Beginning the month of July, Tuesday evenings are going to be increasingly packed over at the east side of Bidwell Park as the Elmwood Village Association begins their Tuesday Night Concert Series.  The 15th annual installment of the series kicks off on Tuesday, July 3rd at 7:00pm with local soul legends the Shadows performing their always great Motown & Soul Revue.  Attendees are encouraging to bring food and (adult) beverages to the park to enjoy a night of music.  Strangely enough, a similar show, the Bidwell Indie 5000, was set to take place this summer, offering an afternoon and early evening full of local acts.  Alas, the city decided to pull the plug on Steak & Cake's attempt at year 2 of the great, community conscious indie music festival, citing illegal sale of beer and noise complaints from playing past their permit, both of which were not true.  You can of course read the whole story here.

Anways, the complete lineup/schedule for the 15th Annual Elmwood Village Concert Series can be viewed here.

My name is Brandon Schlia. Iʼm the President and Founder of Steak & Cake Records, a prolocal indie record label based in the Village of Elmwood. Last August the label held the first annual Bidwell Indie 5000 Music Festival. It was the perfect end to a summer that saw the beginnings of a resurgence in our music community. The little kids were dancing, the grandparents were laughing, the bands played great, and we all had an excellent time celebrating the artistry of our home town.


We had chosen that location in particular considering its proximity to our headquarters as well as its prominent visibility. Scheduling it in conjunction with the final day of the Elmwood Arts Festival also boosted the amount of random foot traffic, furthering our goal of providing maximum exposure for our well deserving local artists.


This year we got a head start on planning. Seeing that our event is funded wholly by donation, we were all very excited to make it bigger and better as a way to honor everyone whoʼs been so generous with their contributions. I submitted all the necessary paperwork and payment to the City of Buffalo on April 21st and breathed a sigh of relief knowing that weʼd have it all wrapped up early this year. On April 29th, we were notified that we had been denied access to Bidwell.


This decision was allegedly based on complaints from resident(s) that we were illegally selling alcohol and that weʼd breeched our permit time. However, both of these accusations are wholly untrue. We didnʼt sell anything at the event and we were done well in advance of our permitted time. If there was any merit to their claims you might assume thereʼd be some sort of police involvement. That day, one officer stopped by early on to check our paperwork, and that was that.


We were shocked. We requested a formal meeting with Andrew R. Raab, the Parks and Recreation Departmentʼs Deputy Commissioner. At the very least we sought to clear our name and restore an accurate representation of who we are, what we do, and why we do it. The response back was: “The decision from the committee is final – you cannot have your event at Bidwell Park this year.” We werenʼt even granted the chance to discuss the misinformation. We were all very disappointed in such a blatant lack of professionalism on the part of Mr. Raab and his department. If it were the case that the residents of the parkway were unanimously against the event, then weʼd be glad to respect their wishes and cease proceedings. However, it seems more than likely these complaints were lodged by a singular source with some strings to pull.  Unfortunately, weʼll never know the specifics due to their unwillingness to sit down together.


We're a community conscious organization. This winter we held a fundraiser for the Buffalo Public School's "Let the Band Play On Campaign" because we believe in investing in a good foundation for the future artists of Buffalo. We host our summer festival for one reason only, to provide a clear channel between our underground talent and the everyday citizen. It costs nothing to attend, there aren't any vendors competing for your dollars. It's all about the music and the city for us and it always will be; if only theyʼd allow us to do what we do best.


I want everyone who donated and supported us to know that we wanted to give you another Bidwell Indie 5000. We wanted it to be bigger and better than last year and it could have been but the powers that be have decided otherwise. We will continue to plan events but as of right now we haven't decided what's next. If you have any questions or suggestions please email us at steakandcakrecords@gmail.com.