Festival season is year round in Buffalo, especially where music is concerned. In less than a month’s time, Whiskey Ink Presents will be hosting a mini music fest called Snow Jam, featuring five local original bands – Johnny Hart and The Mess, Mom Said No, Grosh, Kevin Sampson & The Night Shift, and Copper & Gin. The mini fest will be held at the Buffalo Irish Center – if you’ve never been there before, this place is pretty awesome in that it features a nice sized room for events of this nature, a pub with drink and food, and lots of other amenities.
When asked what inspired the creation of this new winter music festival, musician and event promoter Johnny Hart said, “Buffalo is very lively even in the winter months. We were sick of waiting for summer to have music festivals. So we created Snow Jam which will hopefully be an annual event moving forward! Attendees can expect an action packed show from five original, Buffalo bands. We will also have a red carpet entrance for photos, a chance to win two weekend passes to Cobblestone Live this summer, and a full spread of band merchandise and other local vendors. The sound and an elaborate light show, provided by Ripe Audio, will set the mood perfectly in the Emerald Room of the Buffalo Irish Center.”
As for the music acts that will be performing that day…
Copper and Gin took home Best Original Band last night at the Buffalo Night Life awards. Born out of roots music, classic rock, alt-country and the blues, Copper & Gin is hard to categorize. This six piece band is ever evolving. Lead vocalist Dejon Hamann is backed by guitarist Zach Siegel, bassist Charlie Wesley, drummer Rick Poy, and vocalists Tory Arena and Melody Catalano. The band strives for authenticity and honesty in their lyrics and sound. Their songs are about love and loss, death and redemption, social strife and the party life. They want to rock your gypsy soul. So sit back, have a stiff drink, and surrender. This is Copper & Gin.
Kevin Sampson & The Night Shift is a 4 piece original rock band from Buffalo NY. With a wide array of influences, the Night Shift provides a blend of high energy rock, pop and punk sounds. Sampson is joined by lead guitar player Mike Cassidy (Tortoise Forest) Tony Bales (Whiskey Reverb) on Bass and Max Davis (Tortoise Forest) on drums.
Grosh is a high energy rock band from Buffalo, NY featuring Grace Lougen (Guitar), Josh English (drums), Megan Brown (vocals) and Dylan Hund (Bass). With influences from bands such as Led Zeppelin and Pearl Jam, the band writes music that is visceral, heavy, and inspiring.
Mom Said No. has perfected its own brand of high-energy, dramatic, tuneful and memorable alternative pop. With the vocal harmonic influences from The Beach Boys to the high energetic performances of James Brown and the pop sensibilities of The Cars, Mom Said No. is truly an experience of its own. Their live shows are notorious for their energy and crowd participation which usually ends with the sweat drenched crowd clamoring for one more song. Mom Said No. is a force to be reckoned with in a predictable music scene.
Johnny Hart and the Mess (lead image) – “The Mess’ guitar based sound is as gritty as the city from where it was born.” Johnny Hart and the Mess celebrate the history of rock n roll with a modern twist. Their riff driven sound and vocal collaborations carry on the tradition of their biggest influences while paving the way for a new form of rock n roll in the modern era. The band is very energetic, passionate and driven both at live performances and in studio.
2020 Snow Jam Music Fest
Saturday, February 22, 2020 at 3 PM – 11 PM
3pm doors | 4pm start
All ages
Buffalo Irish Center | 245 Abbott Road | Buffalo, New York 14220
Tickets by Eventbrite