The Grassroots Hoots Concert Series

If you think about all of the important work being done by Grassroots Gardens, it's a wonder how the organization continues to plow forward with never-ending tenacity and devotion to get the job done. The job is never complete though, and will never be complete, which means that Grassroots Gardens will always have a long haul to go - creating and maintaining gardens all throughout the city of Buffalo.

Take a bike ride on the West Side and you are sure to come across multiple Grassroots Gardens. The flowering lots were once discarded and abandoned sites that only added blight to many neighborhoods. Along with the Garden Walk, Grassroots Gardens has been one of the key tools used in creating community pride by bringing neighbors together to enjoy the simple healing acts of planting, tending and gardening. Many of the Grassroots Garden sites have become epicenters of community activity where block clubs congregate. Some even provide healthy vegetables for the picnics and parties.

Now it's your turn to support an organization that has been growing along with its gardens. Come out and enjoy your favorite local musicians as they come together over the course of four evenings to rally for this worthwhile cause. Here's the lineup from The Good Neighborhood concert organizer Seamus Galvin:

The Grassroots Hoots concert series kicks off on Wednesday, June 23rd, at the Sportsmens Tavern, with a song swap featuring four local singer/songwriters - some of them strangers. Rochester natives and Buffalo residents Dee Adams and Alan Whitney - who moved to our area separately but have both earned their Sportsmens stripes - will be joined by two rising young frontmen making their debut at the Black Rock landmark in Bob Buckley of Free Henry! and Zak Ward of Son of the Sun.

With the weekend - and docking beside two nights of moe. Rocks the Harbor - the series moves downtown to Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, where on Friday, June 25th, Lazlo Hollyfeld and Sonny Baker will reprise their torrential Talking Heads tribute, "Stop Making Sense"; and Saturday the 26th hosts a humdinger of a hootenanny as Photos of Wagons re-makes Magical Mystery Tour, with DJ Cutler setting the Beatles tone by bringing his acclaimed Ultimate Breaks & Beatles mash-up to the stage.

Shifting back to the Sportsmens for the June 30th finale, Buffalo native Pamela Ryder is digging up a "blast from the past" revolving cast of characters for her homecoming hoot, including Alison Pipitone, expat Larz Rizzuto, and many more still emerging. 

Who: A wide range of local and ex-pat musicians across four distinct events
What: Grassroots Hoots Concert Series
When: Four nights between Wednesday, June 23rd - June 30th
Why: To support to community gardening programs of Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo
Where: Sportsmens Tavern 326 Amherst St (Black Rock)
Pearl Street Grill & Brewery 76 Pearl St (downtown)

*See poster for scheduled times