WBFO Arts & Culture Desk

Buffalo Game Space is a non-profit organization that is trying to get more people into tech through the lens of game development. This past weekend it held its 13th local game jam. It’s an event where game developers have 48 hours to conceive and bring a game into existence.

Songwriter and pianist Gabriel Kahane will be performing at the Burchfield Penny Art Center Friday at 7 p.m. His latest album, Book of Travelers, came to be as a result of the 2016 presidential election. Kahane traveled 8,980 miles around the U.S. talking to strangers hoping to better understand his country. He talked with WBFO’s Nick Lippa to discuss his experience and putting it on to an album.

Wednesday marks a National Day of Mourning in honor of the 41st President, George Herbert Walker Bush who died Friday at the age of 94. A Funeral Service will begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley takes us inside what is known as the "Morning Room" created in 1901 at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo.

Buffalo in the late 1800s was a city of enormous economic wealth and innovation. For about 18 months, it was also home to Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. It was here, as part-owner and editor of the Buffalo Express newspaper, that Twain transformed into the subversive rebel that would define his legacy as a great American author.

The Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus is, not only, aiming to usher in the holiday spirit, but they’re fostering a sense of social support for members within the LGBTQ community.

It is a Broadway smash hit Western New Yorkers have been anxiously waiting to arrive in Buffalo.  HAMILTON opens at Shea's Performing Arts Center Tuesday.  WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley asked two experts, Shea’s President Michael Murphy and Broadway Series Producer Albert Nocciolino about why this story of America's Founding Father is so popular.

Buffalo's theater scene is ever entertaining and constantly shifting. A number of theaters are closing and opening and renovating and looking ahead.

Harry Potter films would likely be a lot less exciting without a musical score. But what happens when that musical score accompanies the film live? Buffalo will find out this February.

It’s been over a year since the Freedom Wall was officially unveiled as complete to the public. In addition to becoming a nationally recognized work, the Albright-Knox Public Art Initiative project helped grow the Western New York Urban Arts Collective. The completion of the wall was one made by many voices, but it didn’t start out that way. WBFO’s Nick Lippa looks back on how everything came together and the lasting impact it’s had on the region.

Jaman Dunn is the new Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's assistant conductor and outreach coordinator. He wants to expand the BPO's reach into the Western New York community and spoke to WBFO's Nick Lippa about how it can be done.

Award-winning television writer and producer Tom Fontana returns to his hometown Saturday for the Downtown Jesuits Distinguished Speaker Series, beginning at 2 p.m. at St. Michael's Church in Buffalo. The Hollywood legend is widely credited with creating the gritty mix of humor and realism we see in modern, hour-long drama series. All this from the young man who worked at Freddie's Doughnuts while a student at Canisius High School. He also did not shy away from some non-Hollywood questions in an interview with WBFO's Marian Hetherly.

Within the Eastern Hills Mall in Williamsville, an art and design center aims to unite creative professionals from across the region. Expo68’s current series, ‘Spontaneous Combustion: Art Meets Jazz’, features live performances in collaboration with JazzBuffalo every Thursday night through the end of the month.

There's a brand new theater company in town with a unique mission.  WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says it's called Starring Buffalo and blends Broadway star power with education. 

Despite a small fire at the Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts Monday morning, renowned opera singer Julia Bullock held a master class and performed for students. The soprano has become well-known for her activism, but her commitment to work with younger musicians may have been the highlight of her recent time spent in Buffalo.

Several African-American women will be appearing Friday evening in a special performance on stage at the University at Buffalo's Lippes Concert Hall on the north campus in Amherst.  WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley talked with the author and producer Latricia Davis who created this original play called "This Is My Story".   

Shea's Performing Arts Center was all a buzz in the early morning hours Friday as the public lined up early to have a chance to purchase tickets for Hamilton, the Broadway smash-hit musical. WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley was at Shea's Friday morning as the first batch of buyers stepped up to the box office.  

As social injustices continue across the globe, SUNY Buffalo State marks its 10th year of The Anne Frank Project. WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says the event brings one of the most memorable stories of Jewish victims of the Holocaust to educate new generations of college students about genocide and racism.

Remember last summer when Western New York was all abuzz for a special film crew in town? Behind the camera for the first time was a "Chicktowaga" native. (Yes, he still pronounces it that way.) Veteran actor William Fichtner chose his hometown as the backdrop for his directorial debut, "Cold Brook."

There’s a new mural on Buffalo’s East Side at 1131 Broadway. It was unveiled to the public Tuesday as part of the Albright-Knox’s Public Art Initiative. While several of the artists brought in for the initiative have been from outside the region, this mural was painted by someone who grew up in the same neighborhood.

Students at Buffalo State College are spending the weekend bringing Iron Age technology to life.

Knox Farm State Park is hosting the first ever Borderland Music and Arts Festival this Saturday and Sunday. It’s something organizers hope becomes an every year staple in Western New York.

A new annual region-wide jazz initiative is starting next month. Buffalo area musicians and writers are coming together to put on a series of concerts celebrating and reflecting on the music of 1968.

There is a University at Buffalo connection to the Broadway tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; The New Musical opens Friday event at Shea's Performing Arts Center.  WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says the general manager of the tour is a UB alum.  

Seeing a loved one battle dementia can be a devastating experience. 92-year old veteran and former musician Richard Blas currently participates in a program called Music and Memory at the GreenFields Continuing Care Community in Buffalo. Listening to some of his musical favorites helps him connect with his family.

The festival that celebrates Buffalo's culinary claim to fame is underway. With thousands descending on Buffalo for this weekend's 17th annual Buffalo Wing Festival, WBFO News Director Dave Debo caught up with national food and travel writer Arthur Bovino.

Recording inside Goo Goo Dolls bassist Robby Takac’s Franklin Street studio would excite a lot of people, but especially a young child recording music there for the first time.

As fans and admirers recall Aretha Franklin upon her death at the age of 76, the attention is placing the spotlight on her Buffalo connections. She spent part of her youth here as her father served as pastor at Friendship Baptist Church. That period is at the heart of an appreciation penned by Buffalo News Music Critic Jeff Miers, who discussed how the singer possessed the "Buffalo Spell" with Toney Rhoades of Friendship Baptist. The term, Miers says, sums up the commitment and passion that is common throughout Buffalo's music scene.