Post-punk veteran and Buffalo native Willie Nile keeps knocking out terrific albums, and his August 11 show at Artpark should be one of the summer's best.

Your guide to awesome free summer concerts by the dinosaurs of rock and soul

I can’t think of anything I’d rather do on a summer night than go to a live outdoor show, enjoy a few beers and some unhealthy meat product on a bun to the music of my youth. Over the years, Western New York has been a regular stop for lots of bands from the 1960s and 1970s (some with as many as two or three original members!) who perform for people like me who lost track of new music years ago. Even better, these shows tend to be free, which compensates for the outrageous beer prices. (The performers’ fees are paid by our tax dollars, of course, but we know there are far worse ways that money could be spent.)

That said, it seems like the warhorse bands are either packing it in or giving Western New York a pass this year. No Blue Oyster Cult? No Grass Roots? Not even a single Monkee? Maybe they’re getting pushed out of the way by younger bands who are joining this circuit—if Tears for Fears is playing a free Artpark show, how long can it be before Depeche Mode and the Cure follow?

Artpark remains the best spot for free summer shows, which have done so well in recent years that a Wednesday night series has been added to the usual Tuesday slot. Sure, it’s a drive, it costs you $10 to park, and it takes forever to get out of the parking lot after the show, but it’s usually worth it.

Some caveats and recommendations before we get to the full list of free outdoor summer shows (minus a few places that haven’t finalized their schedules yet, and what you guys waiting for anyway?):

• War (Artpark, June 15) features exactly one member—the keyboard player—of the band that had hits with “Why Can’t We Be Friends” and “The Cisco Kid.” The rest of the band lost control of the name and tours as the Lowrider Band.

• The Chris Squier playing at Canal Fest on July 23 is not the bass player from Yes. That’s Chris Squire.

• The Fabulous Thunderbirds (Thursday at the Square) is now original singer Kim Wilson and a new band, but if guitarist Jimmie Vaughan made the band for you, he’s at Artpark on June 22.

• Weekend (August 11, Gateway Harbor Park) played at my prom. I’m not saying how long ago that was, but they did a killer cover of Elton John’s “Love Lies Bleeding.”

• One of the biggest crowds ever at Artpark was for the Guess Who last year, even though it was a pale shadow of the Burton Cummings-Randy Bachman band that toured a few years back, with a front man who would be more at home in an 1980s hair band. They’re back on July 6, but you won’t see me there.

• The Allman Brothers aren’t playing here this year, but guitarist Derek Trucks (with wife Susan Tedeschi) visits Artpark July 13.

• The rhythm section is all that’s not original about Three Dog Night, which still features singers Danny Hutton and Buffalo native Cory Wells along with keyboard player Jimmy Greenspoon and guitarist Michael Alsup. The only possible reason you could have not to see them at the Molson Canal Concert Series on July 16 is because you miss Chuck Negron, he of the angelic tenor. The band swears they’re never letting him back in even though he kicked his legendary (even by rock standards) heroin habit, so he’ll be playing solo at the Erie County Fair on August 3.

• You can get your prog on with Kansas secure in the knowledge that the band has as many more-or-less original members (it’s a messy history) as any given incarnation of, say, Yes. Canal Fest, August 6.

• Creedence Clearwater Revisited is essentially Creedence Clearwater Revival minus John Fogerty. Artpark, July 20.

• Both Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith are back as Tears for Fears—so much easier to reform a band when there are basically only two of you. Canal Fest, August 13.

• Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” includes the line “The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb, Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell, Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Engelbert Humperdinck, or the Rare Earth.” I don’t know what ol’ Gil had against the band that gave us “I Just Want to Celebrate,” but they’ve been around in one form or another pretty much continuously since their early 1970s heyday. They’re at the Erie County Fairgrounds on July 13.

• If you can’t wait until October for Roger Waters, bide your time with one of two cover bands, the Machine (Artpark, August 31) or an outfit called the Buffalo Philharmonic (Niagara Falls Hard Rock, July 17).

• There are two English Beats, one that plays in England fronted by toaster Ranking Roger, the other led by singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling. Neither one has any other original members (and when is Fine Young Cannibals going to hit this circuit?), but here’s hoping Wakeling does justice to the band’s catalogue at the Niagara Falls Hard Rock on July 10.

• Hasn’t Terry Buchwald (Cheektowaga Concert Series, August 22) now been doing Elvis longer than Elvis did? Just wondering.

• All you need to know about the current edition of the Doobie Brothers (Artpark, August 10) is that it’s the original version of the band—no Michael McDonald!

• Foreigner (Artpark, August 17) is founding guitarist Mick Jones and an otherwise new band. (May as well just call it Spooky Tooth.) If you really miss singer Lou Gramm, he’s solo at the Hard Rock series in Niagara Falls on July 31.

• Post-punk veteran and Buffalo native Willie Nile keeps knocking out terrific albums, and his August 11 show at Artpark should be one of the summer’s best.

Free Concerts

Unless otherwise noted, all shows are free and open to the public. Please bear in mind that most of these venues support themselves with concession sales, so bringing in your own food and drink is frowned upon (and usually outright prohibited).