If you're a musical act playing a show in Genesee County, or a Genesee County music venue, send your press releases about your shows to Logan Music at jlogan6505@gmail.com or use the "+ Add your event" button above.
Parris and Holly, a Batavia-based folk/pop duo, headlined the second of a four-night residency at GO ART! on Thursday, with featured artist Alex Feig opening.
The residency continues on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. with Billy Lambert as the featured guest artist and on Oct. 24 with Chris Humel.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Requiems are a centuries-old art form.
The most famous, perhaps, is Mozart’s, which was left unfinished (though finished by other composers) at the time of his own death.
Typically, composers write eight or nine movements corresponding to the Catholic Mass for the Dead. A vocalist or chorus sings the mass in Latin.
Typically.
Thirty-five years ago, Laurence Tallman, a Genesee County resident, had a different idea. He became intrigued with the idea of composing a requiem that was purely orchestral—no singing, just the music, with the lyrics implied by the melody.
On September 28, Tallman's “Unsung Requiem” will have its world premiere at Genesee Community College, where the Genesee Symphony Orchestra will perform it.
"The piece was inspired by an experiencing Maurice Durufle’s Requiem with the Crane Chorus and Orchestra in Potsdam way back in 1989," Tallman said to The Batavian. "Even then, as a composition student, I thought it would be amazing to write a requiem using the form that would be just instruments. It's been mulling around in my head forever. Then, 200-some compositions later, and finally, the time and the inspiration were there, and so I constructed this piece, so based on an actual Requiem form, the nine movements that are typical in it, but there's no singing."
This isn't the first time GSO has performed a piece by Tallman, but this is a piece that Musical Director Shade Zajac encouraged Tallman to complete so the orchestra could perform it.
"The things he's done of mine have been very playful, very funny," Tallman said. "I get hired a lot for humor pieces and pieces that have a lot of moving parts to it. I told him about this, and I said, 'This has always been on the back burner, and I've got bits and pieces of it done.' I started showing him some sketches, and he's like, 'I love this. I love this idea. I think you should invest in this, and we'll get the group to do it.'"
Tallman, who lives in Byron with his husband, is a retired music teacher. He taught at Byron-Bergen Central Schools. He is the music director for the First Presbyterian Church of Byron and plays contrabassoon and piano in the GSO. He received his B.M. and M.M. in Music Education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. He also has a certificate of compositional study from the Birmingham Conservatory of Music in Birmingham, England.
He said his requiem reflects the text and moods of the Mass for the Dead.
"Some of them are very somber and pensive. Some of them are playful and joyful," Tallman said. "The lux aeterna is like the light that you know we're searching for. And then the in paradisum ends with this lovely kind of ascension into the Netherworld."
He said the last movement is composed through the lens of his own passing and he had some fun with it.
"(It is) what would it be like if I was in that state of transition and then, ideally, the ascension," Tallman said. "So that piece has a lot of musical allusions to some of my favorite works of music, and it just becomes this collage of sound. The agnus dei has this little repeated pattern that is a variation of a pop tune that is very obscure, and everything builds around that pattern. It's dedicated to a pop star I loved in the 1980s (Alison Moyet), who got me through a lot."
The concert is at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Stuart Steiner Theater at GCC. Tickets are $17 for adults, seniors $12, and students (with ID) may attend for free.
Additional works on the program:
For more information, click here.
The rock band Falling in Reverse headlined a night on Tuesday, supported by Jeris Johnson, Tech N9ne, Dance Gavin Dance, and Black Veil Brides.
Photos by Philip Casper
The Genesee Chorale is opening its 2024 Fall Season and is looking for a few good singers.
The Chorale held its opening rehearsal on Monday at St. James.
For more information on joining, click here.
Photos by Howard Owens.
On a cooler rainy September Friday night, it didn’t stop anyone from dancing and grooving to T-Pain, who opened for Pitbull at Darien Lake Amphitheater.
