Music
Your Favorite Music
From blues to rock, jazz to hip-hop and even country, Buffalo does it all, and though it can be hard to filter out the gold from the garbage, the people of the Queen City have narrowed it down to their top fives. With a wide variety of sounds and styles, you’ve probably caught some of these acts performing everywhere from the suburbs to Chippewa or the Sportsmen’s Tavern to Soundlab. The output is huge here, and this year is no different, with veterans like gypsy jazz group Babik and hard-edged blues-rockers like the Mick Hayes Band making the cut, and newcomers like hip-hop mixer DJ DStar and indie rockers Colors in the Air sticking out, too.
This is the soundtrack to our city. Peruse the list, check them out, and decide for yourself, but remember, these are local artists and they have souls, so please pay for their music!
—cory perla
Nominees listed in no particular order. Winners will be announced at the Artvoice Best of Buffalo Party, Monday, May 9, 6-9pm, at Town Ballroom.
Best Acoustic Act
Tom Stahl No Excuses Dee Adams The Leftovers Erin Sydney Welsh Best Blues Act Mark Winsick Mick Hayes Band Junkyard Dogs Todd Eberwine Band Jony James Band Best Classical Musician Roman Mekinulov Mir Ali Doreen Rao JoAnn Falletta Michael Ludwig Best DJ DJ Cutler Scott Down DJ Lil’ Joe DJ DStar Angelo Petrucci Best Country Act 90 West Stone Country Bareback Jack Skiffle Minstrels West of the Mark Best Hip Hop Act DJ Heat BloodThirsty Vegans Billy Drease Williams A. J. Jordan Supreme General Best Jazz Act Bobby Militello Babik Custode & Parisi Taylor Made Jazz Gruvology |
Best Original Music Act
BloodThirsty Vegans Whiskey Reverb Colors in the Air Christina Custode and Rerun The Albrights Best Rock Act Colors in the Air Hit ’n’ Run Free Henry Suckerpunch Breakaway Best Male Vocalist Jason Urbaniak Mark Valentino Joe Donohue Jim Candytree Lew Custode Best Female Vocalist Christina Custode Lana Herget, Black Widow Erin Sydney Welsh Kelly Wahl Katie Panfill, Stone Row Best Vocal Ensemble Vocalis Buffalo Choral Arts Society Buffalo Gay Men’s Choir Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus Harmonia Chamber Choir Best Open Mic Monday at Sportsmen’s Tavern Thursday at Merge Wednesday at Broadway Joe’s Monday at Nietzsche’s Monday at Allen Street Hardware Best Soundman Jesse Redjewski Joe Tall John Shatwell Kenny Maggs Scott Nichols |
AV Editor's Picks
Best One Man BandShapes Of States
Performing as a one-man band is not an easy task, especially if your main instrument is a drum kit and your genre of choice is IDM (Intelligent Dance Music). Just ask Geoffrey Peters, a.k.a. Shapes of States. When this guy takes the stage he simultaneously rocks complex break beats on his drum kit while syncing up a loop station and swelling synthesizer chords from his MicroKorg. One handed drumming? No problem for Peters, but I dare you to try it.
Retro-activeBlack Umbrella
One part the Smiths, one part Smashing Pumpkins, Black Umbrella take twee pop melodies and crush them together with whispery, harsh vocals to create a sound with roots in 1980s and 1990s rock. Check out their track “Peach Fuzz” and hit the repeat button.
Best Indie Rock BandLemuria
Even if your Best of Buffalo ballot didn’t reflect it, Buffalo has a thriving indie rock scene. One of the hidden gems of this scene is Lemuria, a band that has been working hard for the better part of the last decade, recently releasing a full-length record, Pebble, on Bridge Nine Records. Look for it at local record stores like Spiral Scratch.
Most MissedMark Freeland
This award will always go to Mark Freeland and Electroman. Freeland passed away in 2007 but we were graced with his brand of electro-rock for over 25 years beginning with his first band Pegasus. Now, every year around his birthday the music scene celebrates his life with Electrorespect, a tribute to Mark Freeland. Check it out at Nietzsche’s on April 30.
Best Alternative Rock ActFree Henry
Mixing rock ’n’ roll with jazz rhythms and a jam band vibe, Free Henry are the epitome of alt-rock in Buffalo. Their sound is straight-forward and guitar-driven, matched with poetic lyrics, which makes them a natural pick for one of Buffalo’s best. Now all they need is more cowbell.
Band Most Likely To Drink You Under The TableThe Fucking Hotlights
They’re loud and you can barely understand them while they’re tearing their shirts off on stage, but the Fucking Hotlights know rock-’n’-f-n’-roll. Naturally, with a deep knowledge of that comes a lot of booze. I would not like to be on the other end of a game of Liquid Hell against these guys.
Our City, Our People The Fine Arts Music Dining Out Shops & Services Nightlife & Drinking The 2011 Winners List |
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