Chalkfest

Saturday & Sunday, August 3 & 4

The 500 Block Association presents the Alice In Wonderland-themed ChalkFest, for kids and adults alike, on Saturday (Aug 3) and Sunday (Aug 4). The festivities will be located between W. Huron and Mohawk along Main Street, offering sidewalk squares that can be reserved online, mountains of chalk with which to go wild, tea time with the Mad Hatter, storytime as told by the sidewalk drawings of local artists, and much more. Vendors will be set up along the block serving food as well as beer for enjoyment throughout. And kids (young and old), practice your jumping skills for the hopscotch tournaments and double-dutch challenges scheduled for both days! Attendees will have a chance to watch and learn from renowned artist, Michael Macaulay, who will be showing off his amazing 3D chalk drawings. Drawings aren’t the only art form to be featured. Everything from hat decorating and chalk making to live music and dancing will be present at ChalkFest. Local musicians include pop-country singer Olivia Francis, folk-blues duo Dan and Leanne, and a family-friendly performance from rapper Diamond Ricelli. Dancing acts will include break dancing from Solomon Dixon a.k.a. Solstace, contemporary jazz company ConvergeDance Buffalo, and hip-hop dance group Differential Flava Crew. Check out the ChalkFest website ChalkFestBuffalo.com or their Facebook page for more information on registration, workshop details, performance times, and more. Let your inner-child come out to play!

- jaz frazier

12pm to 6pm 500 block of Main Street. (860-1760 / chalkfestbuffalo.com) free

Thursday, August 1

Buddy Guy

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, six-time Grammy winner, and 28-time Blues Music Award winner are just a few highlights of Buddy Guy’s career. An inspiration to the likes of Hendrix, Clapton, and Paige, pioneer of Chicago blues, and a living link to every era of blues history are a few intangibles that may or may not show up on his resume. Buddy Guy could easily rest on his laurels or even hang up his hat with a career like that. There’s seemingly nothing more he can possibly do in the world of music. Do you think that would stop someone with this kind of track record though? The question answered itself as Buddy Guy turned 77 this past Tuesday, and on the same day released the two-disc album, Rhythm and Blues. Maybe we should’ve seen this coming though as this is the Guy who recorded a song back in 1968 called “I Can’t Quit the Blues.” It’s easy to see how his playing made a few legends pick up the instrument in the first place. Tonight (Aug 1), Buddy will play his first show since the album was released, at Artpark’s Mainstage Theater. Joining him as a guest will be 14-year-old prodigy, Quinn Sullivan. Opening the show is Robert Randolph and the Family Band, who also released a new album just a couple of weeks ago. The audience will be spoiled as both Guy and Randolph are true showmen and thoroughly incorporate the crowd into their performances. And while Robert Randolph is proudly listed as number 97 in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Guitarists, Buddy tops that, coming in at number 23. Calling this bill anything but extraordinary would be selling it short.

- jeremiah shea

7:30pm Artpark Mainstage, 450 South 4th St., Lewiston (754-4375 / artpark.net) $30 to $45

Thursday, August 1

Mallwalkers Record Release Show

Shimmy-shake punk band Mallwalkers make Buffalo proud with a sound that successfully weaves funk, Motown, jazz, pop, surf rock, and ska together. Does that seem a little busy? It most definitely is. Mallwalkers very tastefully wears their lo-fi style on their sleeve, from their telephone handset microphone voices to their shoddy VHS recorded music videos; but don’t let their thrift store approach fool you. Their company of instrumentalists jam on guitar, bass, drums, saxophones, trumpet, and here-and-there percussion. Their song, “Out of the Malls and Into the Streets” (from their album of the same name) plays to the effect of a Nightmare on Elm Street score, which lends to their overall theme: cult to the max. An artful approach evokes everything the 1960s beach scene had to offer, but in an alternate universe. With their newest album, Shake the Rust Off, the band offers the music video for the song “Future Shock,” which reveals Mallwalkers’ sense of humor with the telling of a secret ice cream man society that fights with their frozen treats. The hectic screeching of Jamie Rowitsch behind ringleader Dan Carosa’s steady drone—plus the mess of the two girls dressed in ice cream delight suits beating eachother to the ground—is an original sight for sore eyes. The release of Mallwalkers’ Shake the Rust Off will be celebrated at the Adam Mickiewicz Library & Dramatic Circle tonight (Aug 1). Playing that night will also be West-African-style marching band 12/8 Path Band, Albany punk band Kitty Little, and garage rock band Johns.

