concerts

On a cooler rainy September Friday night, it didn’t stop anyone from dancing and grooving to T-Pain, who opened for Pitbull at Darien Lake Amphitheater. 

A sold-out 22,000 plus crowd packed the venue to greatest hits by both performers including a few dressed up Pitbull outfits.

A legend of British rock, Dire Straits has sold over 120 million albums worldwide. Dire Straits Legacy brought back its iconic music Friday evening at Batavia Downs, performed by musicians who recorded and toured with Dire Straits more than 30 years ago.

Alan Clark was Dire Straits’ first keyboardist, Phil Palmer and Danny Cummings both recorded "On Every Street," Mel Collins on singles "Love Over Gold" and "Twisting by the Pool," and Jack Sonni on the international bestseller "Brothers in Arms." All have performed live with Dire Straits on multiple global tours.

Other DSL members include bassist Trevor Horn (The Buggles, Yes), one of the world’s greatest record producers, Primiano Di Biase, Europe’s most in-demand and sought-after keyboardist, and last but not least, frontman Marco Caviglia who is widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on Mark Knopfler’s unique guitar-playing style.

Drawing from six platinum albums, DSL’s incredible live show features all of the classic Dire Straits hits, including "Money for Nothing," "Sultans of Swing," "Romeo and Juliet," "Walk of Life," "Brothers in Arms," "Tunnel of Love," and many more.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Hip Hop entertainer Pitbull took to the stage last evening in front of a sold-out crowd of 22,000-plus fans at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center.

The laser light LED show and smoke billowing up from the stage were in beat to the rap star's hits like, "Don't Stop the Party," "Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)," "Hotel Room Service," plus many more.

Iggy Azalea opened for Pitbull.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

Molly Hatchet, with decades of hits to choose from, played to a jam-packed crowd of over 6,000 on Friday evening at Batavia Downs Gaming.

In 2019 the band released a new digital single and lyric video for the track “Devil’s Canyon (live).” The track is taken from the band’s forthcoming live album “Battleground."

The Southern Rock combo was formed in 1971 and has gone through numerous lineup changes.  Lead singer John Galvin joined the band in 1984.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

United Way's third annual Summer Serenade featuring the Genesee Symphony Orchestra will be held from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19, at Mercy Grove.

The venue is at 7758 E. Main Road (Route 5) in Le Roy.

Tickets are $75 per person.

There will be hors d’oeuvres, grazing stations, beer, wine, soda and a cash bar is available.

The GSO Serenade portion of the event will be from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m.

Proceeds benefit the United Way Backpack Program and the GSO.

Theresa DeMars, an account manager with Lawley Insurance, chairs the event for United Way.

As in the previous two Summer Serenades, garden-party attire is appropriate.

Donald Woodward built the mansion at Mercy Grove in 1927. Currently, the facility and its beautiful grounds are available for special events, conferences and weddings. 

Summer Serenade tickets are available at Le Roy Country Club, Roxy's Music Store, from United Way or GSO board members, and online here.

International superstar band Chicago headlined last evening at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center.

Chicago, which started in the city of the same name in 1967, initially as Chicago Transit Authority, is one of the longest-running and most successful rock groups ever, and one of the world's best-selling groups of all time, with more than 100 million records sold.

Chicago started their set with "Make Me Smile."

REO Speedwagon -- fellow Illinoisans, out of the City of Champaign 135 miles south of "Chi-Town" -- opened the show with "Don't Let Him Go." (The group's biggest selling album was 1980's "Hi Infidelity," with four Top 10 hits and more than 10 million albums sold.)

The enthusiastic crowd was rockin' to classic songs and the bands jammed for hours. 

Next concert at Darien will be Jason Aldean this Friday at 7 p.m.

REO Speedwagon photos below

Press release:

Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced the lineup for their fall and winter tribute shows, with one concert each month featuring music from great artists.

The Paddock Room will play host to Abbamania – A tribute to Abba, based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  The cast looks and sounds like the famous Swedish rock group and will roll through all your favorites on Saturday, Sept. 8^th.

Saturday, Oct. 6^th is the date for American Graffiti starring Johnny Gems and the Red Hot Bananas. These artists have collectively been performing for 30 years.  The show brings back every major hit from every major artist, from 1955 to 1965.  You’ll hear hits by Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley and Bill Haley and the Comets! Into the 1960s with The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Four Seasons, Roy Orbison, Del Shannon and a highlight to Danny and the Juniors with “At the Hop” and “Rock and Roll is Here to Stay”!

