Author: A Ellis Cairns

A Ellis Cairns has been living in Buffalo since 2006. Hailing from Pittsburgh, A also lived in Maryland and New Jersey. Graduating from Duquesne University with a BA in Communications, he got an internship with Live Nation the summer before his senior year. Upon graduating, A accepted a full-time position with Live Nation at the Darien Lake Amphitheater. Working in the music industry for over 15 years, A has seen and worked with a variety of artists and performers. In his spare time, A is a concert photographer and board member for the Elmwood Village Association.

This is the final segment in a trilogy: Part I: Love Across Closed Borders Part II: How to Be Santa and Win Over the Canadian Government Conclusions for me are always the hardest part of the story. How do you sum up everything and make it all end? Sometimes the story drags and other times it’s the most perfect ending. I feel as though my story is somewhere in the middle. It didn’t last long enough for it to drag and in no way was it perfect. So, what was it? In my opinion it was the romantic comedy that ended…

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Romantic comedies are always in full swing around the holidays. I’m not usually one to watch the Hallmark Channel, but when you’ve been quarantining for 13 straight days, you start to run out of options… and tissues. So, I did what any reasonable 30-something, well, female might do: make some popcorn and settle in. Time flies, and three identical Hallmark movies later, it dawns on me: My life is a Hallmark Movie. Hear me out: It’s 2019. As the opening credits begin, I’m sitting in a train station in Hamilton, Ontario. It’s 90 degrees out and I’m sitting next to…

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“A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.” I was furloughed back in May from my position at a music venue due to the impact that COVID-19 had on the country. The live entertainment industry has been dark since early April. Future events have either been postponed or cancelled. To cope, artists started streaming concerts online, albeit to little success. But why? Don’t we believe in Rock and Roll? Sadly not, when it’s difficult to remember the last album or CD we purchased. Or if we ever complained about the high…

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Many small businesses are struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Shops have closed, social interactions have ceased, weddings are being rescheduled. Buffalo resident Heather Bellini has directly felt the harsh effects of isolation in her full-time wedding and event photography business. Yet knowing the heavy weight of this unprecedented quarantine on local families, Heather recently began a new photography project, “Front Porch Portraits”. Following the government requested social distancing, Heather enables families to schedule a free photo shoot online, arrives in the front yard during each family’s scheduled time, and takes professional photos from 12 feet away using only verbal interactions.…

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Online dating used to be an awkward topic. Now it seems to be the norm. Going on 10+ dates with ladies around the city, you’re sure to awkwardly run into one of them at Wegmans. And the ones you didn’t go on dates with, you’re sure to run into one of them too. We met on an app called Hinge. What would usually be a harmless swipe connection minus one small detail: I live in Buffalo. She lives in Toronto. There are exactly 100 miles between us plus an international border. If love has no borders, neither do dating apps.…

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With a southern rock meets gospel sound, Grammy-nominated South Carolina natives NEEDTOBREATHE performed in Niagara Falls Saturday at Rapid’s Theater to support their latest album, Hard Love. Commonly referred to as a “Christian Rock” band, NEEDTOBREATE has tweaked their sound each album leading to crossover success in various musical genres. Lead by brothers Bear and Bo Rinehart, fellow bandmates Seth Bolt and Josh Lovelace blend their unique vocal qualities to create a mix between power ballads and coffee shop singles. With a more electronic sound, Hard Love, painted a picture of the highs and lows of a rock and roll…

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On the eve of Valentine’s Day, the current state of the country has left me questioning the true meaning of Love. Published in 1960, C.S. Lewis discussed the philosophical meaning of Love in his book, “The Four Loves”. I had to read this piece for a religion class called “Marriage” I took in college. Aside from receiving a B in the class, this work opened my eyes to the fact that we can legitimately express different styles of Love towards one another. Prior to the social media age (Mark Zuckerberg adding the ability to “Love” someone’s post on Facebook, rather…

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This past Saturday the local rock duo of Johnny Rzeznik and Robby Takac brought their band, Goo Goo Dolls to the Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. With over 12,000 in attendance, the band played songs from their latest album, Boxes, along with various other songs from albums spanning their 30 year career as a band. Prior to playing their hit “Name” from the album A Boy Named Goo, Reznik explained, “I do remember Robby and my lives changing incredibly the day that I wrote this song.” He added, “We keep coming home and you keep coming back. And it’s…

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In a growing demographic where fans like their music like a fine wine, bitter and aged 20 years, Coldplay stays true to a an original flavor of music; peace, love, and colour. In support of their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams, Coldplay offered both a visual and performance art display to the sold-out crowd at the First Niagara Center this past Monday. Opening the evening with the Album’s title track, the band didn’t waste time getting the crowd into the show with their energetic entrance accompanied by the glowing Xylobands on the wrist of each concertgoer. The…

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Back in October of 2006, I landed a job with Live Nation in Buffalo and began my search to find an apartment in the Queen City. With one day to apartment shop, I explored the one-way streets of the Elmwood Village and found myself outside of a giant white house with a posting of “For Rent.” I called the number and met the landlord that day. Weeks later she would call to say that my application had been accepted and that I should also know that a celebrity lived in the house on the top floor. Struggling to find a…

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