entertainment

Press release:

Let’s celebrate getting together again with in-person art events! The Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council (GO ART!)  is thrilled to announce this cycle of mini-grants for live performance. Covid-19 has been hardest on the performing arts and on live art of all kinds, and we’ve all been eager to restart. To this end GO ART! has been given the opportunity to distribute grant funds to arts organizations providing live, in-person events in Genesee and Orleans Counties in 2021-2022.  While funding priority will be given to Performing Arts organizations, all events with a live component will be considered. 

GO ART!  is inviting any non-profit organization, or group able to partner with a nonprofit organization, to apply for funding for projects to be completed by June 30, 2022, featuring a live component to be held in Genesee and/or Orleans Counties. A final report regarding the project will be required 30 days after project completion. Applications are due September 30, 2021, and there will be no exceptions or extensions. Further information and applications can be found at goart.org/grants 

The Statewide Community Regrants program is a regrant program made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature administered by the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council. 

Press release:

Six Flags Darien Lake, The Thrill Capital of New York, is excited to announce an all-NEW Holiday tradition, the Magic of Lights drive-through experience. The theme park will be all decked out and shining bright this holiday season from November 18 through January 2, 2022. This 1.25-mile magical route winds guests through the park and campground from the comfort and warmth of their own cars. and will be overflowing with spectacular lighting displays that bring favorite holiday themes and characters to life.

“We are delighted to be extending our calendar into this magical time of year with this truly unique event. This new drive-through experience is sure to delight guests of all ages and help create fond, new memories for families and friends. We look forward to Magic of Lights becoming a holiday tradition at our park for years to come,” said Six Flags Darien Lake President Mark Kane.                                                 

Magic of Lights will run daily from November 18 through January 2, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (Closed November 25, December 24 & 25)

The drive-through experience is FREE to all current Members and Season Pass holders. Season Passes for the 2022 season are now available and includes admission to this holiday event. Magic of Lights event tickets will be available to purchase this fall. More information can be found at sixflags.com/darienlake.

Submitted photos.

Music, music, and more music, along with food and refreshments (some of the adult kind), are in store for those who make their way to the Village of Elba and its charming central park on Sunday.

The fun sets off at noon with Elba's own Front Porch Pickers plucking out old favorites.

Then the Simon Fletcher Trio takes the stage, starting at 1:30.  Simon Fletcher is a substitute teacher at Elba Central School and the trio plays jazz and bebop.

At 3 p.m., the Old Hippies, featuring Bill and Kay McDonald, will stroll down memory lane with Vinny Pastore along with Liam and Emma Raines on guitar, violin, banjo, and vocals.  There might even be a surprise artist or two joining the Old Hippies.

There will be food and drink vendors such as Lori's Delectable Edibles, Center Street Smokehouse, Los Compadres (besides tacos, margaritas!), and Pub Coffee Hub. Cirlcle B Winery and Eli Fish Brewing Company are bringing the wine and beer. For dessert: Lori's Delectable Edibles and Ice Cream and Chill. 

"In all, this is going to be more music, food and fun than should be legal in NYS!!," said co-organizer Pauli Miano.

Keep in mind, the Village Park is a no-alcohol park.  You can't bring in your own adult beverages but can consume what is available from licensed vendors.  

These concerts are made possible with funds from the Decentralization Program, a re-grant program of the NYS Council on the Arts with the support of the NYS Legislature and administered by GO ART.

VIDEO: A Elba Village Park picnic earlier this summer.

Rockin' The Downs: Pink Floyd tribute band The Machine plays "Welcome to the Machine"  at Batavia Downs

The Batavia Concert Band and its patrons finished the 2020 season with its seventh straight perfect Wednesday evening in Cential Park and presented some of its supporters and musicians with awards.

The Batavia Rotary Club was honored with the band's annual Friend of the Band Award and Dr. Marlin Salmon accepted the award on behalf of the club.

The band also present a donation to Rev. Ivan R. Trujill, Resurrection Parrish, for allowing the band to practice at the church for the past seven weeks.

Scholarships were presented to 

• Katie Dessert (flute), receiving the Conductor's Choice Award. She starting her senior year at SUNY Fredonia studying Music Education with a concentration in Voice and General Music.  
• Lydia Geiger, currently majoring in Music Performance in Music Education (on flute) at SUNY Potsdam. 

Photos by Liz Bailey.

Batavia Downs summer concert series brought Slaughter last evening in a recent change from a couple weeks ago to replace Skid Row due to a cancellation. 

The heavy rock band has two original members since its inception, lead singer Mark Slaughter and Dana Strum bass guitar, backing vocals. The band played some of its greatest hits, "Fly to the Angels," "Up All Night" and "Spend My Life."

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

Glenn Adams shared these photos of yesterday's concert in Centennial Park by the Batavia Concert Band.

Batavia Downs Friday night summer concert series brought Steve Augeri (formerly of Journey) in town last evening.

Augeri and his band performed classics like “Open Arms,” “Stone in Love” and “Separate Ways” that highlighted some greatest hits in the '80s that are still played today.

Next Friday’s show features Molly Hatchet at Batavia Downs.

Photos by Steve Ognibene Photography.

Penny Whiskey kicked off this summer’s Friday Night Jackson Square concert series. The band features a mix of Celtic, folk, rock and bluegrass all rolled into a hilarious show. Members play a variety of instruments like banjo, bodhran, whistles, mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar and flute.

