Penny Lane, a café and live music venue.

This is good news for both regional bands and artists and music-lovers, as the original Penny Lane boasted one of the warmest, most intimate, and decidedly funky vibes in the area’s club scene, and filled a void in the musical landscape for Clarence.

Aaron Ziolkowski, veteran musician and co-founder of The Little Mountain Band, was handling booking for the Lion & Eagle, but quit back in November, due to concerns about the way the business was being run.

“I couldn’t in good conscience keep booking bands and artists when I wasn’t confident that they were going to get paid,” says Ziolkowski, who will now return as talent buyer and entertainment director for the new Penny Lane.

Through his Big Fish 716 Booking, Ziolkowski will focus on “nurturing the original music scene in the Buffalo area, as well as hosting some traveling bands. The goal is to create a similar vibe to the original Penny Lane, which was funky, cool and artistic .

Penny Lane reopened on Tuesday, June 24, at 3 pm, with their ‘Late Night” food menu. Live music returns beginning on Friday, July 11, with an 8 pm performance from the flamboyant and exhilarating indie/alternative band Rabbit Jaw, and will continue every Friday and Saturday thereafter.

Ziolkowski says the plan is to ease into featuring live music on Thursdays in the coming weeks, with residencies from the Buffalo Dead All Stars and a weekly funk night “definite possibilities.” He also intends to resurrect the old Penny Lane’s fabled Wednesday night open mics, and eventually, brunch and matinee gigs on Sundays.

It’s been a long and winding road to get back to Penny Lane, but Ziolkowski says it has been worth the wait.

“I never wanted to let go in the first place, though I really had no choice,” he says.

“But I love it when things come full circle.”

New And Noteworthy:

Funtime presents

The Lemonheads: Love Chant World Tour w/Erin Rae

Saturday, November 29, 7 pm at Town Ballroom, Buffalo. $42.25. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 27 at 10 am.

After Dark presents

AFI w/TR/ST

Monday, October 6, 8:00 pm at Buffalo RiverWorks, Buffalo. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 27 at 10 am est.

Twenty6 Productions presents

Too Many Zooz: Caravan Tour

Saturday, December 13, 8 pm at Town Ballroom, Buffalo. $25/$30

After Dark presents

Texas is the Reason

Wednesday, September 17, 7 pm doors at Rec Room, Buffalo. $43.97

Gov’t Mule w/Big Sugar

Monday, September 1, 6:30 pm at Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B, Buffalo.

Hot Tuna w/Jim Lauderdale

Friday, October 24, 8 pm in the Mary Seaton Room at Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo. $85.50

DSP Shows presents

Fruit Bats (solo)

Thursday, October 30, 8 pm at The 9th Ward in Babeville, Buffalo. $30/$35. Tickets on sale 6/20 at 10 am.

Tacos & Tequila Festival featuring Fat Joe, Fabolous, Bow Wow, Soulja Boy, Chamillionaire, Petey Pablo, Twista, Mike Jones, DH Ashton Martin.

Saturday, August 23, 2 pm at Outer Harbor Live @ Terminal B. $59/$149/$199.

Weird Phishes: Hybrid Mashups of Radiohead & Phish

Wednesday, August 13, 8 pm at The Caz, South Buffalo. $19

Funtime & Back II Back present

Lords of the Sound Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra: The Music of Hans Zimmer

Saturday, March 7, 7 pm at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre. $59.50 - $114.50.

Larry Fleet

Saturday, October 18, 7 pm at Town Ballroom, Buffalo. $37.25

Borderland Late Night Shows at Kissing Bridge

The Sideways - Friday, September 13, 11:30 pm-1:30 am; The Scales - Saturday, September 14, 11:30 pm-1:30 am at the Kissing Bridge Tent & RV Camping.