What’s Good – August 24-30, 2023
Our weekly guide to what’s going on around Buffalo and in the world of pop culture.
Thursday, 8/24
Beau Fleuve Music & Arts Festival (Buffalo Central Terminal, 495 Paderewski Dr, Thu-Sun 2-9pm, $20/day, $10 age 5-17, $75 weekend pass)
Wrap up the summer with this 4-day music and arts festival, with numerous exhibiting artists, activities for kids, and a huge lineup of music including Super American, Mannie Fresh, Che Noir, Matt Wilson, Farrow, DJ Ted Smooth, and many more. More info at beaufleuvemusicarts.com.
Ship ‘n Shore (Buffalo Naval Park, One Naval Park Cove, 5:30-8:30pm, $75 adv/$80 door)
Buffalo Naval & Military Park’s annual fundraiser includes food, drink, and live music on the waterfront. Ticket proceeds (as well as raffles and a silent auction) help the Park maintain its ships, artifacts, and grounds.
Lady A (Shea’s Performing Arts Center, 646 Main St, 8pm, $70-$128)
The name “Lady Antebellum” was deemed problematic, but “Lady A” is problematically generic. Her music, however, is unchanged, and she visits Shea’s on her Request Line Tour.
Colt Ford (Rec Room, 79 W Chippewa St, 7pm, $35)
Ford isn’t the only person to combine country music and rap, but he is the only former professional golfer to do so. His wild ride includes the 2008 hit “Dirt Road Anthem,” and a stop at Rec Room.
ABTrio (AKG Art Museum, 1285 Elmwood Ave, 5:30-7:30pm, FREE)
Adam Bronstein was named Best Jazz Guitarist in last year’s Jazz Buffalo Readers Poll, and brings his trio to the Albright-Knox for their Thursday night concert series.
Thomas Marinaro Quartet (Thin Man Brewery, 166 Chandler St, 6-8:30pm, FREE)
The Thomas Marinaro Quartet play a wide range of jazz styles, and are the latest act to perform at the Jazz at Chandlerville series.
Hooley (Buffalo Irish Center, 245 Abbott Rd, 5-9:30pm, FREE)
See Hooley perform as part of Thursdays Under the Tent, with a full menu and beer trailer. Bring your own lawn chairs!
Food Truck Thursdays (Northland Workforce Training Center, 683 Northland Ave, 5-7pm, FREE)
Every Thursday in August, a wide array of food trucks convene, alongside craft vendors, live music, bounce houses, and more family-friendly fun.
Who Is Erin Carter? (Netflix)
A British teacher living abroad in Spain is caught up in a supermarket robbery, and her life begins to unravel after one of the robbers recognizes her, in a series that seems to be an update of A History of Violence.
Friday, 8/25
Jimmy Eat World w/Manchester Orchestra (Outer Harbor, 825 Fuhrmann Blvd, 5-10pm, $24)
To kick off The Amplified Echoes Tour, these two bands released singles covering each other’s songs. Together, they’ll wrap up the Outer Harbor Concert Series.
14th Annual Egyptian Festival (St. Mary & Moses Coptic Orthodox Church, 350 Wheatfield St, N. Tonawanda, Fri 3-9pm, Sat 11am-9pm, Sun noon-8pm, FREE)
Celebrate Egyptian culture with homemade food, traditional gifts from Egypt, raffles, kids activities, and more.
Twilight at the Museum (Buffalo Museum of Science, 1020 Humboldt Pkwy, 8-11pm. $15)
The museum stays open late for all ages to access all four floors of the museum, hear talks from astronomers, and view celestial objects from the roof deck (weather permitting).
Brass Machine (Seneca One Tower, 1 Seneca St, 5-8pm. FREE)
This New Orleans-style brass band wraps up Jazz on the Plaz for the summer.
Mr. Bill (Mohawk Place, 47 E Mohawk St, 8:30pm. $25)
Mr. Bill is a prolific Australian electronic music producer, who’s worked with the likes of deadmau5, Dirt Monkey, and Virtual Riot.
Surfer Joe w/Exotico Paradiso, The Burkharts (Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St, 10pm. $10)
Surfer Joe carries on the tradition of 1960s California surf rock.
Live Band Karaoke (Rec Room, 79 W Chippewa St, 10pm-1am)
Sing the hits in front of a real band, with a different genre theme every week. Tonight: Top 40 pop.
Silo City Walking Tours (Buffalo Boat Tours, 44 Prime St, Fri/Sat/Sun 11am-1pm, $38)
This two-hour tour includes a boat ride down the Buffalo river to Silo City, then a walk through the silos, to see their inner workings, and learn how Buffalo was the largest grain port in the world for 100 years. Please arrive 30 minutes early.
Forest Lawn Children’s Walking Tour (Forest Lawn Cemetery, 1990 Main St, 11am, $10)
Naturalist Paul Fehringer leads a walk geared towards elementary and middle school-age kids, teaching about the animals that can be found in the cemetery and the region.
New Movies This Week
Gran Turismo (in wide release)
This isn’t an adaptation of the bestselling PlayStation game, it’s a biopic of Jann Mardenborough, a Welsh teenager (Archie Madekwe) who made the leap from Gran Turismo player to pro race car driver. (The real Mardenborough serves as Madekwe’s stunt double)
Golda (in wide release)
Dame Helen Mirren stars as Golda Meir, who served as Prime Minister of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.
Retribution (in wide release)
Liam Neeson once again brings his particular set of skills to bear to protect his kids.
Vacation Friends 2 (Hulu)
John Cena and Lil Rel Howery return in a sequel to 2021’s comedy about two couples whose wedding vacations are beset by disaster.
