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Tonight: First Ward EP Release

Tonight’s a big night for local melodic rock act First Ward – Zak Ward & co. are releasing a brand new EP with a great lineup at a unique venue. For tonight’s celebration, they’ll be bringing Syracuse indie/soul act The Black River into to town. They’ve also invited buffaBLOG mainstay Sonny Baker to perform, who will be opening the show with a rare solo acoustic set. Tonight’s show is $10 at Imagine Event Center on Military Road in Buffalo. Door opens at 7pm, music starts at 8pm Speck of Dust by First Ward

Tonight: Passive Aggressives Anonymous

As the annual week long Infringement Festival nears its final days, we are left with decisions to make. Where should I spend my Saturday? Which acts and artists warrant my attendance? It’s tough, because there is no way to see every act, every performer, or attend every gallery, exhibition, or display. Well, if music is your bag then allow me to help with the decision making and schedule tinkering. Tonight, Allen Street Consulting (394 Franklin) will host an Infringement gig with buffaBLOG’s stamp of approval. Among tonight’s lineup is Rochester’s primary sardonic croon-rock unit Passive Aggressives Anonymous, making a welcomed Buffalo appearance. PAA’s tongue-in-cheek take on lounge rock is fresh and unique, and no stranger to the pages of our blog. The group just dropped an impressive new single, the impish and dreamy “Many At Once,” check it out below. Tonight’s bill also includes alt-country hometown hero Zak Ward, who[...]

Tonight: Zak Ward

One of Buffalo’s newer summer music traditions, Larkinville’s Live at Larkin series, kicks off this evening down at the revitalized business neighborhood. Niagara Falls singer/songwriter and former Son of the Sun front man, Zak Ward, will be opening the night for long time Buffalo folk outfit, John & Mary & the Valkyries. John Lombardo, the “John” of John & Mary, is a founding member of 10,000 Maniacs, by the way, while “Mary,” that is Mary Ramsey, replaced Maniacs’ singer Natalie Merchant two decades ago. The more you know… Ward will be joined by fellow SOTS band mate and current Soft Love member, Jeremy Franklin, plus a backing band, and (hopefully) will be tackling tunes from his most recent release, the stellar, 2014 EP, That’s What You Get. Make sure to head right down to the Square as soon as you punch out this afternoon. Ward and Franklin kick the evening off[...]

Zak Ward Releases Music Video for “Who You Really Are”

Late last week, Niagara Falls born singer/songwriter and former Son of the Sun front man, Zak Ward, released the music video for his excellent song (and our #8 song out of Buffalo in 2014), “Who You Really Are,” the lead single to his latest EP, That’s What You Get. The clip, which gives a clever nod to That Thing You Do, finds Ward backed by a new band, the Glad Hands, as the songwriter delivers a performance of the M Ward-esque number. Maybe the Shrimp Shack Shooters weren’t available? Watch the video for “Who You Really Are” below.

Tonight: buffaBLOG 5th Birthday Party

Later tonight at Nietzsche’s, we return to the seen of the crime: our first birthday party. Looking back at the bill from that night, a lot has changed since then. Love Scenes and Arctic Death are no longer active. The birD day moved out to Portland, and the Tins just returned from SXSW. All week long, we have been spotlighting all of our birthday acts, a mix of both seasoned acts and fresh to the scene bands. In case you missed any, now is the time to catch up: Zak Ward M.A.G.S. Difficult Night Comfy Applennium Wooden Waves Music kicks off at 10pm sharp with a cover of $7. Thanks in advance for all of the support over years. We hope to see you all tonight.

Zak Ward

Birthday parties for people are overrated. Birthday parties for music blogs guarantee a jam packed night with kick-ass bands. If you haven’t already caught wind, buffaBLOG is celebrating its 5th year this Saturday at Nietzsche’s. Kicking off the merriment is Zak Ward, who will be joined by former Son of the Sun band mate Jeremy Franklin, as well as Sonny Baker (Wooden Waves, Lazlo Hollyfeld, A Hotel Nourishing). Ward delivers his tender acoustic indie-folk songs with a sufficient dose of grit. His voice has comparable tone quality to Thom Yorke when it comes to soaring vocal lines, apparent in songs like “That’s What You Get,” and sounds like a healthy mixture of David Bazan and Gregory Alan Isakov during quieter moments. The addition of ethereal sounding synth parts and swelling, twangy instrumentals makes for a very even-tempered, enjoyable listen. This year’s bill will not disappoint, so come early and pack[...]

