Kole Moore, the band Vette. Photo by Howard Owens.
Vette opened the Thursday Night concert series in Jackson Square yesterday.
The band consists of Kole Moore, lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Alex Fitzak, lead guitar, and on Thursday, the substitute rhythm section was Mike "Thunder" Warren on bass and Alex DeSmit on drums.
The next show is the band Free Beer on Thursday, followed by Qwister on Aug. 10 and Radio Relapse on Aug. 17.
The concerts are hosted by the Business Improvement District.
Vette on stage at Jackson Square. Photo by Howard Owens.
Alex DeSmit Photo by Howard Owens.
Mike "Thunder" Warren on bass. Photo by Howard Owens.
Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel announced today that due to circumstances beyond their control, the concert on July 14 will no longer feature Skid Row. Great White will perform at Pepsi’s Rockin’ The Downs Summer Concert Series.
Great White has an arsenal of songs that include the Grammy nominated Best Hard Rock Performance hit, “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” Great White has sold over 10 million albums worldwide, has six Top 100 Billboard hits, nine Top 200 Billboard albums, two platinum albums, and clocked the top of MTV four times.
Please note that tickets purchased for the Skid Row concert will still be honored on that date. Those wishing for a refund may do so through their point of purchase. Info can be found inside of your ticket confirmation email. Tickets purchased at the Lucky Treasures gift shop may be refunded during normal gift shop hours.
Tickets are available for Great White right now on BataviaConcerts.com
A drum and bugle corp exhibition at Van Detta Stadium on Saturday night provided enthusiasts for the genre to see a variety of ensembles to perform, said Shannon Mellander, a music teacher and one of the organizers.
"There's not a lot of places to go and see some of this competitive drum corps up in New York, even though there used to be a long time ago," Mellander said. "So it's kind of nice to have something a little bit centrally located in Western New York where people can get a glimpse. They don't have to watch a video."
The event was also a fundraiser for Batavia High School's Winterguard.
Participating were:
St. Joseph's of Batavia Brass Ensemble
Brig Juice
The Hamburg Kingsman
The Mighty St. Joe's Drum and Bugle Corp of Le Roy (featured in the accompanying photos)
The White Sabres
The White Sabres is an all-ages summer program that competes regionally and includes several Batavia students.
It was their preview performance of their 2023 program, "Invasions," which is a homage to iconic science fiction films such as War of the Worlds, Signs, and Independence Day.
The group next takes the show on the road, with performances in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and downstate, culminating a finals competition in Rochester at the Rochester Community Sports Complex on Labor Day Weekend.
"(The exhibition) is really exciting for us to be able to have this in our hometown, in Batavia, because there are a lot of people from this area involved in all of these groups, alumni groups, in the White Sabres," Mellander said. "There are people from Rochester, there's kids that come from Binghamton and from Buffalo and Jamestown. I like that we're able to feature them, and everybody can come and see them since all of the competitions are out of town."
When Brett Young began work on his latest album, “Weekends Look A Little Different These Days,” he faced a whole new challenge as a songwriter. He had strived to be authentic in his writing, delving into subject matter that allowed him to draw from his personal experiences.
But that approach wasn’t going to work on the “Weekends” album, especially if he was trying to write about where his life is now.
Married to his long-time girlfriend, which he literally says is the love of his life, and a father of two little girls, Young knew his happy life wouldn’t make for a compelling album.
“It would have been really tempting to just write basically a lullabies record, love songs about my wife and songs about my children,” Young said in a late-April phone interview. “So the challenge was that you can’t write just about what you’re going through in your life right now. That’s going to be boring.”
Fortunately for Young, he was working with some co-writers who have been around the block and knew how to put an authentic personal touch on a lyric and honestly convey a variety of emotions over the course of an album.
“It’s hard when you’re in the happiest place in your life, and you’ve got to still write a sad song, and we did,” Young said. “We did that, but we did it through a lot of conversations. I’d get in with a songwriter or a couple of songwriters, and I’d be like, ‘Tell me about your worst heartbreak. Explain that to me.’ We started having to go down that path, and that was a new stage of songwriting for me. Don’t just do what you’re feeling right now; here’s a topic, go back to a place where you did feel this way and write it. And we did that. I think it stretched me in a really good way as a songwriter.”
This new approach to songwriting is very evident on “Weekends Look A Little Different These Days,” and Young has essentially crafted an album that touches on the long and winding road he has traveled with his wife, Taylor.
Young, though, didn’t want to tell a linear story about his history with Taylor. Instead, the songs on “Weekends” feel like snapshots from various moments of their journey, which included three breakups before they decided they truly should be together.
