This year marks the Golden Anniversary of The Legendary Dukes, a hit band that’s turning 50 years old. Originally from Geneva, NY, where they began as the trio Wilmer Alexander, Jr. & The Dukes, the band played bars and clubs all over the state including still-missed area haunts like The Inferno, The Glen Park Casino, and other long gone hot spots from Buffalo’s better days. The band’s biggest hit came in 1969 with “Give Me One More Chance,” which climbed up the Billboard charts. Radio stations still get requests for it to this day. Some members have come and gone over the years and the Dukes now call Rochester home, but the Buffalo connection remains strong and the band is tight as ever. The reunion/anniversary show is at the Hearthstone Manor (on Dick Rd. in Depew) on Friday (April 13) at 8pm

Sweatin’ Like Nixon makes a rare appearance at Desiderio’s on Broadway this Friday the 13th, where they will play a full three hour show their first time at the venue. The band has toured extensively, opening for acts such as Dicky Betts, Rusted Root, Billy Sheehan, Spin Doctors, Soulive, and Ike Willis (of Frank Zappa’s band). Now poised for the release of their fourth CD, Sweatin’ Like Nixon is ready to bring it home —or close to home— when they play Desiderio’s (located on Broadway in Lancaster) for a show that starts at 10:30pm

After growing up in Geneva, NY, the Gym Class Heroes are scaling the ranks of alternative music with a hip-hop style that doesn’t forego the use of live instruments. Signed to Decaydence/Fueled by Ramen (also home to Panic! at the Disco), the band released the album As Cruel As Schoolchildren last summer to rave reviews and national attention. The hit song “Cupid’s Chokehold,” which features Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, is still in heavy rotation and the group’s popularity shows no sign of easing up. Recent appearances on Late Night with Conan O’Brian and Jimmy Kimmel Live should boost their national profile, too. Gym Class Heroes plays a show at Evolution on Friday (April 13) at 8pm, with support from This Providence and Young Love

Arlington, TX’s Jana Hunter played in hippie collectives and moved all over the country before finding her voice as a solo performer. Often associated with the “freak folk” scene, Hunter’s lyrics reflect a more dark and somber, albeit beautiful, terrain, her voice fragile yet worn. A chance opening slot for modern folk icon Devendra Banhart led to a split record with him as well as her signing to his newly christened record label Gnomonsong. Her debut full length, Blank Unstaring Heirs Of Doom, won vast critical acclaim for its deeply personal yet surreal view of the world, while her recently released second album There’s No Home is a sparse meditation filled with free form song structure and haunting harmonies. She performs at Mohawk Place on Wednesday, (April 18) at 8pm with Rochester’s Auger, Cassi Meyerhoffer, and Amanda Amico