Tonight: The Public Presents The Tins

The Public, in cooperation with The Good Neighborhood and Music Is Art, is bringing another stacked showcase to Nietzsche’s tonight. The Tins will be headlining the show with their signature melodic synth-driven indie pop sound. The event, in addition to supporting the Music Is Art foundation, is also functioning as a send-off for the band as they gear up to play SXSW in Austin, TX in the coming week. If you haven’t already heard, the guys are in the process of making a new album and documentary style film to pair with it. Unfortunately, cash rules everything. With such a large undertaking, they’ve created a Kickstarter campaign to help alleviate some of the expense burden. If you want to hear and see some cool stuff from them in the near future, head on over to the Kickstarter page, which you can find here, and donate what you can. Opening the[...]

Just Announced: buffaBLOG 5th Birthday Party

Just about four years ago, we threw our first birthday party at Nietzsche’s. We only had about six regular writers at the time, and none of us knew the first thing about putting on a show. Half of the musicians we asked to play were underage (something Curt still won’t let me live down), we were clueless on what to pay the  bands (we played them A LOT that night), and really had no idea if anyone would come. We even asked Lloyd Taco, this is before Chris and Pete had a fleet of trucks and were being given $250K by CNBC to open a restaurant, to park outside for food. We practically had to beg people to go out and get tacos. This was before the food trucks really took over Buffalo mind you. That birthday party ended up being amazing, still one of my favorite shows we have[...]

Zak Ward – That’s What You Get

Like a lot of people, I’ve always had a tendency to associate the music I listen to with a certain season. Sometimes there are objective reasons for this, certain sounds do traditionally pair well with particular times of the year, and sometimes it can be entirely subjective, such as when you only relate an album to a certain month because it just happens to be the first time you listened to it. Zak Ward’s new EP, That’s What You Get, released just this past weekend, would seem to qualify on both fronts as it’s an album that easily evokes the feeling of an early fall and happens to have arrived just as we’ve probably finished seeing 60 degrees in Western New York until 2015.  (The cover of the album might also help to inspire this autumnal connotative value with what looks to be a canvas brushed with a palette of[...]

Tonight: Zak Ward EP Release Show

Join Niagara Falls native, and former Son of the Sun front man, Zak Ward at Nietzsche’s tonight for the much-anticipated release party of his latest EP, That’s What You Get (think Woods, M Ward, early Wilco). Ward, who calls the record “his best work to date,” will be accompanied by a live band, featuring guitarist Sonny Baker and SOTS drummer Brandon Delmont. Tonight’s show, also features two openers, including an acoustic set by Buffalo’s own Sleepy Hahas. Rounding off the bill is folk/rock Chicago duo Joyeux. Doors for the show are at 9pm, with Sleepy Hahas slated to perform at 9:30pm. Ward and crew take the stage around 11pm. Don’t be late for what the Buffalo News is hailing as one of the four best club shows of the weekend.

Three Acts to See at The Elmwood Village Festival of the Arts

This weekend, the Elmwood Village’s annual Festival of the Arts returns for another year of paintings, crafts, sculptures, and such. The less sweaty cousin to the Allentown Art Festival will stretch from West Ferry to St. James, filling the street with normally more people than concrete. In addition to art and food vendors, the festival will be offering a decent selection of musical acts to take in while you ponder over your purchase of another metal lawn sprinkle. So if you decide to catch some music this weekend at the fest, here are three options are worth your time. Photo by Steve Matthews Zak Ward – Saturday @ 7-11 Stage (2:00pm) The former frontman to Buffalo stalwarts, Son of the Sun, and current member of ’90s alt-cover act, Kurt & the Loders, continues to be a presence in the Buffalo music scene. Despite SOTS calling it quits late last year,[...]

Son of the Sun’s Zak Ward Drops First Single From Upcoming EP

After quietly disbanding late last year, members of Buffalo’s longtime act, Son of the Sun, have gone in a couple different directions. Drummer Brandon Delmont recently released a fantastic album along with fellow, former Girlpope member Mark Norris under the moniker of the Lindbergh Babies while guitarist Joseph Stocker is currently outfitting Buffalo’s sharply dressed men at the Elmwood Village’s tailored suit shop, Bureau. As for SOTS’s former lead singer, Zak Ward, a new EP is coming our way in the near future, titled That’s What You Get. The EP’s first single, “Who You Really Are,” was just dropped this morning via Ward’s soundcloud page, and it’s pretty great. A cut of sun kissed alt-country covered in some wonky effects, the tune features the aformentioned Delmont on percussion. “Who You Really Are” calls to mind M Ward, Summerteeth era Wilco, or Woods, and is a wonderful musical addition to the dog[...]