Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It's time to turn up the Buffalo heat.
The summer concert season is fast-approaching and there are plenty of options for Western New Yorkers to fill up their week either listening to local talent on a weekday, or buying a ticket to see some artists coming to the new stage at Terminal B on Buffalo's Outer Harbor.
One local musician and journalist believes the Buffalo summer music scene appears to be on-track for a significant bounce back with the pandemic years in the rearview mirror.
"There's a ton of music series going on all summer long and I'm impressed," said Jeff Miers in an interview with WBEN. "We're still considered a secondary concert market, but you can find some amazing shows to see seven nights a week throughout the summer. I'm pretty excited about it."
Miers notes there's quite an impressive lineup coming to Artpark in Lewiston this year, such as The Flaming Lips and Cage the Elephant. In addition, there's always well-known artists coming Darien Lake in the summer, such as Kenny Chesney and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
You also can't miss a free concert on Thursday & Main, which pays tribute to the previous Thursdays in the Square venue. The Strictly Hip is a local tribute favorite coming next Thursday to the stage and Canadian rockers Lowest of the Low will take be there Aug. 1.
Despite some new bigger venues replacing the smaller ones, Miers does acknowledge that stadium concerts have fallen off a bit this year, with Luke Combs being the only artist coming to Highmark Stadium in 2024.
Compared to 2019, he says the music scene is about the same in Western New York, but there's other factors of the music scene that have pleasantly improved.
"The emphasis on local music has really improved," Miers noted. "I think more people are going out to see artists who are from and performing in Buffalo, so you have to factor that into the overall concert scene. And I think the health of that part of the scene has made up the kind of more gradual return of the major touring stuff. So I'd say we're about where we were but I'm encouraged that we're rapidly moving ahead from that."