Latest Posts

Folkfaces – PLUMS

July 25, 2023

Buffalo-based group Folkfaces is known for their “Rowdy Jazz & Bluesy Roots.” The band has an irresistible, danceable energy and a remarkable variety of sounds, engaging audiences whether it’s busking on the street, playing in a small barroom, or putting on a large electric extravaganza. The band is influenced by a wide range of musical styles, including folk, jazz, blues, Americana, jug band, and bluegrass. Folkfaces is: Tyler Westcott on lead vocals, five-string banjo, acoustic & electric guitar, and 12 string guitar; Brendan Gosson on vocals, fiddle, and mandolin; Dan Schwach on backing vocals, drums, and washboard; and finally Patrick Jackson on backing vocals, electric & upright bass.  On this project, they got some special guests to help add to their miraculous vibes – for instance, on track two, “Minivan Cowboy,” they have Tim Clarke playing the trumpet; he’s also featured on tracks three & seven as well. Brian “Dr.[...]

Tonight: Preservation Hall Jazz Band

July 14, 2016

Alas most of the coverage for tonight’s installment of Thursday at Canalside seems to have the buried the lede and missed the real point of tonight’s show, which is that Preservation Hall Jazz Band is playing tonight down on the waterfront. Proud emissaries of New Orleans and the American art form created in that city, jazz, Preservation Hall Jazz Band will hit Buffalo with pure New Orleans jazz, and their opening set is going to be a party and a must for local music lovers down for enjoying the music that kick started American popular music. There’s also some guy Shakey Graves headlining tonight at Canalside, but you don’t have worry about him. There are other shows going on later tonight, but your night should probably start with Preservation Hall Jazz band, who go on at 7:15pm after soulful Austin TX fuzz rockers Wild Child. Everything starts at 6:15pm, admission is[...]

Tonight: J.J. Wright

August 18, 2014

For those looking for something different, Buffalo native and jazz marvel J.J. Wright will be performing at the Iris at the Maple Entertainment Complex. I won’t pretend to know the first thing about Jazz music. I couldn’t explain to you the finer points of John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk. But I know what I like, and Wright gets my foot tappin’. It would be easy to toss around some familiar buzz words like “smooth” and “improvised,” but J.J.’s sound is much more than that. Sure it’s pleasing to the ear, but it feels written with distinct purpose and engaging enough to keep the modern mind from wandering. This isn’t your grandpa’s olde tyme floor-flusher. Plus, the performance might not be entirely new music for uninitiated hipster. JJ has been know to perform covers by Sufjan Stevens and Phil Collins during his live shows. Check out the album of version of[...]

Tonight: Louis Prima Jr. and the Witnesses

July 12, 2014

To carry a legacy on decade after decade is quite a feat. Louis Prima was a pivital musician during the New Orleans jazz era. He became notable for classic Italian tunes to his starring vocal role as King Louie in the Disney film The Jungle Book. With Vegas experiences and collaborations with Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack, Prima became known for his “Wildest!” signature. If you think you don’t know Prima, think again, especially if you’ve wandered Hertel Avenue for Buffalo’s Italian Festival. And if that doesn’t strike your memory, take a listen to his famous song from The Jungle Book. His son, Louis Prima Jr., is continuing the legacy but rather than recreating the past and following a set path led by his father, he is amping it up with a modern vibe. The band’s album Blow scored a #25 rank on CMJ‘s Jazz charts. Along with his eight-piece band,[...]

Tonight: Mike Dillon Band

July 9, 2014

Iconoclast percussionists are, by definition, unhinged creatures, and Mike Dillon is no exception. Praised as a “punk provocateur,” a “jazz vibraphone visionary,” and a “percussion visionary,” this New Orleans-based multi-percussionist will make a stop Nietzsche’s this evening in support of his latest release, Band of Outsiders. Mike Dillon and his merry mix of outsiders (The Mike Dillon Band) is comprised of Patrick McDevitt (bass), Adam Gertner (drums), and Carly Meyers (trombone), who Dillon has described as “a high priestess of trombone who channels the energy of Iggy Pop through the chops of JJ Johnson in second line parade.” Doors are at 8pm, $12 will get you in. Photo Credit: Zack Smith