Where the Bands Are: This Week in Live Music & Concert News
Where the Bands Are: This Week in Live Music & Concert News
Khruangbin, Gary Clark, Jr., and Heart/Cheap Trick announcements, Cecile McLorin Salvant, new shows at Flying Bison Brewery
It’s a positively balmy 40 degrees in Buffalo, and I’m feeling optimistic. Hope against hope, you must believe in Spring, and all of that.
What’s keeping the wolf from my door? Well, music, naturally. What else?
The week started with the breaking news that the AKG Art Museum and Fun Time Presents will be teaming to bring back the Rockin’ the Knox concert series in a big way.
The delightfully sensual and groove-tastic Texas trio Khruangbin will be taking over the great lawn on the campus of our beautifully expanded Buffalo AKG on Tuesday, May 28 at 6 p.m., just in time to celebrate the release of their new album, A La Sala - their third as a trio, though there have been several excellent collaborative efforts, including a killer effort with singer Leon Bridges.
The new record drops on April 5, and the first single , the gorgeously evocative slice of Thai Funk known as ‘A Love International,’ is out there in the stream-o-verse right now. (You should listen, while you’re reading this. You’ll thank me, when your mood brightens!)
I’ve been nuts about this band for a while, and I have to thank the outstanding Neo-soul singer/songwriter/producer Mac Ayres for turning my whole family on to them way back in the pre-pandemic days. (Additional shout-out to Mac for marking a milestone last week - he was awarded a Gold record for his internationally adored ear-candy anthem ‘Easy,’ which means that the song has been streamed in excess of 625 million times. Congrats, dude!)
My Khruangbin love affair reached its apotheosis on August 1, 2022, when the band made its Western New York debut at Artpark, where they melted my face and rattled my ribcage. (The latter courtesy of bassist Laura Lee’s ridiculously awesome bass tone.) I’m more than ready to revisit that feeling, and I hope you all are, too. What a way to celebrate our museum’s recommitment to the Rockin’ series and welcome the Spring.
Here’s the ticket info, direct from the AKG’s mouth: “For our dedicated members, we are pleased to announce an exclusive presale opportunity on Thursday, February 1, from 10 am to 10 pm ET. This is your chance to secure tickets ahead of the general public and ensure your spot at this extraordinary event. Information regarding presale tickets will be emailed to members in advance. Tickets for the general public will be available through the Buffalo AKG’s website on Friday, February 2 at 10 am.”
In other killer concert news, Artpark announced a date with Gary Clark, Jr., on the MainStage Theatre stage at 8 p.m. on May 25. The Clark show joins the already announced MainStage appearances by Sarah McLachlan (June 18) and Bonnie Raitt (June 21) in what’s already shaping up to be an enticing Artpark roster. (The venue’s Ampitheatre Stage is also filling up, with gigs by Los Lonely Boys, Train, Bush and O.A.R. already on the docket.)
Music-lovers with discerning taste in classic rock might join me in being psyched for the announcement of a double-bill featuring Heart and Cheap Trick at KeyBank Center on August 11. ‘Daddy Should’ve Stayed in High School,’ indeed! Tickets for this one are on sale now, through keybankcenter.com.
Now, for the immediate future…
Cecile McLorin Salvant with guest Curtis Lovell
Friday, February 9, 7:30 p.m. at Lippes Concert Hall in Slee Hall, UB North Campus, $20/Free to students
Composer, singer, visual artist, poet and storyteller Cecile McLorin Salvant has been fulfilling this mandate of envelope-pushing from the beginning of her career, when she announced her presence by claiming the top honor in the 2010 Thelonious Monk Competition.
Salvant arrived with an eclectic curation of sounds and influences, arranged in the service of unearthing new hybrids, drawing freely from the traditions of vaudeville and theatre, folk music, the blues, classical and pop, and presenting them all beneath an in-the-moment jazz umbrella. The Grammys came in due course, deservedly, but each new project refused to reproduce its predecessor, as the artist followed her own vision of eclecticism, motivated by a keen interest in narrative arcs, power dynamics, a broad palette of tonal colors, and the musics of broadly variegated cultures.
Here’s my interview with Salvant. Subscribers are offered the chance to win a pair of tickets to the show by emailing me at jeffmiersmusic@gmail.com. First 5 subscribers sending an email will each get a pair of tickets!
The Buffalo Music Coalition at Flying Bison
Flying Bison Brewery, Buffalo, NY
Bob McLennan and his Buffalo Music Coalition have been presenting smartly curated local shows at Flying Bison on most Saturdays and once a month on Wednesdays, and they’ve got a full roster over the coming weeks. Here’s what’s coming: Feb 7, Grace Lougen; February 10, Randle and the Late Night Scandals. February 17, Kody and Herren; February 24, the Thurman Brothers; February 28, Captain Tom’s Hooligan Hootenanny.
The BMC is also presenting regional all-star Tribute to Shane McGowan & the Pogues at the Sportsmen’s Tavern on March 9.
Check out what’s happening in the Western New York clubs this week, broken down by genre…
EDM:
Elephante, Thursday, February 1, 8 p.m. at the Rec Room, Buffalo, NY. $25
R&B:
Rod Bonner & Band, Thursday Night Live at the AKG, February 1, 5:30 p.m. at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Free.
Jazz:
The Diego Rivera Quintet, the Art of Jazz Series, Sunday, February 4, 2 p.m. at Knox Auditorium, Buffalo AKG Art Museum. $35/$40.
‘Love and Valentines’ with The Dr. M Jazz Combo, Saturday, February 2, 7 p.m. at Pausa Art House, Buffalo, NY. $12/$14.
Buffalo Jazz Homecoming: Wes Lewis and Derek Lewis, Sunday, February 3, 7 p.m. at Pausa Art House, Buffalo, N.Y. $12/$14.
Rock:
Blouses of the Holy: A Multi-Band Tribute to Led Zeppelin, Saturday, February 3, 8 p.m. at the Cave, Buffalo, NY. $15/$20.
Unplugged: A Tribute to MTV performing the music of The Goo Goo Dolls with special guest Jim Crean, Saturday, February 17, 7 p.m. at The Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY. $15/$25. (Proceeds to benefit Music is Art.)
The Lustre Kings’ Elvis Birthday Bash, Sunday, February 4, 4pm at the Sportsmens Tavern, Buffalo, N.Y. $15.
Amateur Hockey Club, Pretty Good State University, Letter to Elise, Before Manhattan, Saturday, February 3, 7 p.m. at Mohawk Place, Buffalo, N.Y. $11/$14.
Skyway, MIMIC, Heart for Sale, Reggie Childs, Friday, February 9, 8 p.m. at Mohawk Place, Buffalo, NY. $10.
Jam:
Greensky Bluegrass with Melt, Wednesday, February 7, 7 p.m. at the Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY. $30.
Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime, Thursday, February 8, 7 p.m. at the Town Ballroom. $25.
Little Mountain Band, Friday, February 2, 8 p.m. at The Cave, Buffalo, NY. $10.
Funk:
Tiger Chung Lee, Friday, February 2, 10 p.m. at Jack Rabbit, Buffalo, NY.
Folk/Singer-Songwriter:
Dan Bern, Tuesday, February 6, 8 p.m. at the 9th Ward, Babeville, Buffalo, N.Y. Tequila Sunrise - Eagles Tribute and Scott Celani Band - Tom Petty Tribute, Saturday, February 3, 8 p.m. at the Sportsmens Tavern, Buffalo, N.Y. $15.