WBFO Arts & Culture Desk

For the Pittsburgh-based funk-jazz group Afro Yaqui Music Collective, advocacy is at the core of who they are. Their new album, a jazz opera titled Mirror Butterfly: the Migrant Liberation Movement Suite, is about climate change and mass migration.

Ellen Horst is the stern Holocaust survivor, Grandma Kurntiz, admonishing her daughter Bella (Diane DiBernardo) and her two grandsons, played by Ayden Herreid and Timothy Whipple, who get some great Neil Simon gag lines in LOST IN YONKERS. Out of town, there's fun for all at both The Stratford Festival and The Shaw Festival when actors take on wildly contrasting roles in different plays in repertory, such as Stratford's OTHELLO and THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR on stage this summer.

The young Samuel Clemens grew up along one of the world’s great rivers, the Mississippi, and eventually became a pilot on the riverboats that carried the trade of a continent to the world. Better known today as Mark Twain, he is now an entry on the greatest of trade routes: the World Wide Web.

About seven years ago, 12-year-old blues guitarist Hayden Fogle took Buffalo by storm after playing on stage with Buddy Guy at a University at Buffalo concert. Now he is traveling around the world, playing various festivals and releasing a debut album in October. Fogle came to WBFO’s studios to play a few tunes and chat with Reporter Nick Lippa about his growth as a musician in Buffalo.

While there is no shortage of bars in Buffalo, some establishments are building reputations by specializing in high-end cocktails.

American troubadour Robert Earl Keen has made his way from Texas to play Babeville Tuesday night for a rare Buffalo show. A pioneer of the Red Dirt sound that incorporates country, rock, blues, bluegrass and beyond, Keen keeps exploring the musical meaning of "Americana" as he discussed with music journalist Seamus Gallivan.

There are two major construction projects in the works for Canalside. One harkens back to the birth of the Erie Canal and the other to the boat-building industry which turned Western New York's forests into the boats on the canal.

While it's only an hour from downtown Buffalo, the Wyoming County Fair in Pike, New York can make visitors feel like they are a long distance from modern-day life. From its historic fairgrounds to the free admission, the event focuses more on agriculture and community and less on commerce.

Broadway dimmed its fabled lights in honor of Harold "Hal" Prince who earned 21 Tony Awards in his career and was involved with so many iconic musicals starting with THE PAJAMA GAME and WEST SIDE STORY, FIDDLER, CABARET, and more, who passed away at the age of 91. And, while in NYC, Anthony took in two "hot tickets" - MOULIN ROUGE and FAIRVIEW. Locally, LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST continues to delight audiences in Delaware Park. 

The passing of Toni Morrison has prompted recollections from all around the world. In Buffalo, the Nobel Prize-winner is remembered for her appearance here in 2017 as part of Just Buffalo Literary Center's Babel Series. The center's Artistic Director Barbara Cole shared the stage with Morrison that night. According to Cole, Morrison appeared here 50 years to the day from the Buffalo visit of Martin Luther King, Jr. The historic significance, Cole says, added to a memorable evening for those attending Morrison's talk.

Based on advance ticket sales, visitors from 45 different states will make their way to Jamestown this week for  the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. For Journey Gunderson, Executive Director of the National Comedy Center, the numbers add to the Center's reputation as a driver of economic development. The festival, which begins today, features a number of events and several nationally-known comedians, including John Mulaney, Sebastian Maniscalco and Lewis Black.  

It's become a rite of summer along the Buffalo Riverfront: Torn Space Theater using Silo City for one of its massive, site-specific productions. This weekend they'll debut FEAST on the grounds which are home to the rusty and crumbling remains of a once-bustling grain storage operation. Unlike past productions at Silo City, FEAST will focus less on the industrial relics and more on the new ecology that has emerged.

The Erie County Fair begins Wednesday. In this week's Press Pass with WBFO's Mark Scott, Buffalo Spree Editor Elizabeth Licata says her favorite part of attending the fair is stopping by the livestock barns to see the animals.

If you haven't seen LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST at Shakespeare in Delaware Park, or FIRST DATE at MusicalFare, or MOMMIE QUEEREST at the Alleyway, then by all means, go, go, go. But, if you're interested in an August road trip, then you want a "destination" with lots to do such as The Chautauqua Institution, or The Stratford Festival (or the Shaw Festival) or Broadway!

Composer and pianist Murray Hidary is the creator of MindTravel, an abstract musical experience that focuses on connecting one another without words. He’s holding a SilentHike Saturday at Goat Island in Niagara Falls. WBFO’s Nick Lippa spoke with Hidary about his style of music and how it accompanies a SilentHike.

There are film projects aplenty ongoing in Western New York, from major studio films to TV series. The growing popularity of the area with film producers is generally regarded as positive and is helping to create and support jobs in film production and related services, with Western New York becoming a “go-to” cinematic location. But recently there has been some pushback by one locality, seemingly designed to discourage filmmaking within its borders. WBFO’s Pat Feldballe discusses the issue with Buffalo Niagara Film Commissioner Tim Clark on Press Pass.

Over the weekend, people wandered much of Buffalo unfolding and folding a giant map, looking for those large yellow signs saying "front yard," "side yard" and "back yard" and eventually winding up in some place offering cold liquids on what was a hot day.

Mark Twain’s history in the City of Buffalo is well-documented. From 1869 to 1871, he was an editor at the Buffalo Express newspaper and lived on Delaware Avenue. The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library has a room of his manuscripts and letters.

The Chautauqua Opera Company is gaga for the 18th century, wrapping up their opera trilogy  - BARBER OF SEVILLE and ¡FIGARO!(90210)  - on Saturday with THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLE, all based on plays by Beaumarchais. At the Bratton Theatre, they've updated Goldoni's ONE SERVANT, TWO MASTERS with ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS. And the discussion continues about theater specialites which are more in demand - the dramaturg and the dialect coach.

Where can you eat pierogi poutine and a loganberry funnel cake corn dog on the same day? The Erie County Fair, of course. This year’s fair is coming up on Aug. 7-18, and there will be plenty of options to vote for in the New Food Showdown.

The seven person rock, r&b and hip-hop influenced group 'Juice' is coming to Mohawk Place this weekend. Two members of the group, violinist and vocalist Christian Rose and guitarist Daniel Moss, spoke with WBFO's Nick Lippa about the groups diverse persona and identity as they continue to grow in popularity.

For 17 years, Video Games Live has bought the music of Zelda, Pokemon and other well-known games to sold-out symphonic stages across the world. The production will be playing with the BPO Saturday night at Kleinhans Music Hall. The show’s creator, video game composer and guitarist Tommy Tallarico, has been writing music for games for over 30 years. He spoke with WBFO’s Nick Lippa about his storied career, his family in Niagara Falls and VGL’s success.

Anthony is in NYC, but before he left, both he and Peter enjoyed FIRST DATE starring Marc Sacco and Marie Michelle Roberts at MusicalFare as well as MOMMIE QUEEREST, BUA's "summer camp" send up of the movie "Mommie Dearest." On Broadway, Anthony's seen WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (a quirky but successful play); AIN'T TOO PROUD (a jukebox musical about The Temptations); and ROLLING STONE (inspired by Arthur Miller's THE CRUCIBLE).

Buffalo and Western New York are hosting a delegation from Poland that has come to this region in search of strengthened ties and new business and cultural partnerships between their homeland and Polonia communities worldwide.