You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah (Netflix)
Adam Sandler has brought his entire family in on his Netflix deal, as his daughter Sunny stars in this adaptation of the 2005 YA novel, with her parents and younger sister in supporting roles (alongside Idina Manzel and Sarah Sherman).
Dream Girl 2 (Elmwood Center)
Karam (Ayushmann Khurrana) is struggling to keep up with his father’s numerous debts, and creates a new persona for himself to woo Pari (Ananya Panday) In Hindi w/English subtitles.
Gandeevadhari Arjuna (Elmwood Center)
Varun Tej and Sakshi Vaidya star in this stylish spy thriller. In Telugu w/English subtitles.
Mastaney (Elmwood Center)
Nadar Shah’s undefeated army is attacked by a Sikh rebellion in this historical epic set in 1739. In Punjabi w/English subtitles.
Jurassic Park (Elmwood Center, Transit Center, Walden Galleria)
Spielberg’s original dinosaur epic returns to the big screen for its 30th Anniversary.
The Little Mermaid Sing-Along (Elmwood Center, Transit Center, Walden Galleria)
A sing-along to the live-action remake of the Disney classic
Saturday 8/26
Muddy Buffalo Obstacle Course (Buffalo Ski Center, 7414 State Rd, Colden, Sat/Sun 7am-2pm, $70)
This five mile course through the Ski Center’s trails includes over 30 obstacles. Also includes a Mini Muddy course for kids 13 and under.
Urban Farm Day (All over town, 10am-3pm, FREE)
Get to know local growers all over Western New York, including a tour of an indoor mushroom farm; talks on farm labor justice and soil health; rabbit hutches, chicken coops, and beehives; and produce grown by farmers from seven African countries (and the U.S.). For participating farms, visit urbanfarmday.com.
South Buffalo Irish Festival (Cazenovia Park, 28 Cazenovia St, 11am-11pm, FREE)
Celebrate Irish culture with a day of live music, Irish dancing, food, and kid-friendly activities. Headlining the music is The Walker Roaders, a Celtic Punk act which includes members of The Pogues, Flogging Molly, and the Dropkick Murphys. The rest of the lineup includes Jackdaw, Barleyjuice, Crikwater, McCarthyizm, Johnny Hart and the Mess, John Dady, and Yellow Jack.
Elmwood Village Art Festival (Elmwood Village, Sat 11am-8pm, Sun 11am-7pm, FREE)
Two days of artist and performers on Elmwood Ave, including beer and food trucks, a hot dog eating contest, and live music at Bidwell Parkway.
Slow Animals (Neitzsche’s, 248 Allen St, 10pm, $5)
This Strokes cover band is made up of members of five other Buffalo bands.
The Bergholz German Band (Hofbrauhaus, 190 Scott St, 6-9pm, FREE)
This brass band has been keeping German traditional folk music alive since 1971. Originally formed by the descendants of Buffalo’s first wave of German settlers, the group now draw musicians from all over the region.
Sunday 8/27
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (The Richardson Hotel, 444 Forest Ave, 6pm, $41+)
Sunset Cinema presents the first Harry Potter movie, projected outdoors against the historic Richardson. Kid-friendly pre-show activities start at 6; the movie starts at 7.
Critic City (Stamps, 98 Main St, Tonawanda, 6:30pm, $10adv/$15 day of, 18+)
Cleveland’s Critic City headlines a night of hard rock, alongside The Missing Worker, Blithesome, and Combat Gala.
Monday 8/28
Back To School Ride (Houghton Park, 1675 Clinton St, 6:30-10pm, FREE)
This week’s Slow Roll group bike ride starts at Houghton Park. The route had not been announced as of press time, but every Slow Roll takes a tour of several Buffalo neighborhoods, and includes an afterparty with food, drink, and music.
Steve Earle (Asbury Hall, 341 Delaware Ave, 8pm, $40)
The legendary folk singer and storyteller brings a solo acoustic show to Babeville. Not to be missed.
Tom Roberts Trio (Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St, 6-8pm, FREE)
This week’s Slow Roll group bike ride starts at Trinidad Park, where the 33 meets the
Steve Hofstetter (Helium Comedy Club, 30 Mississippi St, 7:15pm, $32)
Hofstetter was one of the original writers for collegehumor.com, and has appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, White Boyz in the Hood, ESPN’s Quite Frankly, and hosts Laughs on Fox.
Tuesday 8/29
Born of Osiris w/Upon a Burning Body, Traitors (Rec Room, 79 W Chippewa St, 6pm, $22)
Metalcore band Born of Osiris leads a night of hard rock.
Food Truck Tuesdays (Larkin Square, 745 Seneca St, 5-8pm)
Dozens of food trucks from Buffalo and Rochester ply their wares, along with live music from Blaised & Confused.
Wednesday 8/30
Conversations: The Black Radical Tradition (Pratt Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt St, 6-9pm)
Black August Movie Night presents this 2021 documentary, that chronicles the African-American struggle for liberation, from the colonial era through Black Lives Matter. A discussion follows with Jalil Muntaqim, a former Black Panther and member of the Black Liberation Army, and author of We Are Our Own Liberators.
Matt Incontro Quartet (Nietzsche’s, 248 Allen St, 9pm, $5)
Incontro was awarded best soprano sax soloist at the 2020 Jack Rudin Jazz Championship.
Farrow & Friends (Larkin Square, 745 Seneca St, 5-8pm, FREE)
Farrow closes out the Live at Larkin summer concert series, which includes food, beer, and wine vendors.
Archer (10pm, FXX)
The spy spoof survived several coma-fantasy seasons to return to its original premise and return for a 14th season.