Two years ago this past week Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed and undermined the levees that protected New Orleans, precipitating a human tragedy that continues today, day after day, for the displaced, the mourning and the individuals and agencies working to refabricate the city. This week Ani DiFranco and Righteous Babe Records present an ooportunity to be reminded of the scope of Katrina’s havoc, and to witness the efforts of those trying to rebuild and recoup. The Hurricane Katrina Campus Media Project is a touring multimedia art installation that includes a screening of the documentary film Falling Together in New Orleans, about grassroots volunteers and survivors who began recovery efforts immediately, without offical aid or sanction. The exhibit also includes 400 portraits shot by photographer Francisco Di Santis in the aftermath of the sorm, and the world premiere of Katrina Ballads, a video piece accompanying the musical work of the same name by composer Ted Hearne. The Hurricane Katrina Campus Media Project is the work of artist/filmmaker Farrah Hoffmire and her husband, Mitchell Davis, who will discuss the changing character of journalism after the screening. Visit organicprocess.com to learn more.

Still riding high on the critical acclaim of last year’s album THEERTHMOOVSAROUNDTHESUN (Good Charamel Records), Terry Sullivan never relents. After thirty years he continues to slog it away in the Queen City making whatever kind of music suits him. He’s renowned for his punk roots with the Jumpers and their all too small dossier of recordings, as well as the groundbreaking dark new wave band the Celibates and the unbridled bar rock of Terry & the Headhunters and the Dollywatchers. In recent years, his Low Lamp Sessions project has brought out his mellower—although never really mellow—side. With his Low Lamp crew that includes local luminaries like pianist extraordinaire (and fellow ex-Celibate) David Kane, drummer Greg Gizzi and bassist Dave Hill, Sullivan takes on the great American songbook crooning standards like an ersatz rock and roll, stacked-hair Sinatra. He also plays a clutch of originals and refigures surprising rock nuggets—buried gems from Dylan and the Faces, to name a couple—in his own markedly “Low Lamp” style. In recent news, based on a 30-minute set at North Carolina’s Camel City Showcase in June, Terry was booked on the spot to headline the Tobacco Road Music Series launching out of N.C. in November. But this weekend Sullivan will spread his magic around Buffalo over two nights in two very different kinds of venues. Friday, August 31 he will ably provide a soundtrack to fine dining and cocktails on the water at Shanghai Red’s and on Saturday, September 1 he’ll shift gears and be back to the kind of rock club where his craft has continued to grow over the years with a show at Mohawk Place.

People from Buffalo can eat—that’s for damn sure—and we’ve lots to show for it. The National Buffalo Wing Festival is this holiday weekend at Dunn Tire Park, a perfect opportunity to grace the field and dream of the perfect chicken wing. Choose from any of the 33 local and national restaurants that are participating in the event which has drawn over 250,000 people in its five-year existence, witnessed the consumption of over a million and a half wings (which works out to about 85 tons) and raised over $95,000 for local charities. “Wing King” Drew Cerza (let’s not forget his triumph at the chicken wing “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” some years ago, filmed at the Anchor Bar for the Food Network) has organized the weekend, featuring events such as the USA Chicken Wing Eating Championship Finals on Saturday (amateurs can compete on Sunday), the Blue Cheese Bowl Competition, Hot Sauce Recipe Contest, the Miss Buffalo Wing Contest, a Baby Wing Contest and kids activities in the Kid Zone with games and prizes galore. Live music will be provided by Terry Buchwald, Terry Sylvester, and Pirate Dreams on the field throughout the weekend. And for anyone left who can still move and breath at a normal pace, the .5K “Running of the Chickens” should put a little wind back in their sails. Or maybe take it out completely.

Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers (SK6ERS) will open for Detroit power-pop/1980 flavor of the year group the Romantics (“What I Like About You”) at next week’s Thursday at the Square. Perpetuating the waves generated by his latest release, Glassjaw Boxer (July, 2007), Kellogg is starting off on an even busier-than-usual tour schedule. Following Thursday’s gig, SK6ERS will go on to headline concerts across the country with a series of special guests including MoZilla, Tyrone Wells, the Alternate Routes and Toad the Wet Sprocket, a continuation of an increasingly dedicated effort to promote the band’s independently released albums. The Sixers themselves actually number only three (Keith “Kit” Carlson, Brian “Boots” Factor and Chris Soucy), an unchanging lineup with ever-changing musical responsibilities. Most often, Kellogg takes charge of acoustic guitar, harmonica, kazoo and lead vocals, Karlson plays electric bass, keyboards, keytar and accordion, Soucy plays electric guitar and bass and Factor works the drums. But this is all subject to change, as each musician is talented and versatile enough to take on a different part depending on the nuances and demands of any given song. With Glassjaw Boxer Kellogg has made his name along with the Sixers as a band to watch. Although he started off solo and has moonlighted and dabbled with more than a few collaborators and other bands, SK6ERS looks like a lasting match.