Buffalo is Alive with Music

Buffalo has its scene – but it also has a sound.

 

It’s the gritty guitar chords of a city always grinding, with fledgling musicians flicking strings through punk sets or intricate progressions in the corners of dive bars and dance halls. It’s the drum thump of an ethnically diverse population, packed together in rock clubs once host to jazz greats, alt rock gods and every performer in between. It’s the amplified exuberance of a region still rising from the ashes of its Rust Belt past, but now blooming from the artistic fervor that’s always kept it pulsating.

 

Buffalo’s music is its heartbeat, and every night, it’s unleashed to illuminate this once-heralded City of Light.

 

Popular Music Venues

 

Step into Asbury Hall @ Babeville and find downtown’s most angelic venue, set inside a converted 19th century Gothic Revival-style church. Catch a touring show inside the lower bowl of the historic Town Ballroom, then shuffle across the street to the Tralf for blues, jazz or the spirit of Prince—who famously played a surprise set in the place in 2002. Pack into Mohawk Place for genuine rock club grit, or find the city’s answer to Austin, Texas within the alt-country, honky tonk confines of Sportsmen’s Tavern. Walk up to a collaborative evening within the Colored Musicians Club; stroll in and get situated within the jazz-infused ambiance of Pausa Art House; or head to bohemian cool of Nietzsche’s, whose exterior artwork states its position quite clearly: Without music, life would be a mistake.

 

Rick James found his funk on these streets. The Goo Goo Dolls went from sweat-drenched local club shows to eventual pop radio stardom. Snapcase’s homegrown snarl influenced every fledgling hardcore act for decades—including fellow Buffalonians Every Time I Die, who tore up local spots before rising to a now flagship act of its genre. Ani DiFranco, Willie Nile and Weezer’s Patrick Wilson grew up here; and before its swirling jams moved summer festivals, Aqueous, Moe. and Soulive were born on these blocks.

 

But the venues and lineage are only part of the sound. The rest lies in the region’s ongoing need for that beat, and how it reverberates from musician to resident across all corners of Western New York.

 

Tireless local artists. Visiting Canadian quartets. Hip-hop poets and purveyors of glittering synth pop. Their rhythms roll through venues small and large, suburban or city. In the winter, it echoes between frost-covered windows of neighborhood taverns and intimate enclaves. In the summer, it moves into every park, headlines every waterfront festival, and entertains thousands, seven nights a week.

 

Finding Buffalo’s Nightlife

 

Regardless of season, it’s always a working-class communal experience, shared by locals who’ve lived it, and visitors who want to check the pulse of this city. And with every song or sold-out show, that vibrancy is here—and it’s the sound of Buffalo.

 

With many watering holes waiting until 4 a.m. for last call, you could say Buffalo knows a thing or two about nightlife. From old-school taverns and hopping bars to craft beers, casinos and live music, the Nickel City parties from dusk to near dawn.

 

You’ll find nightspots all over town, from Allen Street, Elmwood Avenue, University Heights and Hertel Avenue  to the Chippewa Entertainment District in the heart of downtown. Chow down on innovative food at Local Kitchen & Bar and SoHo, soak in the city on Skybar’s rooftop terrace and dance the night away at 67 West. The drop-down menus on the listings below will help you hone in on the nightlife and locations that fit your mood. Spend and evening in some of Buffalo’s classic taverns. Or fellas: plan a guy’s night out with these suggestions!

 

Ready to hear it? Scroll down to see our list of venues, or explore our events calendar for upcoming music events.

buffalo-is-alive-with-music-poster

Play

Iron Works 07-scaled

A Music Lover’s Guide to Buffalo

Buffalo rocks and you can, too!

Read More

hqdefault (6)

Pausa Art House

The perfect place for your next night out.

Play

Listen Local. Drink Local.

The abundance of opportunities to combine live music and craft beer for an enhanced experience within Buffalo’s footprint makes WNY a first-class region for live entertainment. This series is presented by 42 North Brewing Company.

Unexpected BUFFALO’S PLAYLIST

Featured Event

First Fridays at the AKG

09/01 – 12/06

Buffalo AKG Art Museum

M&T First Fridays at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum are set to begin again on September 1st, from 10 am…

Details

Blue Monday

08/30 – 12/15

Tacoma Performing Arts Center

Free

Chicago Jack and the Heptones play with weekly Special Guests. Join us in the Grand Room in the lower level…

Details

Monday Music and Meals Happy Hour

02/12 – 03/25

Buffalo River Fest Park – Buffalo River Lodge

Buffalo River Lodge invites you to join us for Monday Music & Meals Happy Hour, a delightful evening of entertainment…

Details

Excision: Nexus Tour – 2 nights

03/19 – 03/20

Buffalo RiverWorks

Excision: Buffalo New York: Feat 2 nights of bass music, a monstrous K2 sound system, visual panorama, world class laser…

Details

Jake Xerxes Fussell

03/19

Babeville

Jake Xerxes Fussell is a singer and guitarist based in Durham, NC. He is, according to Ann Powers of NPR,…

Details

Brit Floyd PULSE Tour 2024

03/20

Kleinhans Music Hall

Brit Floyd returns to the stage in 2024 with P·U·L·S·E, their biggest and most spectacular production to date, a celebration…

Details

Nickel Creek

03/23

Center for the Arts

Nickel Creek is mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins. Together a sum of more than their staggering…

Details

STYX

03/23

$55

A leading force in Rock music for decades, this band has brought us mega-hits like “Come Sail Away,” “Too Much…

Details

Saturday Mimosas and Minuets

02/24 – 04/27

duende at Silo City

FEBRUARY 24 – Hey Nonny Nonnys of the Royal ConsortA baroque ensemble comprised of Sarah Cole (baroque violin), David Abbott…

Details

Schubert and Wagner

03/23 – 03/24

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra

Copland’s popular Billy the Kid Suite complements Schubert’s sublime and familiar “Unfinished” Symphony No. 8. and Wagner’s glorious operatic prelude…

Details

World’s Largest 90’s Party – 4th Annual

03/23

Town Ballroom

$15-$35

The World’s Largest 90s Party presented by the awarding-winning band Mayday Buffalo.  Dress up in 90s attire or as a…

Details

Samantha Fish – The Bulletproof Tour 2024

03/24

Babeville

Blues rocker Samantha Fish is best known for her blazing electric guitar fretwork, though her secret weapon is astute, nuanced…

Details

Art Meets Jazz

01/24 – 04/24

Beebe’s at the Gallery

$30

Treat yourself to a uniquely captivating art gallery encounter, complemented by the entertaining sounds of live jazz music.Enjoy an evening…

Details

Jazz Meets Gospel Concert

03/29

Babeville – Asbury Hall

Please join The Colored Musicians Club as we celebrate Women’s History Month with a JAZZ MEETS GOSPEL CONCERT.March 29th at…

Details

Too Many Zooz

03/30

Babeville

Self-described “Brass House” trio Too Many Zooz make manically kinetic instrumental music that combines avant-garde jazz, EDM, punk rock, and sundry other…

Details

Dyngus Day Celebration

04/01

Sto Lat Bar

$15

Everyone is Polish on Dyngus Day! Here’s what we have going on: – Sto Lat Bar will be serving a…

Details

First Monday Jazz Jam

02/05 – 12/02

The Gypsy Parlor

Monthly on every first Monday, join Becky Davis for our monthly jazz jam. Bring your instruments or vocals and jam…

Details

Jeff Rosenstock w/ Sidney Gish, Gladie

04/02

Babeville

$25 advance

Tenuously beloved punk and EMMY-nominated Craig of the Creek songwriter Jeff Rosenstock is back today with “LIKED U BETTER,” his…

Details

National Geographic Speaker Series: Life on Thin Ice with Kiliii Yuyan

04/02

Kleinhans Music Hall

Award-winning photographer and National Geographic Explorer Kiliii Yüyan captures the human experience in some of the world’s harshest environments. Through…

Details

Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn

04/03

Babeville

$59

With one eye on using the banjo to showcase America’s rich heritage and the other pulling the noble instrument from…

Details

Always Loretta: The Ultimate Loretta Lynn Tribute Show

04/05 – 04/06

Tickets start at $45

The perfect tribute to the music of the Coalminer’s Daughter! Kentucky native Emily Portman teams up with The Coalminers, Loretta…

Details

Beyond the Planets

04/05 – 04/06

Kleinhans Music Hall

The highly anticipated total solar eclipse on Buffalo’s horizon illuminates the program selection of two contemporary composers to complement Holst’s…

Details

Kane Brown

04/06

KeyBank Center

This tour comes on the heels of Brown receiving the ACM Honors International Award honor for his contributions to the…

Details

Pavlo

04/07

Babeville

$40

Pavlo, a true World Music Artist returns from filming his 4th PBS TV Concert Special & Live in Santorini, Greece.…

Details
1 2 5