Next up, on Saturday, Nov. 17^th, Batavia Downs welcomes Walk the Line – A Tribute to Johnny Cash.  With Gavan Rosseau playing the part of “The Man in Black” with a four-piece backing band, this tribute show showcases Rosseau’s ability to emulate the voice, look and mannerisms of the late singer. Songs performed include the Sun Record days all the way to those from the 1970s.

Blame it all on Their Roots –  Garth Brooks and Shania Twain Tribute takes the stage on Saturday, Dec. 15^th. This high energy show performs all this hits of the two country headliners whose records have sold more than 230 million albums worldwide.

Each concert will take place on a Saturday immediately following live racing. General admission tickets are $10 and are on sale now at www.BataviaConcerts.com for each show.

Each concert begins at 8:30 p.m. with doors at 8 p.m. Each ticket is redeemable on the gaming floor the day of the concert or the next day for $10 in Free Play. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel at their “Lucky Treasures” Gift Shop located in the lobby.

“We are looking forward to these indoor tribute shows,” said Henry Wojtaszek, CEO/president at Batavia Downs Gaming. “Building on the success of our summer concert series, we’re happy to keep General Admission ticket prices at a reasonable $10 to make sure everyone can enjoy these great tribute shows.”

About Batavia Downs/WROTB

Owned and operated by 15 Western New York counties and the cities of Rochester and Buffalo, Western Region Off-Track Betting Corporation is a public benefit corporation with headquarters in Batavia, NY. WROTB owns and operates 29 branches, as well as Batavia Downs Gaming, a standard bred racetrack and gaming facility. Since its inception, Western Region OTB has generated over $215 million in operating and surcharge revenues to the taxpayers of those participating municipalities.

Jam At The Ridge Presents: Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives on Friday, June 16th. Five-time Grammy winner Marty Stuart will Jam At The Ridge NY once again this year.

We welcome him back to Le Roy, NY, and are looking forward to a fantastic show featuring his legendary songs mixed with his new sounds.

A fish fry dinner is available starting at 3 p.m. when parking opens and the gates open at 4 p.m. with the show beginning at 4:15 p.m. See Marty Stuart, The Ghost Riders, and Lonesome Crow all in the same night for just $15 pre-sale. For more information or to purchase tickets, click here or visit us on facebook.

National recording artists and rock band ZZ Top performed last night, headlining three concerts in one week at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. They played many greatest hits off their 15-album career like "Legs," "Rough Boy," "Cheap Sunglasses," "Tush" and "La Grange."

Over 45-plus years of the band's success has also included TV and films early in 1990s as they appeared in the movies "Back to the Future Part III" and "Mother Goose Rock N Rhyme."  Very popular in the 1980s, they won three music video awards for "Legs," "Sharp Dressed Man" and "Rough Boy."

Earlier this month, Gregg Allman cancelled the remainder of his solo and U.S. tour with ZZ Top due to serious health issues, so Randy Bachman and his band opened for ZZ Top. 

The former lead guitarist of The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive from the 1960s and '70s played some classics like "No Sugar Tonight," "American Woman," "You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet" and "Takin’ Care of Business."

Also opening was Jonny Two Bags from Social Distortion who performed a 30-minute set.   

Tonight’s concert is pop / punk rock band Blink 182 and Friday’s performance is American bro-country duo Florida Georgia Line, both starting at 7 p.m.

Randy Bachman

American five-piece girl group Fifth Harmony performed last evening at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center with special guests JoJo and Victoria Monet. The five singers who all successfully auditioned as soloists on the second season of "The X Factor USA" in 2012 failed to progress individually in judging competition and decided to form a group together.

The band was formed one month following the second season of "The X Factor USA" and was named "Next Pop Superstar of 2013" by Popdust magazine.  They played hits like "Gonna Get Better," "All In My Head (Flex)," "Worth It" and "Work from Home."

Opening for them was Joanna Noëlle Blagden "JoJo" Levesque and Victoria Monet. Next concert is BRAD PAISLEY: LIFE AMPLIFIED TOUR, Aug. 19^th at 7:30 p.m.

JoJo: