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

Crisis at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Steve Earle comes to town, the Killers CMAC announcement, the BPO celebrates a Buffalo-born composer, and a curated list of concert picks

Mar 21, 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, now.

We made it through another week, music-lovers. Join me in placing that fact firmly in the “win” file. I mean, the bar is set pretty low these days. Simply surviving and enduring feels like a victory, and it’s one we should claim proudly.

OK, maybe I’m being dramatic. A little.

But I’ll borrow a lyric from Paul Simon, to offer a glimpse of my own current mental reality, and I’m guessing you might recognize a bit of your own reality in these words, too.

“I don't know a soul who's not been battered/I don't have a friend who feels at ease/I don't know a dream that's not been shattered/Or driven to its knees

But it's alright, it's alright/For we lived so well so long/Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on/I wonder what's gone wrong
I can't help it, I wonder what’s gone wrong…”

Can you feel that? Or is it just me? I listened to this song this morning and it made me cry. Before I’d even had my first cup of coffee. (Many’s the time of late when I’ve been tempted to spike that morning coffee with something a bit stronger, I’m not particularly proud to admit. So far, I’ve ignored that temptation, happily.)

Part of “what’s gone wrong” is surely reflected in recent happenings at The Kennedy Center, our national hub of music, arts and culture, located in Washington, D.C.

Since its inception in 1971, the Center has been governed by a bipartisan board of directors and a board-elected chairman. The Center has also survived based on a public-private partnership, with its programming supported by private funds and donations, and its physical maintenance and upkeep covered by federal monies. The Center’s programming has always been diverse, reflecting the broad range of American artistic endeavors and the multi-faceted nature of our country’s culture.

All of this has been upended by the current President’s firing of the entire board, and his subsequent declaration of himself as the new chairman. He then appointed a new board, comprised in part of Fox News hosts, cabinet members, and “God Bless the USA” country-ish one-hit wonder Lee Greenwood. Hold on to your hats, everyone, because this is going to surprise you, but - guess what? - that new hand-picked board then voted to confirm the current president as its chairman. (This is not how it’s supposed to work.)

“We took over the Kennedy Center. We didn’t like what they were showing,” the new self-appointed arbiter of American culture thumb-scribbled on his chosen social propaganda disseminator at the time. “We’re going to make sure that it’s good and it’s not going to be woke. There’s no more woke in this country… Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured drag shows specifically targeting our youth - this will stop.”

‘Woke’ is, of course, just a dog-whistle aimed at anything the current President finds personally distasteful, which includes but is not limited to art that reflects the experience of LGBTQ, Black American, Latino, and ‘liberal’ artists and communities.

Your political beliefs are, of course, your own business. However, it strikes me as likely that most of us will agree that whoever happens to be President at any given time should not be decreeing him- or her-self the arbiter of our country’s arts and culture.

While it’s true that the President has always had the right to appoint members the Kennedy Center’s board, it’s also true that the replacement of an entire board in one fell swoop is unprecedented. A cursory glance through the pages of history tells us that there’s a name for leaders who declare themselves the gatekeepers of a country’s culture and then do their damndest to get rid of any artistic endeavor that does not praise themselves or their agendas. They’re called dictators. And dictators don’t tend to believe in Democracy.

Artists don’t become artists by rolling over and doing what authority figures tell them to do, generally speaking. They can and should push back. Happily, they’re starting to. The video below is worth checking out, if you’re interested in how all of this is playing out in its earliest days.

One can reasonably argue that what’s happening in the arts in general and at the Kennedy Center in particular is pretty low on the list of currently raging, out of control dumpster fires in this country. But we’re already seeing performances being cancelled that the current administration has decided should be blacklisted.

A country that fears and suppresses its own culture is not a healthy country. That truth applies, no matter what your personal beliefs are.

In other news…

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra performs Buffalo-born composer Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road

Saturday, March 29, 7:30 pm, and Sunday, March 30, 2:30 pm, Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY. $16.50 - $116.50.

From the BPO press release: “ Sanctuary Road… (is) a powerful work for orchestra and chorus by the Pulitzer Prize-winning team of Buffalo-born composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell. This oratorio draws on the historic written accounts of abolitionist William Still, illuminating the courageous journeys of enslaved people who sought freedom along the Underground Railroad in the 1800s.

”Grand Island-native conductor Malcolm J. Merriweather, who now serves as Director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus, returns to Western NY to lead these two performances featuring the BPO, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus, and a talented cast of five renowned opera singers: soprano Brittany Renee, mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, tenor Norman Shankle, and baritones Sidney Outlaw and Benjamin Taylor. The concert program also includes The Montgomery Variations by Margaret Bonds, written during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

FARROW’s 4-month residency at The Caz ends Friday, March 28

This show marks the end of a chapter for the popular Buffalo band, and will serve as a fond farewell to longtime bassist and producer, André Pilette.

Friday, March 28, 7 pm doors at The Caz, South Buffalo. $15

WBFO The Bridge Music Meeting

Tuesday, April 8, 6 pm at Mr. Goodbar, Buffalo. FREE. RSVP to attend!

Enjoy free pizza & wings — and your first drink of choice on WBFO
Vote on new releases you wish to hear on WBFO The Bridge
Rediscover old favorites
Share your top songs
Be entered for a chance to win exciting prizes

Borderland Band Camp 2025 Announcements

Fundraiser

Stop by The Cave for an afternoon of live music in support of SAMF scholarship funds for Borderland Band Camp 2025, including raffles, 50/50s, and more. All event and raffle ticket profits go straight to the SAMF music education programming scholarship fund.

Featuring music performances by:
- UNDERAGE
Featuring Gracie Crittenden, Evelyn Horning, William Horning, Benny Keller, and Robert Mancuso

- Buffalo Music Club
Featuring Damone Jackson, Alex Overton, Eric Crittenden, Jeff Miers, Marcus Lolo, Jacob Jay, and David Cloyd

- The Borderland Band Camp 2024 Alumni
Featuring Marko Wilondja, Zeki Ozay, Jimmy Mancini, Benny Keller, and Alex DeJesus

Event tickes: $20 / Raffle tickets: $10. Get tickets and more info here.

TRIMANIA_REBOOT

“After a seven-year hiatus, this iconic Buffalo Arts Studio fundraiser is back and better than ever…Buffalo Arts Studio transforms all six floors of the Tri-Main Center with live bands, DJs, dancers, performers, poets, visual artists, and more.”

Saturday, March 29, 7 pm at Tri-Main Center, Buffalo. $45/$50/$100 VIP

New And Noteworthy:

Greensky Bluegrass

Thursday, July 3, 6:30 pm at Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B, Buffalo. $$

The Killers

August 2, 6:30 doors at CMAC, Canandaigua, NY. Tickets go on sale on March 21, 2025 at 10 am.

The Black Keys w/ Gary Clark Jr.

Sat, August 30, 7 pm at CMAC ,Canandaigua, NY. Tickets on sale now!

DSP Shows presents:

Steve Earle: Fifty Years of Songs and Stories

Sunday, June 15, 7 pm doors at Asbury Hall in Babeville, Buffalo. $45/$55. Tickets on sale Friday, March 21 at 10 am.

Bad Sneakers: A Tribute to Steely Dan

Performing the Aja album

Saturday, April 26, 2025, 8 pm at The Caz, South Buffalo, NY. $25

DEFTONES wsg/Phantogram and The Barbarians Of California

Monday, September 1, 7 pm at KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY. $74+.

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root w/ Dirk Miller

Friday, April 18, 9 pm at Sportsmens Tavern, Buffalo. $25

Vitamin String Quartet: The Music of Taylor Swift, Bridgerton, and Beyond

Oct. 7, 7:30 pm at the Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre, University at Buffalo. $25, $39, $49

EXTC: XTC's Terry Chambers & Friends

Friday, June 6, 6 pm doors & kitchen open at The Caz, South Buffalo. $30-$40

Cyndi Lauper: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour

Tuesday, July 15, 7:30 pm at Darien Lake Amphitheater, Darien Center, NY. $35+

After Dark presents:

Escape The Fate w/ Scary Kids Scaring Kids

Sunday, May 11, 6 pm doors at Town Ballroom, Buffalo. $39.25.

Blackberry Smoke and Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs wsg/ Shannon McNally

Thursday, July 31, 5:30 pm at Artpark’s Outdoor Amphitheater, Lewiston, NY. $27/$45.50/$55.50.

Sunny Day Real Estate

Wednesday, June 4, 7 pm at Electric City, Buffalo. $132.83 Tour Package/GA Standing, $150 VIP Lounge

Toad the Wet Sprocket w/ KT Tunstall and Sixpence None The Richer

Friday, August 15, 7 pm at Artpark’s Outdoor Amphitheater, Lewison, NY. $24/$46/$56.

Adam Bronstein & AB Trio

Spring jaunt includes Friday, March 28 gig at Black Dots and Friday, May 30 at Nietzsche’s in Buffalo, NY.

Classic Vinyl Live: PHISH “A LIVE ONE” ft/The Scales

Monday, April 7, 7 pm at Sportsmens Tavern, Buffalo. $15 - Tickets now on sale.

Here are some of the many things happening in our scene, this week and beyond…

Little Mountain Band plays Abbey Square

Friday, March 21, 8 pm at Abbey Square, Cheektowaga, NY.

The Strictly Hip 30th Anniversary Concert

Friday, March 21, 7 pm doors at Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo. $30/$60

Analog Kids

Friday, March 21, 7 pm doors at Asbury Hall in Babeville, Buffalo. $20/$30

R.E.M. Tribute: Dead Letter Office - 10th Anniversary Show

Friday, March 21, 8 pm at Sportsmen’s Tavern, Buffalo. $15/$20

Scarlet Begonias

Friday, March 21, 6:30 pm doors at The CAZ, South Buffalo. $15

Bowie presented by Stoneflower

Saturday, March 22, 8 pm at The Cave, Buffalo. $20

Eric Carlin’s Half-Dead: “60 for 60”series - celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Grateful Dead

Saturday, March 22, 8 pm at Sportsmen’s Tavern, Buffalo. $15

Buffalo Music Coalition presents:

The Tyler Wescott Trio

Saturday, March 22, 4-7 pm at Flying Bison Brewing Company, Buffalo. FREE

Yam Yam w/ Tsavo Highway

Saturday, March 22, 7 pm doors at Buffalo Iron Works, Buffalo. $18/$20

Mary J. Blige w/ Ne-Yo, and Mario

Saturday, March 22, 7 pm at KeyBank Center, Buffalo. $55+

Refused w/Quicksand, Dion Lunadon

Saturday, March 22, 7 pm at Electric City, Buffalo. $27-$82

ICCA (International Championship of Collegiate A Capella) Central Semifinal 2025

Saturday, March 22, 7 pm at Center for the Arts Mainstage Theatre, University at Buffalo. $38 Adult/$30 Student

Soul of Buffalo presents:

Walter Trout

Sunday, March 23, 6 pm doors at Asbury Hall in Babeville, Buffalo. $38/$46/$52

Experience Hendrix

Sunday, March 23, 7pm at Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo. $75.50-131.50

The Record Riot at Batavia Downs

10,000+ LPs, 40+ tables of LPs & CDs

Sunday, March 23, 10 am-5 pm at Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel, Batavia, NY. $5 GA / $15 early admission at 9 am /$25 Super Early Admission at 8 am