entertainment

The trio Something Else played Jackson Square yesterday evening as part of the summer concert series downtown. There's live music in Jackson Square each Friday at 7 p.m. through August.

The Batavia Ramble and Arts Fest is tomorrow in Downtown Batavia.

In the case of rain, performances will take place inside Center Street Smoke House.

Here's the lineups for both stages:

• 11 – 11:15 a.m. -- **Opening Ceremony**
• 11:15 – 11:45 a.m. --  Steve Kruppner
• 11:50 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. -- Kruppner Brothers
• 12:25 – 12:55 p.m. -- Mark Grover
• 1  – 1:30 p.m.  -- Ryan Consiglio
• 1:35 – 2:05 p.m. -- Dave Holnbeck
• 2:10 – 2:40 p.m. -- Kevin Moyles
• 2:45 – 3:15 p.m. -- Paul Almeter
• 3:20 – 3:50 p.m. -- Jim Luttrell
• 3:50 – 4:05 p.m.  --  * * * Memorial * * *
• 4:05 – 4:35 p.m. -- Red Creek
• 4:40 – 5:10 p.m.  -- Mitty & The followers
• 5:15 – 5:45 p.m. -- Rock Soulgers
• 5:50 – 6:20 p.m.  -- Bad Luck
• 6:25 – 6:55 p.m.  -- Audibull
• 7 – 7:30 p.m. -- Rhythm Collision
• 7:35 – 8:05 p.m.  -- Eagle Creek
• 8:10 – 8:40 p.m. -- Nichols Brothers Band
• 8:45 – 9:15 p.m. -- Open Jam

The Batavia Concert Band opened its 2017 season Wednesday evening in Centennial Park with John Bailey conducting.

The season continues with outdoor concerts at the park every Wednesday at 7 p.m. through Aug. 9.

The Ramble Music & Arts Festival will be held on July 1 this year on Center Street, with music, vendors and activities.

The Ramble is an annual reunion of musicians and artists that at one time or another, called Batavia or the nearby areas, their home. The event includes craft vendors, food vendors, a designated kid zone with rides and activities, and music.

This year, there will be 33 bands and performers at the Jackson Square and Center Street Stage.

Paul Draper III, the event coordinator, said there will be a larger, second stage to look forward to.

“There have also been major expansions for vendors this year,” Draper said. “There’s a duck pond and a dedicated kid zone. It is very family oriented.”

The performers include Audibull, Bad Luck, Batavia All Stars, Bluesway, Dave Holnbeck, Driven, Eagle Creek, Genesee Ted, Ghost Riders, Kevin Moyles, KoKo & The Moon Crickets, Kruppner Brothers, Loosely Tight, Mark Grover, Me & Red, Mitty & The followers, Nichols Brothers Band, Noah's Reign, Steve Kruppner, Paul Almeter, PD3 & Co., Red Creek, Rhythm Collision, Rich Lullo Band, Rock Soulgers, Ryan & Scott, Ryan Consiglio, Savage Cabbage, Sierra, Soul Craft, TONK!, Trolls, Unruly, and Zero.

Draper said they are still accepting vendors and sponsorship opportunities. If anyone is interested, contact thebataviaramble@gmail.com

For the first time since 2011, Marty Stuart was back at The Ridge tonight along with his band, The Superlatives.

The Superlatives are:

• Kenny Vaughan, lead guitar
• Chris Scruggs, bass
• Harry Stinson, drums

To kick off the third annual Battle of the Bands at the Smokin' Eagle BBQ and Brew in Le Roy last night, the owners and management presented a check for $2,600 to the Golisano Children's Hospital in honor the White Family.

The money was raised during last year's Battle of the Bands.

Trisha White, holding the check, credits Golisano's with saving the life of her daughter, Jamie, left, who was born at 25 1/2 weeks and weighed just one pound, seven ounces. Now 12 and doing well in middle school, she's holding a picture of herself at birth with her father's wedding band around her ankle.

"That's how tiny she was," Trisha said.

The Battle of the Bands runs all summer and into October with performances every Wednesday night at the Eagle. Last night, Invictra kicked off the series.

The Batavia High School Drama Club is staging a showcase concert featuring songs from the musical "Les Miserables" at 7 p.m., Thursday, at John Kennedy School on Vine Street. Free-will donations will be accepted at the door.

Dan Clor, a military veteran, and frontman for Los Angeles-based Weapon-X, took the stage this afternoon with D-ZL, the band he started his career with in 1997 when it played its first show at the Eagle Hotel in Le Roy. 

Clor and Weapon-X have been holding an annual music festival in Southern California for five years and this year, Clor brought it home, to Le Roy, and The Ridge Campground.

