The Buffalodown, Vol. 2, Issue 27
Stories & Events for Social Connection
By Seamus Gallivan
- Just Buffalo just gets it
- Musings on Music: Sportsmen’s Tavern celebrating 40 years
- Featured Events: 20 this week, always encouraging submissions!
- Links to the Deep End: Ani & Miers, I-Post, The Hive, Ezra Klein
Welcome to the Buffalodown, thank you for your attention!
Shout out to the Just Buffalo Literary Center, now 50 years and thousands of events into their mission “to create and strengthen communities through the literary arts.”
While another season of their Silo City Reading Series will close with another sold-out gathering this Saturday, their upcoming season of the Babel international author series has overcome funding cuts from the Trump cult by successfully appealing to their grateful supporters for additional donations, enabling the show to go on with visits from four revered authors between October and April – full-season subscriptions are now available, including a deep discount rate for students.
Speaking of students – Just Buffalo offers a slew of student programs, including after-school creative writing, youth publications, in-school programming and field trips, along with a busy and inclusive events calendar that’s become a go-to for the weekly listing below.
And when one shows up to these events, they enjoy a warm welcome, caring community and thoughtful presentation – in short, when it comes to social connection, Just Buffalo just gets it.
Become a paying member to support social connection!
Musings on Music
Sportsmen’s Tavern to celebrate 40 years this Saturday
I’ll be relatively brief here about a long story – when I moved back to Buffalo (again) in 2009 with intent to bring people together for the greater good, my first move was to go to the Sportsmen’s Tavern in Black Rock and ask Dwane Hall for a chance to do so there. He expressed gratitude for how I’d put the place on the map by writing about so many shows of theirs in The Buffalo News, and returned the favor with a bonus offer – in addition to presenting events there, I could earn some sweat equity by rolling up my sleeves up alongside him and help with their first of many expansions since, from an 80-person squeeze of a dive bar into a three-stage complex spanning two streets that will be fully activated with a free event this Saturday in celebration of their 40th anniversary, complete with an array of bands who’ve helped build it all through music.
The full story of the Sportsmen’s stars humble Black Rock natives Dwane and his wife Denise along with their three sons Jason, James and Jeff, all pouring their whole selves into the place and the people who call it a second home – hundreds of regulars who love both live music and these humble people so committed to creating space for it. It’s a way of life there, and I’m so happy to be among so many who say it remains my favorite place to see live music.
For a longer story about the Sportsmen’s all the way back to when their building was built in 1890, check out Bob McLennan’s deep dive for The Buffalo Hive – and for a fun way to enjoy more concerts there, become a member of the Sportsmen’s Americana Music Foundation, which will bring you a monthly email including ticket giveaways to many venues collected by Bob.
While admission to the celebration this Saturday is free, they’re asking folks to reserve tickets through this link. As they used to say for the ticketed shows when the venue was tiny, snooze you lose – please don’t be that guy who shows up after it’s sold out and says, “I know Wayne!”
The Hall family – (L-R) James, Jeff, Dwane, Denise and Jason – photo by Peter Sloane
Become a paying member to help us present and promote more music!
Events in the Week Ahead
Thanks to all who’ve submitted their events! Welcoming submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.
Become a paying member to help us promote community events!
Links to the Deep End
Deeper dives into subjects that matter for social connection
So just what is a curated calendar, anyway? – article, The Buffalo Hive – “When we first launched The Buffalo Hive a little over a year ago, one of our goals was to create the area’s most substantial, most inclusive events calendar.
“But a funny thing happened along the way: We found writers to do our curated calendars, something that we didn’t even know existed when we launched.”
After 135 years of evolution, Sportsmen’s Tavern anchors Black Rock community – article, The Buffalo Hive – ““This is our home to share with people, and we treat you that way, and we expect the same coming back to us.”
Ani DiFranco talks about the importance of ‘showing up’ in these unprecedented times – podcast, Why Music Matters with Jeff Miers – “Today’s episode is a very meaningful one for me, because it features a musician, poet, activist, and independent music icon whose life’s work was an inspiration for the creation of this podcast.”
The coming duopoly at Channels 2 and 4 – article, Investigative Post – “The fate of WGRZ’s newscasts is uncertain in light of Nexstar’s purchase of its parent company. But if Indianapolis is any indication, the future could be bleak.”
Behind Trump and Vance Is This Man’s Movement – podcast, The Ezra Klein Show – “Vice President JD Vance gave a speech recently that deserved more attention than it got. Accepting an award at a right-wing think tank, he argued that there’s a fundamental brokenness in how we define who is an American. He explained that this is the root of many of our country’s problems: a national identity that has become too broad.”
Thank YOU for reading this far and being part of it all – extra thanks to everyone supporting this work with a membership at www.reconnecter.org!
Please share with friends to sign up for next week’s Buffalodown, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome!
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