“For us, our story wasn’t linear anyway,” Young said. “I met Taylor, this Thanksgiving, it will be 16 years ago. So we have a long, storied history.”
The album culminates with the song “This,” which describes how the life Young and Taylor have now has made the heartaches and good times from their dating years completely worth it.
“That one really fell out quick,” Young said of “This.” “It got me talking about my family (with Taylor), and it immediately made me realize it doesn’t matter, three breakups, 20 breakups, whatever, it was all part of our journey to get here, to this.”
Like his history with Taylor, Young’s musical life has been a journey that had its share of frustrations before things fell into place for the 42-year-old singer/songwriter.
He began by playing covers of other peoples’ songs, first at restaurants and other venues around his Orange County, California, home base and later in the big city of Los Angeles, while he independently released a pair of EPs and three albums, hoping to get a record deal.
But Young’s career remained stuck in neutral until he realized his songs actually were well suited to country music, and he moved to Nashville. There, Young quickly made contacts and, within nine months, signed with Big Machine Records.
In short order, he was in a studio making his self-titled debut album with noted producer Dann Huff. The album’s advance single, “Sleep Without You,” reached No. 2 on “Billboard” magazine’s Country Airplay chart. Then another single, “In Case You Didn’t Know,” topped the Country Airplay chart and went top 20 on “Billboard’s” all genre Hot 100 chart. The hits have kept coming since, with his second album, “Ticket To L.A.,” adding “Here Tonight” and “Catch” and “Weekends Look A Little Different These Days” adding “Lady” to his list of chart-topping singles.
For a while, Young worried that he might have to leave even some of his popular ballads out of his concerts to keep his shows from getting too sleepy for audiences. But as his current shows demonstrate, he’s found that his fans aren’t worried about the pace of his concerts.
“What we’ve found out is that people aren’t thinking about that at my shows. They bought a Brett Young ticket. They know the music,” Young said. “They came to hear the music that they know. So every time we try to kind of inauthentically ramp it up for the sake of ramping it up, they’ve felt like they missed out on a song or two they wanted to hear. So it’s been less about the setlist and more about paying attention to my fan base and what they’re actually coming to the show for.”
Brett Young performs at the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Saturday.
Country music recording artist Craig Morgan, with hits such as "That's What I Love About Sunday," "Almost Home," "Redneck Yacht Club," "Little Bit of Life," and "International Harvester," brought his tour into Batavia on Friday with a stop at Batavia Downs.
Opening for Morgan was Drake White as part of the summer's Rockin' the Downs concert series.
This Friday, the show will get a little more rockus with Skid Row taking the stage.
William Franz performed on bagpipes. Photo by Howard Owens.
The skies may have been overcast, but the local talent shone through in Jackson Square on Friday night with the first of two Homegrown Concerts, hosted by Bill and Kay McDonald.
A second featuring young local talent, and some mature folks, is scheduled for Friday, June 30. The showtime is 6 p.m.
On the bill for the next show: William Franz (bagpipes), Leah Ford (guitar), Nolen Wright (guitar), Ayralynn Thompson (ukelele), and Quinn Karcher (accordion), along with Deanna Spiotta and Don Thomas and Steve Kruppner.
The evening's entertainment is rounded out with the Ghostriders and the Old Hippies.
Musicians from throughout the region and a few hundred music fans gathered in Oakfield on Father's Day for the annual Retro Jam and Musicians Reunion. Photo by Howard Owens.
An audience and a chance to play is usually a pretty good reason for local musicians to show up at a venue on a sunny afternoon, and add in a chance to see the guys and gals they are too busy to see on gig nights, and a few dozen are likely to make the scene.
And though the venue had changed since its inception, that's been what has kept the Father's Day Retro Jam and Musicians Reunion going since 1978.
"Most of the musicians playing the jamboree are working musicians," said organizer Bill Pitcher. "They've been in different bands together, but while they're working, they don't see each other much because when they've got gigs, they're playing in different places. This is a chance for musicians to get together to mix and chat and have some fun."
The first jamboree was part of the Stafford Firemen's Carnival and grew bigger each year until the Stafford Volunteer Fire Department discontinued the carnival because of changes in state law forced them to end the annual Corvette Raffle.
Soon, area musicians were calling Pitcher with one question: "Where are we going to jam?"
Scott Graff and his wife Val had a solution, Pitcher said. The Oakfield Rod and Gun Club. There's a pavilion with electricity, plenty of grass for lawn chairs and canopies and parking.
"It's a great venue," Pitcher said.
The Rod and Gun Club sells hotdogs, there are public restrooms available and everything is friendly and laid back.