Penny Whiskey offers the best in music from both Ireland and Scotland along with homegrown bluegrass, folk and rock influences and that touch of crunchy electric guitar that gets you on your feet.

Executive Director for the Batavia BID, Beth Kemp said, “The Batavia Business Improvement District is so thrilled to be able to host Jackson Square Summer Concert Series this summer! It has been a tough last year for our businesses and community and we are happy to be providing events and opportunities for people to come together again in our Downtown!”

For a complete list of Friday night concerts in the square, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene Photography.

Jim Goff, an icon of the local music scene for decades, passed away this weekend, according to an announcement by his family on The Stumblin' Inn's Facebook page.

Goff and his brother Stephen "Stork" Goff owned and operated the famous bar and music venue for nearly four decades, until a fire destroyed the 150-year-old building in Elba in July 2018.

Stork passed away in March.

An obituary about Jim Goff is not yet available.

According to his family's statement, Goff succumbed to cancer.

It reads, in part, "The Goff family has suffered so much loss this year but this one is the hardest to swallow. My dad was so incredibly kind, caring, compassionate, and selfless. He supported so many local bands and charities, he brought together so many friends and families, creating unforgettable memories for all of us."

Photos: File photos from a 2018 benefit for the Goffs. 

The Rockin' The Downs concert series opened Friday evening with a performance by the Queen tribute band, Almost Queen.

Photos by Philip Casper.

Claudia Hoyser is a country music social media sensation whose career just keeps expanding.

Besides entertaining 354,000 followers on Facebook with weekly music videos along with 13,000 followers on YouTube, Hoyser has her own line of coffee being sold at Tops along with other retail outlets around the nation and now her name is on a new whiskey-coffee blend.

On June 25 she headlines a concert at The Ridge NY in Le Roy, which will also be a release party for her debut album (it's also her birthday).

The Rochester-based singer and songwriter said the endorsement deals for the coffee and whiskey are a one-thing-leads-to-another tale that involves fans loving her music and bringing her ideas.

"So the story of the coffee whiskey goes that we've been creating these videos every week and on Monday we put them out on Facebook, a classic country cover," she said. In the videos, we put a little vintage espresso pot in all of them. Coffee has always been one of my things. It's always been one of my manager's things. We never start the day without it at the studio. The videos went viral. We've had over 120 million views on the video series on my Facebook page."

At a show in Rochester, Hoyser could see her manager, Tony Gross, and the bar owner, Bucky Montrois, in the back of the room with their heads together like they were planning something. Hoyser said she was so curious about what they were scheming, it was hard to concentrate on the words of her songs. After the show, Montrois told her besides the bar, he owned a coffee business.

He asked if Hoyser would like her own brand of coffee.

"The next week he came out to the studio with beans from all over the world and we taste-tested different blends of different roasts," Hoyser said. "We came out with this for the country coffee, which I thought was going to be a short-lived product, you know, for the merch table. But it just went crazy and started shipping into 15 countries and selling Tops Markets took it in 120 Tops stores and a whole bunch of local retailers. Now it's on Amazon now and everything. So people just love the coffee."

That includes a couple of Hoyser's fans in Idaho who own a distillery. They suggested the whiskey-coffee blend.

Hoyser was at Mr. Wine and Liquor on Thursday to promote Hoyser Country Drunken Bean Classic Coffee Whiskey.  

"It has just taken off (since its release) four weeks ago," Hoyser said. "It's already in 125 retail locations and we've been out doing some sampling. These things are going really well. It's been fun."

For more about Claudia Hoyser, click here. For tickets to the concert at The Ridge, click here.

Hoyser at Mr. Wine and Liquor with Batavia resident Sally Bleier.

The video for Hoyser's first single off her new album, "Wicked."

As COVID-19 restrictions ease, more and more local venues are hiring, once again, musicians to perform live for patrons.

Thursday, the Sky Cats performed an outdoor show at Dave's Ice Cream.

VENUE OWNERS: If you are scheduling live music, send the time, date, location, and name of the music act to howard@thebatavian.com and we'll include the date on our calendar. If we get enough participation, we'll post upcoming shows on a weekly basis on Thursdays.

Gregory Hallock, executive director of GO ART!, reads poems by Annette Daniels Taylor for National Poetry Month.

Batavia resident Dan Crofts reading "The Dark Night" by John of the Cross for National Poetry Month.

S. Shade Zajac, conductor and musical director for the Genesee Symphony Orchestra, reading "Power" by Jim Morrison for National Poetry Month.

Batavia High School's Production Club presents the musical comedy "Sister Act" this Saturday, April 17, in both a limited in-performance and an on-demand video, which will be available April 24.

For this Saturday's live performance, each member of the production is allowed to distribute only two tickets due to COVID-19 restrictions. The performance will be recorded and available for a limited time starting a week from tomorrow.

The stage production is based on the 1992 movie with original music by Tony- and eight-time Oscar winner, Alan Menken. The musical was nominated for five Tony Awards.

To purchase tickets for the recorded performance, click here.

Photos by Howard Owens, except full cast photo at bottom, by Steve Ognibene.

Jilian Helwig won a large, wine-filled gift basket in a drawing yesterday in a drawing at The YNGodess Shop as a fundraiser for Batavia Players, which is moving its theater on Harvester Avenue to a Main Street location in City Centre in Downtown Batavia.

YNGodess owner Chris Crocker drew the winning ticket.

The raffle raised $5,800 for Batavia Players.