The American Warrior Concert, with more than 60 musical acts taking the stage, opened today and continues tomorrow (for tickets, click here).

The music starts at noon tomorrow, on two stages, with Weapon-X scheduled to play at 8:15 p.m.

The Red Osier Landmark Restaurant in Stafford is sponsoring the weekend of music.

Proceeds benefit the Warrior House, which supports wounded veterans.

Joey Belladonna and his band Chief Big Way play the Paddock Room at Batavia Downs tonight.

The lead singer with Anthrax, nominated five times for Grammy awards, Belladonna is playing in Batavia for the second time this year. The show is free and starts at 9 p.m.

Pictured with Belladonna are his friend Tom Mazurkiewicz and band members Dave Michelson and Joe Precourt.

GO ART! opened two shows at Seymore Place last night -- the member's show, with the theme, "Summer of Love," in honor of the 50th anniversary of the hippies' heyday --summer of 1967, and "The Dream of America."

"The Dream of America: Separation & Sacrifice in the Lives of North Country Latino Immigrants," is a display of the photography and writing of Lisa Catalfamo Flores. It originally was on display at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls. GO ART! is its first stop on a statewide tour. The show will be on display through July 7.

Amy Martin and Joe Kusmierczak star in the Batavia Player's production of "The Last Five Years," a musical written and composed by Jason Robert Brown and produced and directed by Kathy White, with performances this weekend at the Harvester 56 Theater.

Show times are 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m., Sunday.

The Elba Central School Drama Club performs a Broadway musical review they've dubbed "Spotlight" at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 13, in the school's auditorium.

Drama Club members past and present were invited to audition for the show, performing show tunes of their choosing so long as they numbers hadn't been part of a past or an upcoming show.

After the performance, audience members will be invited to participate in a mega game of musical chairs in the gym.

The Genesee Symphony Orchestra performs in Elba Central School at 4 p.m., Sunday, in its final concert of the season.

The program is called "Escaping Gravity: A Journey Through the Stars," and features "And God Created Great Whales," by Hovhaness, "Music from Apollo 13," arranged by John Moss and featuring the String Workshop, "Suite from Close Encounters of the Third Kind," by John Williams, and "The Planets," by Holst.

Musical Director S. Shade Zajac conducts.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $7 for students, $10 for seniors and families are $35. Tickets can be purchased online at GeneseeSymphony.com.

Photos are from Monday's rehearsal.

A new show opened at the Genesee Community College Roz Steiner Art Gallery yesterday featuring the work of students. The show, called Vision, runs through May 21.

Press release:

Genesee Community College’s Stuart Steiner Theatre will be transformed into the deep jungle, allowing audiences to follow three cheeky monkeys. Seeno, Hearno and Sayno journey toward wisdom as they swing through the trees without a care, learning to survive as humans encroach upon their idyllic world.

Three Wise Monkeys is presented by GCC’s Forum Players Children’s Theatre Ensemble and features one show only at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 28. Audiences of all ages will enjoy watching Seeno, Hearno and Sayno in their quest to find their lost baby monkey, Dono, and return him to his rightful place—all while eating bananas, of course!

Tickets are $8 for adults, and $5 for seniors (55+) and students (16+) and GCC faculty/ staff. GCC students with ID are $3, and GCC alumni with ID will receive a $2 discount on adult ticket. To reserve seats contact the GCC box office at boxoffice@genesee.edu or (585) 345-6814.

Cast and crew:

• Maryanne Arena, artistic supervising director, Le Roy
• Jessica Skehan, “Dono,” Holley
• Taylor Renee Wilson, narrator, Cheektowaga
• Mikayla Godleski, stage manager
• Benjamin Martis, "Sayno," Curacao
• Pedro Phellipe, "Seeno," Jundiai, Brazil
• Valentine Strange, costume designer, Alden 
• Becka Naber, dancer
• Xochitl Rosario, dancer
• Tillison Pease, sound designer, York
• Emily Carey, narrator
• Spencer Henley, "Hearno"/Tiger, Akron
• Kaylee Koch, lighting designer, Alexander
• Celeste Brownell, "Hearno"/Tiger, Batavia
• Brie Cummings, backstage/projections, Bath
• Gabriel Grey, backstage, Batavia
• Robert Reiss, director, Batavia
• Ed Hallborg, technical director
• Tara Pocock, choreographer
• Clare Francis, narrator, Alexander
• Kandice Green, backstage

Photos by Maureen Spindler.

The Marshall Tucker Band

Press release:

Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel has announced the lineup for this year’s Rockin’ the Downs concert series, and classic rock and country music fans will be very excited.

