Entertainment

As if your summer calendar hasn't been booking up fast enough, be sure to reserve Friday, July 23rd for a night of Hollywood on the Harbor with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Under the direction of the Pops Conductor Matthew Kraemer who is recognized for his "musical sensitivity" and "energized sense of interpretation", the Orchestra will perform a special one night-only 75th Anniversary Celebration concert with a program of popular songs and themes from 75 years of cinematic history.

There can be no one in Buffalo who doesn't realize how lucky we are to have a Grammy winning American Symphony in our own backyard. Since 1935 the Orchestra has been acting as Buffalo's cultural ambassador; the BPO has toured widely across the United States and Canada including the recently completed Florida Friends Tour with it's first ever female conductor JoAnn Falletta in March 2010. Currently, the Orchestra presents...

By: Rachael Vella-Garrido

You might want to miss the World Cup Final this Sunday for the first jazz show of the season to take place on the back steps of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. (ESPN and CBC usually replay the games later in the evening). The show starts at 2:00 p.m. when Jesse Pabon and La Krema, an energetic, Buffalo-based group, will get your foot tapping and probably your hips swaying, as well. 

The music is lively bachata-merengue style. Bachata is a Dominican term referring to a rougher existence with a focus on the romantic side of things. The bands typically consist of five instruments: lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, drum and güira. The güira keeps the beat with a cool scratchy sound. More modern groups have blended bachata with merengue and tend to further update their sound with a tambora drum instead of the original...

By: Mackenzie Lambert

Devolution: the notion that a species can change into a more primitive form.

In light of recent times, you'd be hard-pressed to argue the opposite was occurring. On July 8th, punk/new wave legends Devo rocked the Town Ballroom as only Devo could.

Their new album, Something for Everybody, will likely be labeled as a "comeback" album, yet they never really left. While their last full studio album was Smooth Noodle Maps in 1990, they have released new tracks sporadically. Devo recorded the title track for the Jackie Chan action flick, Supercop, in 1996. They contributed "Huboon Stomp" for Chef Aid: The South Park album in 1998. In 2007, "Watch Us Work It" turned plenty of heads with its use in Dell television commercials. Many a listener was left realizing just how good a band like Devo can be.

Even in between single...

Old Crow Medicine Show may be best known for their song "Wagon Wheel", which vocalist and fiddler Ketch Secor shares co-writing credit with Bob Dylan. In fact, they play it at almost every show they have, and will likely play it this Sunday when they make a stop in Buffalo at the Town Ballroom. They are an Old Time string band comprised of Kevin Hayes on Guitjo and Vocals, Ketch Secor on Fiddle, Harmonica, Banjo, and Vocals, Morgan Jahnig on Upright Bass, Willie Watson on Guitar, Banjo, and Vocals, and Gill Landry on Slide Guitar, Banjo, and Vocals.

As an Old Time string band, OCMS plays a type of music that is similar to Bluegrass, which gained a jump in popularity with the success of the Coen Brothers' film O Brother Where Art Thou? which featured Bluegrass throughout....

By: Julia Wald
Guest Editor: Vincent Sherry

History attests that art lays the groundwork for social awareness and change, a truism a noted sculptor has acted on in a new exhibit he hopes will help form the understructure of a better city.

Social Dress Buffalo, at the Buffalo Arts Studio, is a presentation meant to galvanize communities to revitalize the East and West sides. It is the latest installment of New York City-based artist Takashi Horisaki's Social Dress projects, sculptures addressing urban sprawl and decay.

As Horisaki's website says, "The project is intended to inspire a sense of togetherness and similarity of purpose within the community so as to foster empowerment among local citizens that may inspire creativity in local responses to this ongoing crisis."

Though cities around the country, including better-known ones, suffer from urban decay and sprawl, Horisaki said he chose Buffalo...

Established as a not-for-profit gallery in 1990, Buffalo Arts Studio is one of the oldest galleries in the city and has stuck to its core values and mission since day one: expose everyone to more art. The organization is active in community education, offering a number of programs for children and adults through out the calendar year, and acts as a cultural hub, inviting in musicians who hale from Ghana to the Caribbean to the East Side. The exhibits are filled with both established and emerging artists working in a variety of mediums and subject matter while the resident artists maintain some of the most affordable studio space in the city. This rentable venue is also the new home to curator Cori Wolff and her fresh ideals.

Buffalo Rising: How long have you been a curator and how did you get your start?
Cori Wolff: A little...

By: Tony Wilson

Hey Buffalo, today after you're done rockin' out with partytastic Ozomatli at the Square be sure to keep those legs limber. Just a short distance away, over at Soundlab, two very special guests will perform: Nobody Beats the Drum and C-Mon & Kypski. Both of the bands are from the Netherlands and are set to embark on their co-headlining Pass the Dutchie U.S. tour--starting right here in Buffalo!

C-Mon & Kypski might most easily be described as an electronica outfit, since they frequently utilize their turntables and mixing boards during performances. But that description falls short of the other worldly influences that can be heard in their music. Breezy lyrics and soulful vibes blend together, creating a more intimate sound. They're touring in support of their album We Are Square.

On the other hand, their countrymates, Nobody Beats the...

This evening marks the opening of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's seasonal Summer in the Parks series.

"We are so proud to again partner with the BPO to offer classical music in a classic park, two of the best of Buffalo's classics in one place," said Thomas Herrera-Mishler, CEO and President of the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy. "Come and enjoy a relaxing evening performance for the whole family, open air music, free to all, set in Buffalo's Olmsted Delaware Park meadow."

Delaware District Councilmember Michael LoCurto, who helped underwrite the concert, added "I am excited the BPO is returning to Delaware Park, which is one of the crown jewels and most utilized parks in the Olmsted system. This free event is a shining example of the great cultural resources we have in Buffalo."

Thanks to the support of First Niagara Bank and everyone else involved, the concert...

By: Tod A. Kniazuk
Executive Director, Music is Art

Music is Art (MiA), founded by Buffalo native and member of the Goo Goo Dolls, Robby Takac, is in the running to win $20,000 in the Chase Community Giving contest on Facebook. When voting closes at 11:59 p.m. on July 12th, the top 200 vote getters nationwide will share in a total of $5 million from Chase. We need your help to get us there--two minutes of your time is worth $20,000!
 
We're currently in the top 200, which would secure $20,000 for our work with both student and professional local musicians. However, voting is tight and there will undoubtedly be a huge push in the final week for votes. Music is Art is the only Western New York not-for-profit in the top 200.
 
We need everyone who loves what Music is Art does to cast a vote...

Much Ado About Nothing (the Musical), as it has come to be called, runs through July 11th. If you plan to attend, and I recommend it highly, I suggest you arrive early, because if the crowds of the past two weeks are any indicator, the hill will fill quickly for these final shows.

This has to be the most colorful, riotous, boisterous, and yes, musical Shakespeare production the park has seen in years. The cast is a good mix with veterans like Tom Loughlin as Leonato, Dan Walker as Don Pedro, Tim Newell as Don John and Jim Maloy as Antonio. Loraine O'Donnell anchor a very capable troupe of singers and some wonderful young actors, in particular Adam Rath and Leah Russo, who play the young lovers Claudio and Hero.  

John Fredo and Lisa Ludwig (who is also the company's Managing Director) play the immortal...