BUFFALO BOB SEZ:
Five Great Shows Offered to Members
The deadline to send an email to me at rjmcl14@gmail.com is Thursday, October 15th at 9pm. Tell me what you’d like to win and then watch your email that night or the next morning to see if you won. I was not familiar with several of these bands, but in my research to see what we’d like to offer you this month, these all looked like great shows coming into WNY. So, check them out, take a leap of faith and get out and experience bands you may not already know all about. It looks to me that most of you would like these offerings.
The Music of Tom Waits – Heartattacks and Valentines: All the Racket in the World, October 17th at Sportsmen’s Tavern
We have a cast of twenty-four of Buffalo’s best musicians, singers and performers getting ready to present “Heartattacks and Valentines: All the Racket in the World,” from a gorgeous string section to sax and trumpet, piano and organ, and accordion and harmonica, to the blues, jazz and rock ‘n roll of the music of Tom Waits. Two of WNY’s outstanding bands join forces with a big group of all-star guest singers and musicians to interpret and celebrate the brilliant career of the one and only Tom Waits.
Join us on October 17th at the Sportsmen’s Sportsmens Tavern as we celebrate the music of Tom Waits, with performances by Ten Cent Howl and Randle and the Late Night Scandals and special guest singers and musicians from throughout Western New York.
The Scandals will be Amanda Markovich, Luke Bennett, Maggie Conboy and Jamie Sunshine.
The Howl for this show are Bill Smith, Jerry Hall, Sasha Pack and Randy VanWey.
Special guest musicians include: Matt Harris on saxophone, Tim Clarke-trumpet, Ron Davis-accordion, keyboards and vocal, Kathryn Koch-harmonica and vocal, Katie Weismann-cello, Kiersten Fisher-viola, Gretchen Fisher-violin and Paul Gipp-percussion
Vocal performances from Alison Pipitone, Chris Squire, Joelle Labert, Tom Stahl, Lydia Herren, Dennis Reed and Erin Bahn.
Poster artwork by Jerry Hall of Ten Cent Howl and Dellwood and the Nightshades.
Adam Ezra Group October 30th at Babeville-9th Ward
We don’t see many artists building the kind of momentum Adam Ezra Group is generating right now. What has grown over more than two decades of relentless grassroots touring has become something far bigger than a typical touring band: a fiercely independent, fan-powered community that continues to expand one show at a time. Rooms across the country are selling out when Adam Ezra Group comes to town, with longtime fans regularly traveling across state lines to catch multiple shows, drawn by the band’s deep sense of community and the promise that no two nights are ever the same.
The band never performs from a fixed setlist, instead shaping each night around the energy in the room. Songs, stories, and moments unfold in real time—part concert, part revival, and part reminder of what live music can still be at its best.
Blending folk/Americana soul, rock ’n’ roll energy, and deeply human songwriting, Adam Ezra Group has built one of the most authen tic underground followings in live music today while quickly becoming recognized on a national level. As SPIN recently put it, they are “an independent underground folk band blowing up without selling out,” a rise that has happened entirely outside the traditional industry system, powered by word of mouth, community activism, and a genuine connection between band and audience that often turns first-time listeners into lifelong fans.
Catch them now while they’re still playing the kinds of rooms where you can give Adam a hug on your way out.
Kendall Street Company w/ Roy G Biv on November 5th at Buffalo Iron Works
Virginia’s Kendall Street Company are no strangers to having a wild time.on The genre-fluid, eclectic rock ensemble has drawn varied comparisons to the dynamic jams of Umphrey’s McGee and Widespread Panic, songwriting of John Prine, experimental psychedelia of Pink Floyd, progressive jazz-infused rock of Frank Zappa, and off-color humor of Ween and They Might Be Giants.
Including elements of crowd participation, off-the-cuff comedic bits, haphazard choreography, musical improvisation, and surprise musical guests, each Kendall Street Company concert is an experience unlike any other. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. Just remember to stay hydrated.