Kicking off the series on Sunday, June 4^th is country powerhouse Lonestar. Known for merging their country roots with strong melodies and rich vocals, Lonestar has sold over 10 million albums, and achieved 10 #1 country hits including "No News," "Come Crying to Me," and their crossover smash "Amazed," which was also #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band's awards include the 2001 CMA Vocal Group of the Year.

Next up, on Friday, June 23^rd, is Dennis DeYoung and the Music of Styx. DeYoung was the songwriter of the band Styx’s hits like "Come Sail Away," "Babe," "Mr. Roboto," "The Best of Times," " Don’t Let it End," "Show Me the Way," and "Lady."

On Friday, June 30^th, the money man, Eddie Money, will rock the house with his slew of massive hits that includes "Baby Hold On," "Two Tickets to Paradise," "Think I’m in Love," "Shakin’," "Take Me Home Tonight," and "I Wanna Go Back." Along with having sold more than 28 million records, Money’s songs have appeared in dozens of movies and television shows, and have recently been included in hit video games like Grand Theft Auto and Guitar Hero.

Founding member of Foreigner, Lou Gramm will be bringing down the house on Friday, July 7^th. A native of nearby Rochester, Gramm has brought his amazing voice to the rock scene for more than 40 years. Gramm performed vocals on such hits as "Hot Blooded," "Feels Like the First Time," "Cold as Ice," "Double Vision," "Dirty White Boy," "Head Games," and "Juke Box Hero." With Gramm at the helm, Foreigner's first eight singles cracked the Billboard Top 20, making them the first band since The Beatles to achieve this.

Southern rockers The Marshall Tucker Band bring their 40 years of hits to Batavia Downs on Friday, July 14^th. With hit singles like "Heard it in a Love Song," "Fire on the Mountain," "Can't You See," and "Take the Highway," The Marshall Tucker Band earned seven gold and three platinum albums while they were on the Capricorn Records label. During the '90s, the MTB scored four hit singles on Billboard's country chart and one on Billboard's gospel chart. Their music has also been featured on the soundtracks of movies such as "Smokey and the Bandit," "Blow," "The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper," "Shipwrecked," "Crank 2," "Don’t Mess with Zohan," "Stop Loss," "Swing Vote," "Taking Chance" and many others as well as many TV Shows.

On Friday, July 21^st, Lee Greenwood brings his chart-topping music to the Downs. His hit song, "God Bless the USA" has been voted the most recognizable patriotic song in America. Greenwood has won numerous industry awards including, Male Vocalist of the Year for the Academy of Country Music in 1983, two Male Vocalist of the Year awards from the Country Music Association, 1983 and 1984 and a Grammy for Top Male Vocal Performance in 1985 for “I.O.U.” With seven number-one songs and 25 charted singles, his hits include "It Turns Me Inside Out," "Ring on Her Finger Time on Her Hands," "She’s Lyin'," "I don’t Mind the Thorns if You’re the Rose," and "Dixie Road."

Tickets for all six concerts are available at www.BataviaConcerts.com and sales began at 10 a.m. today (April 21). Individual tickets to each concert are $10 for General Admission while VIP tickets are $25. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel at their “Made in America” store located in the lobby.

“We are very proud to offer our loyal patrons and the people of this region an amazing lineup of music legends that are sure to electrify Batavia Downs with their hits from today and yesterday,” said Ryan Hasenauer, director of Marketing at Batavia Downs Gaming. “The fact that we are able to keep General Admission ticket prices at just $10 ensures that local music fans aren’t priced out of seeing their favorite artists.”

Hotel room/ticket packages will be available for each concert. Each concert ticket is also redeemable once at Player’s Club in the three days following the concert for $10 Free Play to be used on one of Batavia Downs Gaming’s 800+ gaming machines. Additional information may be found at www.BataviaDownsGaming.com.

Le Roy Central Schools has been named one of the best communities in the nation for music education by the National Association of Music Merchants. It  was one of only 527 schools, or 4 percent of the eligible schools, in the United States to earn the award.

Le Roy High School Principal Tim McArdle said the award recognizes the efforts of teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have helped make music education an important part of students' lives. 

"This award represents our district's long-standing commitment to valuing what music education does for our students and the true pleasure it brings to our community," McArdle said. "We are so proud of all of our music students and staff that year in and year out produce high-level performances on our stages, in the pit, in competition, on the field, and in many places across the region. Our strong music program is one of the many aspects of our school that makes being an Oatkan Knight so special!"

Music students from Genesee and Wyoming counties will perform today at 2 p.m. at Pavilion High School in the second of two all-county music festival concerts.

The festival is organized by the Genesee-Wyoming Music Educators Association.

Today's show features the high school band, the junior high chorus and the elementary band.

Tickets are $4 each at the door.

These photos are from yesterday's rehearsal.