From Intimate Venues To Major Festivals: Go See Live Music In Buffalo
Explore the many opportunities to attend concerts and fests in the Buffalo area.
By Team JamBase Jul 26, 2024 • 12:36 pm PDT
Truckin’, up to Buffalo
Been thinkin’, you got to mellow slow
Takes time to pick a place to go
And just keep truckin’ on
– “Truckin’” by the Grateful Dead
The song “Truckin’” by the Grateful Dead famously namechecks a number of cities in the United States, with Buffalo, New York among the cited locales. While it may take time to pick a place to go, truckin’ up to Buffalo is a prime spot for anyone looking for an endless array of options to go see live music.
The music scene in Buffalo is a vibrant and ever-evolving landscape that caters to a wide range of musical tastes.
“The city of good neighbors” hosts thousands of concerts and festivals each year featuring nationally touring acts and showcasing the rich and diverse musical talent in the area. Venues in Buffalo cater to many different tastes and genres. The city has many distinct neighborhoods with spaces that host live music spread throughout.
Buffalo’s Vibe
Buffalo’s nickname of “The City of Good Neighbors” stretches into its live music scene. Residents rally around their own and also serve as hosts and ambassadors for Buffalo’s ever-thickening musical and cultural gumbo.
Concerts take place at a diverse array of venues ranging from the intimate Mohawk Place to the mid-sized Town Ballroom and elegant theatres, namely Shea’s Performing Arts Center or Kleinhans Music Hall, home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. The one thing each space has in common is a lack of pretense and a tendency of attendees toward genuine neighborliness.
Less Than Jake at Town Ballroom; Photo by Bobby Kirkham
Buffalo’s History
While moe., Aqueous, Ani Difranco and the Goo Goo Dolls might be the Buffalo-based artists most familiar to JamBase readers, they are far from the only acts from the city who’ve gone on to national and international prominence. Dyke & the Blazers, Grover Washington, Jr., Rick James, Brian McKnight, Talas, Billy Sheehan, Gamalon, Bobby Militello, Westside Gunn, Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, Green Jello, Every Time I Die and Cannibal Corpse are also among those who’ve achieved success on a broad scale. The list of names shows off the dizzying diversity of the musical melting pot that is Buffalo.
Marquee jazz artists made Buffalo a favored tour stop during the late ’50s and ’60s. Rock came to the city in a big way throughout the ’70s and ’80s. The former Rich Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, hosted the Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Van Halen, The Clash, Iron Maiden and many other major acts.
Meanwhile, a who’s who of legendary rockers played the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium including Jethro Tull, Grand Funk Railroad, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Bob Dylan, The Police and Prince, as well as a number of aforementioned artists who grew in stature to start filling Rich Stadium. Currently, the city’s hockey arena — now known as KeyBank Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres — continues the tradition of the Aud as a regular stop for top-tier acts.
Buffalo’s Future
Independent concert promoters and musicians have united over the past decade to push Buffalo’s live music scene forward. New festivals such as The Borderland Music & Arts Festival have attracted fans from around the Northeast and beyond, while long-running annual events like the Music is Art Festival, the Juneteenth Festival of Buffalo, June in Buffalo and the annual Pappy Martin Legacy Jazz Festival prosper. Summer concert series at Canalside, the Buffalo Outer Harbor, and Artpark are also major success stories.
Bare Naked Ladies at Artpark Ampitheater
Many neighborhoods in Buffalo have been expanding their live music offerings. Not only has the long-standing hub of the music scene in the Allentown District grown, live music-suffused neighborhoods in the Larkinville District, the historic industrial and shipping area around Silo City, the Elmwood Village, Black Rock and the Chandler Street District continue to evolve.
Upcoming Buffalo Concerts & Festivals
Taking Back Sunday
Tuesday
-
Jul
27
Sat
Slash
Tuesday
-
Jul
30
Tue
Primus
Tuesday
-
Aug
9
Fri
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Tuesday
-
Aug
10
Sat
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Tuesday
Bush
Tuesday
-
Aug
17
Sat
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Tuesday
-
Aug
20
Tue
Perpetual Groove
Tuesday
-
Aug
31
Sat
Cage The Elephant
Tuesday
-
Sep
7
Sat
ZZ Top
Tuesday
-
Sep
12
Thu
Lil Yachty
Tuesday
-
Sep
14
Sat
Spoon
Tuesday
-
Sep
17
Tue
Lake Street Dive
Tuesday
-
Sep
17
Tue
Willie Nelson
Tuesday
-
Sep
17
Tue
Willie Nelson
Outlaw Music Festival
Bob DylanJohn MellencampSouthern AvenueDarien Lake Performing Arts Center
Creed
Tuesday
-
Sep
27
Fri
Neko Case
Tuesday
-
Sep
29
Sun
Jelly Roll
Tuesday
-
Oct
6
Sun
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers
Tuesday
Deer Tick
Tuesday
-
Nov
7
Thu
Festivals
Borderland
[Sponsored content: Visit Buffalo Niagara is a JamBase partner.]