And WNY’s own Roy G Biv will open the show. They rocked the crowd at Borderland the past two years after winning the Battle of the Bands contest in 2025. They’re worth the price of admission themselves!
Upstate w/ Socialite on November 6th at Buffalo Iron Works
It takes good soil, and good seasons, to bear good fruit, and Upstate has had its plenty. The band sprung up in New York’s legendary Hudson Valley, set in the middle of a thick American musical heritage. To their inland West was the Ashokan reservoir folk tradition, and across the river to the East the legacy of Pete Seeger and the Clearwater. Just north of them was Woodstock and Big Pink, and all the treasured inheritance of Bob Dylan and the Band. Just south was Tony Falco’s famed venue the Falcon, a refuge and respite for some of the most venerable jazz legends like Sonny Rollins or Joe Lovano. From the first, Upstate drew liberally from everything each corner had to offer.
With their first record, A Remedy, they were known for three-part female vocal arrangements recalling “not only the serpentine sibling harmonies of the Roches, but of the Andrews and Boswell sisters.” They were otherwise known for an eclectic arrangement of instruments weaving together upright bass, mandolin, cajon and baritone saxophone. By their second record Healing, they were likened to Lake Street Dive and “Manhattan Transfer meets Loretta Lynn.” For their third, You Only Get a Few, they drew comparisons to the sound of Laurel Canyon, another American musical landmark on the other side of the continent. This time they had shed the eclectic instrumentation in favor of traditional drums and guitars.
After 15 years, three records, nearly a dozen former members, and one name change, Upstate could almost seem unrecognizable were it not for the constancy of their songs. Original members Melanie Glenn, Harry D’Agostino, and Mary Webster have been writing and playing music together throughout all the upheavals in the band and their lives. It’s their shared dedication to writing songs of lasting value that has persisted across all the changes to their sound. When Dylan Mckinstry finally joined the band in the years of the COVID pandemic, his enthusiasm for that commitment made it the band’s lasting cornerstone.
On their upcoming Abalone, Upstate draws on the best of what has marked the band in all its many eras. They showcase a broad range of sounds and styles from across America’s musical landmarks, from the Hudson Valley to Laurel Canyon and back again (with a few detours to Muscle Shoals). They revive their noted three-part harmonies, this time with McKinstry adding a male voice to the mix. And most importantly, they bring an even more seasoned dedication to writing and performing songs of lasting value.
Garrett Boys on November 9th at Sportsmen’s Tavern
Every family has its own unique history, a timeline fleshed out by memorable characters, milestone events, and the stories passed on through the decades that bind it all together. For the Garrett Boys, a family trio from Overton County in east Tennessee, their history just happens to lend itself to some excellent Appalachian folk music.
Made up of brothers Stephen and Russell Garrett, and Stephen’s son Carter, the Garrett Boys are rooted, both musically and physically, in 500 hilly, wooded acres that have had a magnetic pull over their family for generations. The men refer to it simply as “The Land,” and it’s the setting for nearly every one of the 11 songs on It Runs Deep, the trio’s debut album.
“About 200 years ago, some Garrett boys came from North Carolina and settled in that area,” says Stephen, who plays acoustic guitar and sings lead in the band. “Some old records say that they acquired land between Mill Creek and Mitchell Creek, and that’s the property that Russell and I grew up on. Carter will be the ninth generation to live on it.”
But while the land is specific to the Garrett Boys, the album the group wrote about it is universal. Produced by Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams), It Runs Deep contains elements of bluegrass, folk, and country, but refuses to play it safe. It nods to their varied influences, from Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell to Chris Knight and Hank Williams Jr.
With It Runs Deep, the Garrett Boys memorialize those family stories — for themselves, for their descendants, and now for fans of classic American folk music.
“Our music is about the importance and depth of family and community,” Stephen says. “It’s a mix of what we have been versus what we can become, and how we can take the good from all that and build a future.”
Whether you win free tickets or not, these are all shows worthy of your attention and attendance. Support live music whenever you can!
Robert J. McLennan
SAM Foundation