A 50/50 raffle raised $1,000 for the Center for H.O.P.E. at the VA Hospital in Batavia.
"This is the second year at the Rod and Gun Club," Pitcher said. "They've been very cooperative and friendly, very supportive."
The lineup of bands is a mixture of the old guard and some young musicians, so there's a next-generation ready to move forward with the event in the coming years.
This year's lineup included the Ghost Riders, the Double Image Band, Front Porch Pickers, Rock-A-Bully’s, Prospect, Sounds Good, and Bad Sign.
"We have a waiting list of bands that want to come and play," Pitcher said. "Most of the bands have been playing for years and years but we're getting a couple of younger bands involved."
Luke Bryan headlined Darien Lake on Friday. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Luke Bryan headlined Darien Lake on Friday, joined by supporting acts, in front of 20,000 fans.
The pop-country music superstar played for nearly two hours, running through hits such as, "Kick the Dust Up," "Country On," and "Country Girl (Shake It on Me)."
Virginian Alana Springsteen led off the night, warming up the crowd with a 20-minute set. She is no relation to Bruce Springsteen, although her dad and brother are also in the music industry.
Chayce Beckham performed second, featuring his popular songs "Tell Me Twice" and "Keeping Me Up All Night."
Southern Alabama native Tyler Braden rounded out the openers with his tracks "What Do They Know," "Neon Grave," and "Ways to Miss You."
Photos by Steve Ognibene
Tyler Braden at Darien lake, third opener. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Chayce Beckham, Darien lake, second opener. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Alana Springsteen, Darien Lake's first opener. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Kay and Bill McDonald in Jackson Square recently preparing for the Homegrown Concerts hosted by the Old Hippies on June 23 and June 30. Photo by Howard Owens.
Bill and Kay McDonald have spent their living the dream, playing and singing for smiling, clapping, foot tapping, and sometimes dancing audiences.
They decided a few months ago they wanted to give young, aspiring performers a chance to relish the same experience they've enjoyed all these years -- getting on stage with a good sound system in front of an audience looking to be entertained.
The McDonalds are producing concerts on June 23 and June 30 that will feature young performers. Both shows start at 6 p.m. in Jackson Square.
"We're really concentrating on the youth this time," Bill McDonald said. "We've got eight, nine, 10-year-olds that we've wrangled in -- guitar players, a bagpipe player, and accordionist. We've got a couple of more seasoned veterans like Deanna Spiotta and Don Thomas and Steve Kruppner."
The young artists include William Franz (bagpipes), Leah Ford (guitar), Nolen Wright (guitar), Spencer Moscicki (guitar on June 23), and Quinn Karcher (accordion on June 30).
Also on the bill, the Ghost Riders and the Old Hippies.
The name of the show is, naturally, "Homegrown." The event is paid for through a $5,000 grant from the state that was administered by GO ART!
The young performers were found by talking with teachers and friends, but even with the dates set, there might be more room on the bill for other aspiring performers.
"We could probably squeeze room for more," Bill said. "If we had a few more, we could. Every time you do that, it limits somebody else's time. But that's okay. We think the more, the better. Everybody's gonna play. If we (the Old Hippies) only get a couple of songs than so be it."
The Knox Youth Choir, shown here during its last concert, will be performing at First Presbyterian Church in Batavia on June 14.
The Knox Youth Choir, one of eight choirs of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, will be taking an eight-day concert tour of the Northeast, including a pit stop at Batavia First Presbyterian Church.
A spiritual version of dinner and a show will feature picnic fare of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hotdogs, salads, and fruit at 6 p.m., followed by a choir concert at 7 p.m. on June 14 at the church, 300 East Main St., Batavia.
Unlike many churches that serve up gospel with singing, Westminster is the birthplace of Westminster Choir College, and as such, is a music-based church, Nancy Hodgkins said. Westminster Choir College is a historic conservatory of music currently operating on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, NJ.
“And so we've always had this big tradition of music. It's the one thing you can do from the time you were four years old until you can no longer climb the stairs to the planet. So we have three children's choirs. We have the youth choir that will be coming into Batavia. And then we have an adult choir. And we also have three Bell choirs. And we started doing choir trips. Well, in 2002, I took the kids to Scotland for a Presbyterian Heritage tour. We had a fantastic experience, except we were just tourists; all we did was get on and off the bus,” Hodgkins said during an interview with The Batavian. “And I really wanted the kids to have an opportunity to meet people and to interact with people. And so in 2007, we returned to Scotland as a choir … we had quite a trip. And we sang in three small churches in Scotland and had a fantastic experience.”
