Must See Shows (8/13/25-8/19/25)
Friday, August 15th @ 6pm
Big Neck Fest Day 1 @ Duende @ Silo City
Big Neck Records hosts a weekend blowout with some of the best local and touring punk bands Friday for two nights of of intensity. The label has been around since the mid-90s, debuting with 7″ releases from The Baseball Furies and The Blowtops. Now nearly 30 years later, the label still has its finger-on-the-pulse for quality punk bands that are emerging in the scene. Friday’s night lineup features sets from psycho-punk act Nervous Tick and the Zipper Lips, raw rock and rollers Evil Things, The Cramps tribute act Side Stitches, Wisconsin grunge act Bashford, lo-fi garage punk duo Teen Cobra, and Romeo Spikes. $15 and save energy for the second night of the fest on Saturday.
Saturday, August 16th @ 6pm
Kiesza @ Rec Room
Calgary-born, Toronto-based electro-pop artist Kiesza makes a Saturday evening stop in Buffalo. Her sound has an underground house groove which goes hard and is quite mesmerizing. Fans of Kylie Minogue, Tove Lo, or Disclosure would be into this one. Opening the night will be Bonnie McKee, a pop artist and collaborator who has co-written some of the biggest bops of the 21st century, including Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and Britney Spears’ “Hold it Against Me” to name a few. Opening the night is former Buffalonian turned NYC pop artist Ben Alessi. $36.25 gets you in.
Tuesday August 19th @ 7pm
Atmosphere @ Artpark
Though it’s often thrown under subgenres like conscious, emo, or backpack rap, Minneapolis’ Atmosphere are a pair of luminaries of hip-hop as a whole. The duo will be opening for Cypress Hill at Artpark on Tuesday and are an act to be early for. Atmosphere consists of rapper Slug and producer Ant, and the tag-team has made waves with their allegorical and thematic music for nearly 30 years. In addition to their own creative work, Atmosphere runs and curates highly-esteemed underground rap record label powerhouse, Rhymesayers, which has been taste-making and exporting since 1995. $40.35 all-in.
Categorised in: Columns
This post was written by Michael Moretti