- jaz frazer

7pm Adam Mickiewicz Library & Dramatic Circle, 612 Fillmore Ave. $6, all ages

Friday, August 2

Radney Foster Acoustic Trio

For over 20 years singer-songwriter Radney Foster has been supplying ambitious contemporary country music to a dedicated fan base. In 1992 Foster released his debut album, Del Rio, TX 1959, essentially a love letter to his place of birth, which spawned Top 40 country chart hits like “Nobody Wins,” “Hammer and Nails,” and “Easier Said Than Done.” The tunes on Del Rio, TX 1959 effortlessly blended the sounds of bands like the Byrds, Ricky Nelson, and Roy Orbison into an airy country-pop style. Throughout the 1990s Foster continued to release fan pleasing records like Labor of Love and See What you Want To See. In 2009 he released his last original full-length record, Revival, which put him back on the Americana map. His latest effort is bringing him back to his roots, though. This year the 54-year-old guitarist and vocalist released Del Rio, TX Revisited: Unplugged & Lonesome, a purely acoustic reworking of his seminal record, one that Foster considers the best record he has ever made. “This time everyone was in the same room, with live takes with no fixes and no headphones,” says Steve Fishell, who produced the original Del Rio. The Radney Foster Acoustic Trio will perform live this Friday (Aug 2) at the Sportsmen’s Tavern. Guitarist Buck Quigley will provide an hour of original songs and wisecracks in a variety of styles, ranging from his early work with garage/surf outfit the Jacklords, through to the current mix of honky tonk swing and Hawaiian hillbilly noir he plays with Americana pioneers the Steam Donkeys.

- cory perla

8pm Sportsmen’s Tavern, 326 Amherst St. (874-7734 / sportsmenstavern.com) $35

Tuesday, August 6

Volto!

With the second coming of rock beasts Danny Carey (drummer of Tool), John Ziegler (shredding guitarist who has worked with Bubbatron), and Lance Morrison (bassist with artists Alanis Morissette and Don Henley on his resume), Volto! is born. Prog-rock, metal and jazz fans rejoice! This ultra-meshing of genres produces an all-out assault on any listener, rendering your brain a mushy mess of vertigo and disbelief. After 10 years of practice and perfection, Volto! have released their debut album Incitron. Within this release is the generous opening song “Grip It,” which begins with all of the elements of heavy metal and eases into a jazz-state. Within a single minute “Grip It” rounds out with some jamming bass lines from Morrison that hop around the wailing guitar of Ziegler, and Carey’s strategic tom-tapping rhythms that remind the listener of his epic contribution to Tool. Synthy keyboarding is heard throughout the work loaning an industrial as well as a somewhat galactic sound that sends the other instruments soaring. The highs and lows of Incitare’s mood are a refreshing feature, allowing the listener to catch their breath before being tumbled into a rouse of drum rolling and hard jamming. Those who like intricate metal and jazz will be delighted to hear the workings of Volto! live at the Waiting Room on Tuesday (Aug 6).

- jaz frazier

7pm The Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave (852-3900 / waitingroombuffalo.com) $23 to $27

Wednesday, August 7

Aidan Knight

Aidan Knight is not a household name yet, but the 25-year-old singer-songwriter and his band are on their way there. As namesake for his group, Knight might have boy-band looks but his music is far from vapid mainstream pop. Focusing on textures, layering, and sincere lyrics, Aidan Knight is like a younger Andrew Bird. Brilliant strings, humble acoustic guitar, and catchy vocal melodies dominate Aidan Knight’s latest record Small Reveal. Despite the modest title, Small Reveal will be more like a big discovery for fans that stumble upon this well crafted record. As a follow-up to their 2010 record Versicolour, which laid the band’s folk-pop foundation with songs like “Jasper,” Small Reveal—recorded in a rustic cabin in rural British Columbia—takes it to the next level with a more in-depth, cinematic sound complete with atmospheric strings and layered vocals. Songs like “You Will See The Good In Everyone” stand out with a focus on extended instrumentals lost on most mainstream folk records while “The Masters Call” keeps it minimal with gorgeous horns and simple vocal harmonies. Take this chance to check out Aidan Kinght for free at the Waiting Room this Wednesday (Aug 7).

- cory perla

8pm The Waiting Room, 334 Delaware Ave (852-3900 / waitingroombuffalo.com) free

Thursday, August 8

Halestrom

There has been a noticeable absence of new over-the-top rock bands in the mainstream for several years, but Halestrom helps to fill that void. Frontwoman Lzzy Hale (that’s not a typo, she’s actually Lzzy without an I) snarls and screams like Danzig on estrogen throughout the band’s two full-length albums, 2009’s Halestorm and 2012’s Strange Case Of..., bringing a refreshing new take to a scene known for previous decade burnouts like Chevelle and Shinedown. Her band isn’t all that bad either, providing driving, power rock guitar riffs and hammering drums to songs like “Love Bites (So Do I)” and “I Miss The Misery,” which you’ve probably heard repeatedly in television commercials since it was released in 2012. Lzzy Hale is the star here though and her high-heeled guitar playing and monstrous vocals steal the show. The band formed in 1998 and after a string of EPs, finally released a full-length record in 2009. After a stint on the 2011 Uproar Tour the band entered the studio with producer Howard Benson (3 Doors Down, Seether, Three Days Grace) to begin recording their follow-up the aforementioned Strange Case Of... The band’s obvious goal is to write massive arena rock anthems, so if that is your thing, check out Halestorm when they come to Canalside on Thursday (Aug 8) for a free concert as part of the Buffalo Place Thursday at Canalside series.

- liam pace

5pm Erie Canal Harbor Central Wharf (buffaloplace.com/thursday) free