It's a wonderful weekend of things to do with the weather seemingly breaking, and spring just around the corner.
Great theater, artistic workshops, and local bands that will take you into the night, just to name a few.
Enjoy these 8 cool events and enjoy your weekend in Western New York! Check back Monday morning for more things to do next week.
Richard Thompson Solo Acoustic w/ special guest Teddy Thompson
Asbury Hall @ Babeville
Fri Mar 7
Named by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the Top 20 Guitarists of All Time, Richard Thompson is also one of the world’s most critically acclaimed and prolific songwriters. He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards for Songwriting on both sides of the Atlantic- from the Americanas in Nashville to Britain’s BBC Awards, and the prestigious Ivor Novellos. In 2011 Thompson was the recipient of the OBE (Order of the British Empire) personally bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Most recently he was nominated for “Artist of the Year” by the Americana Music Honors & Awards.
Having co-founded the groundbreaking group Fairport Convention as a teenager in the 60’s, Richard Thompson and his mates virtually invented British Folk Rock. By the age of 21 he left the band to pursue his own career, followed by a decade long musical partnership with his then-wife Linda, to over 30 years as a highly successful solo artist. Official site.
The Maniacs (Grateful Dead Tribute)
The Forvm
Fri Mar 7
The Maniacs have been playing Grateful Dead music in Buffalo since 1992. "Unlike most cover bands we do not try to look and sound like the Dead. We take the songs and use them as a launch pad for our own jams and explorations." Official Site.
William Shakespeare's The Tempest
UB Center for the Arts
Fri Mar 7 – Sun Mar 9
The Tempest is a poetic and mysterious play. It brings together powerful characters of good and bad people, as well as good and bad spirits. In The Tempest Shakespeare uses the structure of a tragedy in which all heroes are doomed to perish, but mixes it with a comedic structure, saving them all. The action takes place on an enchanted island. It is ruled by the Duke Prospero, a scholar, magician, master of elements, spirits, and humans. Employing his art to provoke a storm, Prospero brings to his island people who harmed him and his daughter, Miranda, in order to punish them. After a series of unexpected and magical events, love and forgiveness eventually prevail. The production of The Tempest, includes the cast of 18 student-actors. The sets, costumes, lighting and sound design are also prepared by students of the Department of Theatre & Dance. The Tempest will be performed in two venues in the CFA: the Black Box Theatre and the Rehearsal Workshop.
Kazimierz Braun Ph.D. will direct the production. A Polish native, director, playwright, scholar, and teacher, he was artistic director of professional theatres, taught history of theatre at the universities, and acting and directing at schools of drama in Poland. Since 1986, he has been a Professor at the University at Buffalo's Department of Theatre and Dance. He directed more than 150 theatre productions in Poland, the U.S., Ireland, Canada, Germany and other countries. He published more than 50 books in English, Polish, Czech, French, Russian and Ukrainian languages. Shakespeare is one of Braun's favorite dramatists. He directed, among others, King Lear (at Shakespeare in Delaware Park), Richard III (at Kavinoky Theatre), Hamlet (in Poland) and Twelfth Night (in Germany). The Tempest is his twelfth Shakespearian production. Official site.
ELTON JOHN AND TIM RICE'S AIDA
Performing Arts Center at Rockwell Hall
Fri Mar 7 – Sun Mar 9
St. Joseph Collegiate Institute presents their annual musical production. For advance tickets please call St. Joe’s at874-4024. Any remaining tickets will go on sale at the Rockwell Hall ticket office two hours prior to showtime.
WILLIE NILE
Tralf Music Hall
Sat Mar 8
Born into a large Irish Catholic family in Buffalo, N.Y., Willie began writing songs in his early teens. After graduating from the University at Buffalo with a B.A. in philosophy, he moved to Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. During his first winter there, he was sidelined by pneumonia. While spending nearly a year recuperating, he concentrated on honing his songwriting skills. After his recovery, Nile became a popular fixture in the Village’s folk clubs, while drawing inspiration from the emerging downtown punk scene. His budding career received a major boost from a high-profile New York Times piece by legendary critic Robert Palmer. The local buzz stoked by that story led to a deal with Arista Records, for which Nile recorded Willie Nileand Golden Down, released in 1980 and 1981, respectively. Those albums won a sizable audience and generated reams of press raves. But his progress ground to a halt after legal disputes with his label caused him to walk away from the music business, beginning a recording hiatus that lasted for nearly a decade. Official site.
Floodwood (ft. MOE.'s Al Schnier & Vinnie Amico)
Waiting Room
Sat Mar 8
The foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York, also known as “The Leatherstocking Region” is home to Floodwood, the northeast’s newest progressive string band. While the band is merely a year old, there is already a huge buzz around this band as they've been tearing up festivals, PACS, & clubs on the east coast with their original brand of newgrass.
Al Schnier & Vinnie Amico not only play together in moe., one of the premier touring bands in the country, but they've also recorded & toured as the Americana group Al & The Transamericans for over a decade. Likewise, Jason Barady spent over 10 years recording & touring with the Bluegrass group Wooden Spoon from Taos, until returning to his hometown in central, NY.
Nick Piccininni is a largely self taught violinist, who learned his bluegrass chops the old fashioned way - in festival picking circles & bluegrass festivals. He's been a professional banjo player & fiddler in high demand on the bluegrass circuit since the age of 13, & has toured w/ The Abrams Brothers, The Atkinsons, The Delaneys, & more. Bass player, Zachary Fleitz is a Berklee Graduate & Hypnotic Clambake alumnus. Zach joined forces w. Wooden Spoon & has played w. J & Nick for the last few years. Official site.
BURCHFIELD’S BIRDS: ALL THAT JIZZ
Burchfield Penney Art Center
Sun Mar 9
Jizz is a term used by birders who have learned to identify different species of birds based on a bird’s characteristic impression. In our workshop we will explore the timeless depiction of birds highlighted in Charles Burchfield’s works. We will take our inspiration from the energy of the birds themselves and translate it into works of visual and literary art.
Charles Burchfield said that he liked to be able to “advance and retreat just like a man writing a book.” Painter Kateri Ewing will lead us as we advance toward water coloring a bird of our choosing, then writer Karen Lee Lewis will develop a writing retreat that helps transition from painting to creative writing. All levels are welcome. Official site.
Gift to the Community: Cicely Parnas, Cello
Kleinhan's Music Hall
Sun Mar 9
19-year-old American cellist Cicely Parnas is recognized for bringing “velvety sound, articulate passagework and keen imagination” to her performances (The New York Times). As First Prize Winner of the 2012 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, she will be presented by YCA next season in debuts in New York and in Washington, DC at the Kennedy Center. She was awarded YCA’s Buffalo Chamber Music Society Prize at the auditions in November. Western New York audiences can hear her perform free of charge as part of the Buffalo Chamber Music Society's Gift to the Community series. Official site.
