Stories & Events for Social Connection

By Seamus Gallivan

• Congrats to WNY Kids on launching!
• Musings on Music – Pausa Art House in the spotlight
• Featured Events – 50+ this week again!
• Listening Links – Hat tip to Thomas O’Neil White
• Reading Rundown – local and national

    Welcome to the Buffalodown! Always welcoming submissions.

Happy Tuesday, y’all, thank you for clicking in! And welcome to our new subscribers – plenty below to click through, 50+ events again this week! Reaching that amount drew some great feedback from subscribers last week, got me thinking…

…to meet our goal of offering this more widely through our website, we need more seed funding for a proper launch – please support if you’re able and interested in a free and inclusive community events calendar! We’re almost there, thanks to those who’ve supported already! Between Reconnecter and The Buffalo Hive, we’re committed to this community service.

Relatedly, following up on one of the most-clicked links from last week – congrats to Tabitha Ryan for launching WNY Kids! The site is now live, with a purpose to “help families connect with the heart of Western New York by promoting events, activities, and resources that bring people closer together” – Tabi is an old friend and clearly a kindred spirit, hope folks here find family fun there as well.

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Musings on Music

“Hear Here,” Pausa Art House and the Jazz Scene

Preface – I have a quirk in curating the event listing below, in that I almost always only list those that include the date, time and place, which unfortunately excludes almost every show at one of my favorite music venues, Pausa Art House. Here’s to fixing that soon with a fuller website calendar!

And here’s to “Hear Here,” a collaboration between Buffalo Niagara Public Media and Visit Buffalo Niagara to spotlight the music scene in Western New York. Their eighth episode dropped this month featuring Pausa owner and loop-tastic violinist Lazara Martinez along with regular performer Alex McArthur and patron Kofi Fynn-Aikins, and rightfully so, the word they all kept using to describe the place was “intimate.” Between the small size of the room and the warm welcome offered by Lazara at every show including a warning that there will be shushing if needed, Pausa provides a vibe that live music is a sacred expression of art and community, which both comforts performers and compels patrons to be fully present.

Word to be wise – if you see a show you’d like to attend, get your tickets well in advance to assure a seat in the main room or at all – with a capacity of just 40 in the main room and some 60 overall, they often sell out.

Upcoming shows on my radar: veteran quartet The Upstate Connection this Friday; home from Chicago, upright bass dynamo Stephen Parisi Jr. with his quintet on November 1st; JT3 featuring keyboard genius Harry Graser on November 8th; and house favorite Alex McArthur on November 15th.

Tell Lazara I sent you – and tell her absolutely nothing while the music is playing…

…nice as that “Hear Here” video is, it left me wanting for an actual musical performance after a bit; as folks who’ve attended our Buffalodown events have witnessed, we keep the vibe lively with live music in between conversations – as does another new music program, Jazz Scene Buffalo.

“Inspired by retro jazz TV shows of the 50s and 60s, JAZZ SCENE BUFFALO is a collaboration among WBBZ TV 5, Buffalo Jazz Collective, Buffalo Jazz Composers, and Off Beat Productions.

“Recorded in black & white, the show’s residency in Off Beat Cinema’s fictitious “Hungry Ear” coffee house presents a genial retro aesthetic.”

Jazz Scene Buffalo’s fourth episode hits Sunday night also featuring Alex McArthur, tune in!

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Events in the Week Ahead

Thanks to all submitting their events! Welcoming event submissions with a flyer and link to seamus@reconnecter.org.

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Become a paying member to help us promote community events!

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Listening Links

Over the past week, longtime WBFO reporter Thomas O’Neil White gave an on-air farewell in departing to join the staff of State Assembly Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes; with gratitude for his years of hosting compelling conversations about our city on their show What’s Next, we look back at memorable episodes mentioned when he turned the tables for a sort of exit interview.  

An End of an Era – “For his final interview he sits with Jay Moran to discuss his time as host of What’s Next? his career as a black journalist, and his best moments from his time at WBFO.”

Reflection On Change: Progress, Challenges, Resilience, Reform & Joy | Mark Talley & India Walton – “…progress or lack thereof in two separate interviews with author and executive director of Agents of Advocacy Mark Talley and political activist India Walton.”

Reflection On Change: Progress, Challenges, Resilience, Reform & Joy | Jillian Hanesworth & Deidra EmEl – “…the resiliency that has been shown in the two years since the tragedy with former Poet Laureate Jillian Hanesworth and Executive Director of Western New York Peace Center Deidra EmEl.

Thoughts Prayers, and Action Now at the Federal Level – “Former Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield lost his mother Ruth in the shootings, and ever since has become an activist– even on the federal level.  He has developed a relationship with Vice President Kamala Harris who has visited with him twice, and earlier this month he was part of the White House ‘United We Stand’ summit.”

Reconnecting to Prevent Social Unrest – WBFO What’s Next – Leaving this link up for a while, as I’m honored to have been invited onto this profound program – this went real deep from the jump, please listen! Here’s how they described it: “Seamus Gallivan’s latest endeavor is Reconnecter, a ‘social connection space’ that aims to bring people together in person and online ‘by illuminating the ties that bind us.’ That means music showcases, variety shows, and media elements — all to help provide a need that he believes can help prevent social unrest. Gallivan sits down with Thomas O’Neil-White to speak about the power of reconnection and his plans for the new project.”

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Reading Rundown

With intent to connect, inform, and inspire action, every edition of the Buffalodown closes with links to other sources and stories that deserve more attention. Always welcoming links to read and share at seamus@reconnecter.org.

  “THIS IS A MOMENT OF TRUTH” – Challenger News – “Join the Fight for complete highway removal and the full restoration of Humboldt Parkway. “

NYCLU analysis finds Buffalo police are rarely reprimanded for wrongdoing – WBFO – “The analysis found that BPD does not keep a database of internal investigations and lacks a systematic tracking system for those investigations and complaints against officers.”

Alberto Cappas came back to Buffalo as determined to make change as when he left – The Buffalo News – “Raising the voices of underserved communities has been at the center of Cappas’ life since he first came here in 1968 to attend the University at Buffalo.”

Local voter guides: Find candidate information and resources in your community – NPR – “NPR member stations are gathering information for voters — from how to register down to races in local offices. They offer guides, resources and news reporting from communities across the country to help you be informed for this year’s election.”

Facing Numerous Federal Probes, Elon Musk Spends Millions to Help Elect Trump & Gut Gov’t Regulations – Democracy Now – “We speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Eric Lipton, whose new investigation at The New York Times looks at Musk’s multibillion-dollar contracts with the federal government and the many regulatory investigations his businesses are currently being subject to, both of which may be at stake with the results of the upcoming election.”

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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 Tuesday’s Buffalodown, and reach out with any feedback, all ideas welcome!