With the title of associate pastor for youth and mission, it could go either way how involved Hodgkins is with the musical lessons. Turns out not at all. Admittedly, she’s “not very musical,” which, given the atmosphere, steeped in staffs, scores, g clefs, tone, range, crescendos, intonation and performance space reliant on acoustics, it seems kind of ironic.
"I can hardly carry a tune in a bucket,” she joked. “But yet they still let me work here, which is a blessing because all my other colleagues are beautiful vocalists. And it's been a great partnership. I basically manage the trip, plan the trip, handle, you know, all the group dynamics and logistics, and (Rev. John Neely, associate pastor for music), and the rest of the music staff help them sing beautifully. So we'll also be traveling with our music associates, who will be the primary accompanists."
The choir will be performing a wide variety of gospel-based songs, from the familiar and traditional to others from around the globe and a medley from “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
Hodgkins and Rev. Roula Alkhouri went to seminary together and have maintained a friendship for these visits, which happened once before. There was a larger group here for a community service project, and “it was really too hard to find ways to engage all of us in a meaningful way,” Hodgkins said, “so we kind of dropped that piece.”
“But we’ll be doing some sight-seeing, we’ll go to Niagara Falls and are doing some local sites; they’re mostly churches that we have some sort of personal relationship with,” she said. “So we have some of these personal connections to these churches, but I really like the kids to see churches that are different sizes, have different traditions and experiences that they do here at Westminster. The churches have been very generous, and they’re welcoming of the kids and supportive of the kids. Really, music is a huge part of their faith.”
Kids will spend from three to five hours together each Sunday for choir rehearsal and dinner youth group, plus perhaps some bell-ringing. One of the big things that helped the group was the church's willingness to support its Scotland trip last year, Hodgkins said.
“Everything just kind of lined up; we were able to, by the time we traveled last summer, they lifted all the restrictions. We did still sing with masks, but we were able to visit these little churches in Scotland, and because we had something to work towards, the kids really came back strong. Families came back strong last year,” she said. “And then we decided to go to the Northeast again this year because, well, one, it was time because we've got kids who will graduate who hadn't had a Northeast experience. So this was the time to go. But also just to really help them to continue to regain the repertoire.”
As much as the kids use their vocal skills in the choir, most don’t pursue musical majors beyond that, she said. Only two that she knew of were singing in choirs at college. Hodgkins credited her colleague, Rev. John Neely, for his ability of “blending their voices together” rather than strictly focusing on auditions and rehearsals for an end product.
“John works really hard at making sure it’s a fun experience for them, that we are sort of focusing on the words and the sharing of the gospel in music, she said. “I guess because it’s more about community and fellowship and sharing an experience of God and music than a shiny, perfect performance.”
The Northeast tour is designed to help smaller communities enjoy an evening of diverse music and to help and support the ministry of the churches they visit, Alkhouri said.
Dinner and the concert are free, and registration is recommended. Call 585-343-0505 or email fpcbatavia@fpcbatavia.org.
Jane (Haggett) Paladino, longtime music influencer as Batavia High School's music teacher and department chairperson, delivers her final swan song as conductor during a band concert Tuesday evening at the high school's Frank E. Owens Auditorium.
Paladino is retiring from the district and looking forward to new adventures ahead -- albeit with staff, students and parents enriched by her lessons and saddened by her departure.
William Joyce, veterans services officer for Genesee County, receives bundles of tickets from Batavia Downs President and CEO Henry Wojtaszek on Friday afternoon at Batavia Downs. Photo by Howard Owens.
Press Release:
Officials from Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel presented 2,000 complimentary tickets to William Joyce, Director of the Genesee County Veterans Service Agency. 250 Tickets from each of Batavia’s Summer Concert Series were included.
“Batavia Downs has always supported our local Veterans," said Batavia Downs CEO and President Henry Wojtaszek. “This is the fifthsoncert series in a row that we’ve given tickets to the Genesee County Veterans Service Agency. We happy to do anything we can to give back to our local Veterans for all they’ve done for our country.”
Tickets for the concert series can be purchased at BataviaConcerts.com. Performances include:
The Genesee Chorale will present two spring concerts on May 19 and May 21, presenting the music of Ola Gjeilo in Batavia and in Le Roy.
The program is called Across the Vast Eternal Sky and will feature the Greycliffe String Quartet and Riesa Cassano on Oboe.
The May 19 performance is at 7 p.m. at Grace Baptist Church, 238 Vine St., Batavia, and the May 21 performance is at 4 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 1 East Main St., Le Roy.
The chorale is under the music direction of Ric Jones. Janine Fagnan is associate conductor and Doug Hanson is the accompanist.
Tickets are $10 and are available from members of the chorale or at the door.