A sold-out 22,000 plus crowd packed the venue to greatest hits by both performers including a few dressed up Pitbull outfits.
In two years, the Songbirds, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, has gone from playing for a couple of dozen people at a block party in Batavia to headlining at some of Western New York's top music venues.
On Monday, they closed out, as headliners, the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival, drawing, likely, in the area of hundreds of fans for a three-hour set of all the best of Fleetwood Mac along with some deep tracks.
Previously: It's more than just ‘Rumours’ that Songbirds pay tribute to Fleetwood Mac
Photos by Howard Owens.
After the parade, on a beautiful blue-sky Labor Day, the third and final day of the music portion of the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival opened with power trio Salvatore, an Albion-based band, followed by Elvis impersonator Terry Buchwald.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Sunday night's headliner, Nerds Gone Wild -- perhaps Western New York's most popular cover band -- thrilled all their fans who turned out in Triangle Park for their headlining performance on the second day of the Oakfield Labor Daze Music & Food Festival.
While waiting for the band make its grand entrance, one woman from Arizona approached a reporter and praised the festival. She couldn't believe all the music was free. And she loved all the food options. She said she extended her vacation an extra week just to see Nerds in Oakfield.
Photos by Howard Owens.
Hazzard County, a Buffalo-based country music band, got a late start due to heavy rain, lightning, and thunder but still put on an all-out performance for music fans Sunday in Oakfield.
Photos by Howard Owens.
The Eaglez, an Eagles tribute band, performed Sunday afternoon at the Oakfield Labor Daze Music and Food Festival.
The band's set was cut about 20 minutes short by a torrential downpour.
Photos by Howard Owens.
On Saturday at Labor Daze in Triangle Park in Oakfield, Mayday Buffalo was the afternoon band, and Dave Viterna Group was the headliner for the night.
The rest of this weekend's lineup:
On Sunday:
On Monday:
The Labor Daze Parade is at 10 a.m. on Monday
Photos by Howard Owens
Genesee Ted kicked off three days of live music in Oakfield for the Labor Daze Music & Food Festival.
Also on Saturday, Mayday from 4 to 7 p.m. and Dave Viterna Group from 7 to 10 p.m.
On Sunday:
On Monday:
The Labor Daze Parade is at 10 a.m. on Monday
Photos by Howard Owens
One of Batavia's most accomplished bands, The Bluesway Band, packed the house on Friday in Jackson Square for a night of classic rock and blues-based rock.
Photos by Howard Owens
As part of the weekly summer concert series in Jackson Square, the OHMS band took to the stage Friday evening and drew a couple hundred people to downtown Batavia for an evening of entertainment.
The six-piece band, consisting of music artists from around Genesee County, was enjoyed by many followers dancing in their seat and around the venue.
Next up in the concert series from 7 to 9 p.m. is Old Hippies on Aug. 23, and it concludes with the Bluesway Band on Aug. 30.
It was a big night at Batavia Downs on Friday for fans of masterful lead singers.
Teo hitmaker from the 70s and 80s took the stage in separate sets.
Jason Scheff, former lead singer of Chicago performed first, followed by Tommy DeCarlo, former lead singer of Boston.
It made for a summer night for some of classic rocks biggest hits.
When New Kids On The Block reunited in 2007, it was fair to wonder if the boy band would have more than just a brief second chapter.
After all, it had been 13-plus years since the five vocalists --Donnie Wahlberg, Joe McIntyre, Jordan Knight, Joe Knight, and Danny Wood – had enjoyed an initial run in which they sold some 80 million copies of its four albums worldwide -- with the 1988 album “Hangin’ Tough” and 1990’s “Step By Step” leading the way.
The guys were now in their 30s, and their teen fans of the 1990s were now well into adulthood. Had the fans moved on? Would the songs New Kids On The Block sang in their teens still resonate when performed by a group whose members were starting to approach middle age?
As it turned out, the reunited group’s first tour in fall 2008 was an all-out success, and since then the New Kids’ popularity has endured. This summer sees the group once again headlining outdoor amphitheaters that hold upwards of 20,000 people as they tour behind their third post-reunion album, “Still Kids.”
So back in 2007 did McIntyre envision a scenario where in 2024 New Kids On The Block would still be major stars and looking at what should be continued success for years to come?
“Uh, no,” McIntyre said in a late-June phone interview. “I think If you asked any of us that 15 years later since we got back together, 16 years later, it's (pause), it's breathtaking. It definitely gives you pause. You're obviously very grateful. At the sametime, on the day-to-day, I know how much we believe, you know what I mean, and we have this concoction of personalities and desires and drive.
“The five of us all show up. So it's not a mystery as far as the day-to-day and the passion that's involved,” he said. “And you know, when something is this big for this long, for me, I get to a point where I can't keep trying to figure it out and just count my blessings and be of service…I think slowly but surely I'm at a point where I'm like hey man, I’ve just got a job to do and I'm lucky enough to have that job and I'm here to entertain the people and have a good time.”
The New Kids have certainly had quite the career. Liftoff came in 1988, when the teenage Tiffany, then at the peak of her “I Think We’re Alone Now” popularity, brought New Kids on the Block out on her Nation Area tour, putting the boys on stage in front of tens of thousands -- just when they’d released their second album “Hangin’ Tough.”
By the end of 1989, the singles “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)” and the song “Hangin’ Tough” had all topped the charts, and the New Kids were the biggest boy band going.
Another blockbuster album, “Step By Step,” followed, before the New Kids saw their fortunes wane with the 1994 album “Face The Music.” It failed to generate any hits and the group was now playing smaller venues. Following the tour, the group decided to call it a day.
Since reuniting, it’s become clear that the New Kids weren’t simply interested in taking a victory lap. They’ve toured consistently and have now released three studio albums -- “The Block” in 2008, “10” in 2013 and “Still Kids” earlier this year.
The latest album retains many of the musical trademarks of the early New Kids albums, with buoyant, danceable uptempo tracks like “Magic,” “Dance With You” and “Kids” having the familiar synthy gloss and strong pop melodies. The album also has its share of grooving ballads, including “Come Back,” “A Love Like This” and “Better Days.”
At the same time, McIntyre said some songs -- most notably “Stay,” a lush multi-faceted tune about staying -- or leaving -- long-time relationships -- pushed the group into new musical places with its instrumental breakdown.
The concerts New Kids on the Block are doing this summer will include upwards of five songs from “Still Kids,” as well as the expected hit songs from the group’s catalog.
“We you want to give the people what they want and then also mix it up for us to keep it fresh. So we’ve managed to do that,” McIntyre said. And yes, there will be dancing, although McIntyre noted the group has had to
make some adjustments now that they’re in their 50s.
“I think it's a balance,” he said. “We want to keep challenging ourselves, but we want to be appropriate for our age and not run around like chickens with their heads cut off like we used to. But let me tell you, it's a workout. It’s a workout every night, especially outside in summer. But it makes it kind of cathartic. It adds to the experience, but you know, we have our signature moves and we try to build a show that is about ovement and dance and connection. I think we do a decent job balancing that out.”
New Kids On The Block performs at Darien Lake Amphitheater on Thursday, August 22.
Five bands and punk rock fans gathered at Pavilion #2 in the Genesee County Park & Forest on Sunday for the Second Annual Punk Picnic, which featured five bands from Genesee County and Buffalo.
The bands were Privatized Air, Cowboy Vampires, Election Day, Space Cowboys, and Bastard Bastard Bastard.
Previously: 2nd Annual Punk Rock Picnic offers venue for music fans to hear original local music
Southern rock band 38 Special, as they did in 2022, once again packed the house at Batavia Downs on Friday evening.
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