Following the successful B.O.O.M. series and yearly Mardi Gras parties, Artvoice is venturing into a new night time event. Titled Night Shift, the local arts publication appears to be starting a monthly showcase series, touching on various genres, artists, and musicians. For the inaugural Night Shift, Artvoice is sticking to DJs, which after a few years of curating showcases myself for the blog, is certainly a nice and easy way to get your feet wet. On tonight's bill is a handful of Allentown staples, DJ Cutler, Rick Jameson (Spooky Business' Sean Heidinger), and Josh Yourmoms, all sure to keep the party going late into the night

What I like about Night Shift is that Artvoice didn't pigeonhole itself into one type of party. On any given occasion, Night Shift could host a collection of bands, DJs, artists, whatever. Maybe a mix of all of those. Tonight's festivities kicks off at Hardware at 11pm for $3 before midnight, $5 after.

It's a sad truth; the legends and innovators of hip hop are dying off or fading into obscurity. Whether it be literal death (Tupac, Biggie, Jam Master J), metaphorical death (Ultramagnetic MC's... although Keith is still killin' it) or a simple disappearing act (Big Daddy Kane), many of these artists have faded from the public eye, and it's a shame. These are the people who broke the mold and challenged what rap music could be. They ARE hip-hop.

And then there is Rakim. Ever present and always respected, Rakim has soldiered on, carving out a place for himself as one of the most gifted emcee's in history, albeit under the radar. He may not be the most recognizable face to the uninformed but those in the know KNOW. True hip hop fans KNOW Rakim.

Tonight, Rakim will be making a special appearance at Town Ballroom (doors at 8), along with Buffalo's own DJ Cutler and another guest. This show is WELL worth your $30. Hell, you'd probably pay that instantly to see someone corny like Drake, and he doesn't carry a tenth of the presence that Rakim carries. So yea, go to this show. Respect the legends and respect hip-hop.

Buffalo has been getting its fair share of good hip-hop lately and tonight is continuing in that trend. Blueprint, aka Printmatic, is an incredibly talented emcee and producer who's been around awhile now, touring and releasing critically acclaimed albums for buzz label, Rhymesayers Entertainment. The Columbus-based rapper will be at Duke's tonight ($8, 9pm), along Mad Dukez and Fresh Kils. This show's got my vote for hip-hop standout of the year. Be there to catch it.

Tonight the Blue Monk, Buffalo's premier European gastro-pub hosts Boss Holligan Soundsystem, featuring NYC's DJ Rico and hometown hero DJ Cutler. You really can't go wrong with the killer combination of the Blue Monk with their exquisitely curated draft beer list (Delirium Tremens and Pauwel Kwak are the Belgian beer nectars of the gods) and a stellar night of ska and Northern Soul. The DJ sets start at 10 PM, and you should go to there. 


DJ Cutler in action...

It's a trap goin' ham weekend here in the 716 as we prepare for Infringement to wrap up the festivities on Sunday night. Lots of cool stuff going down if you want to dance, in and out of the city limits. I am of course referring to the Bass Mountain music festival, which technically isn't in Buffalo, but is put together by the true crew. For a wrap-up of what to check out read below.
thursday 8/2
9p
$7/21+
DUKE'S BOHEMIAN GROVE BAR
253 allen st. Buffalo, NY
The hottest type of EDM on the block right now is the Trap stylings. The marriage of Hip-Hop beats with EDM to form the reinvention of Trap music has swept up everyone and everything that is cool. Some have even blamed me for this union, but that's simply not true. You can thank T.I.,Three6Mafia, Nas, and every Indie loving hipster who decided to morph those beats into their own. Well what does this have to do with Toronto artists KEYS N KRATES playing tonight at Duke's? Well not much other than that their doing a great job of picking up the trend with some of the releases on their Soundcloud page. But Keys and Krates are way more than that. Please don't allow me to pigeon hole these versatile artists who explore all over the map of Dance music styles and pride themselves on performing live. They often remix songs in real-time live. Definitely worth the $7 to check out these phenomenal talents. What's more? A LOW PRIME CUT SENSATION will be opening. That's CUTLER, LOPRO, OPTIMUS PRIME, and CAMACIAN SENSATION as a quartet DJ group mixing on 6 decks and 4 mixers. This party is primed to pop off. Check it out.
friday 8/3
8/3-8/5
$30-40/21+
CLOUD 9 CAMPGROUND
9547 stady road West Valley, NY
The days have finally arrived for those psyched to go to this intimate Bass centric music festival in West Valley at the C9C. Anticipation has been mounting since it was announced that DIESELBOY would be the headliner for this special occasion. There are definitely some stipulations that go along with the camping so please make sure to visit their event page to iron out those details, HERE. Also there you can find the full schedule for what is a great regional lineup! Some highlights include a 10 minute 4:20 set by BIG BASHA on Friday evening, Rochester's PAPI CHULO that same night, and HOOGS ushering in DIESELBOY on Saturday. The emphasis for the weekend is vibes. Thanks to LokiDNB, Frosty Tone, Petsheads, and Cloud 9 Campground for facilitating these festivities. Stay safe, everyone going.
saturday 8/4
12p-4a
Free/21+
BUFFALO TAP HOUSE
85 w. chippewa st. Buffalo, NY
If going the country thing ain't your bag, but hair gel is...head over to the Buffalo Tap House on Friday for an all-day House and Club music event called Shades of Summer. Twelve different acts will perform on the patio from noon on. And the best part is that there's no cover for all this great music! Check out the Facebook event page HERE for a schedule of the performances. But with this crew you pretty much know what your gonna get: tight mixing, professional acting and sounding DJs from your fair city. Get sloppy, but NO REQUESTS, thank you.
Until next week. Much Love.

Did you grow up with classic funk and soul? well head on down to the Blue Monk tonight and get your old-school groove on. Spinning records tonight are DJ LoPro and DJ Cutler, and it's said to be all be classic vinyl from their own collections. If it's good enough for Ghostface Killah, it's good enough for you. Alright, that's a bit of a stretch... but I couldn't resist linking a Nardwuar video, I have a problem and I'm sorry.

If old school funk and soul isn't your sort of thing, The Blue Monk is really proud of their expansive and ever-changing beer collection. I'm sure you'll have fun sampling each and every one of them, just don't do it all in one night.

Blue Collar Funk starts at around 10PM and goes to 2AM. The Blue Monk is located  at 727 Elmwood near Breckenridge.

Buffalo's favorite hometown drummer is making it back to Buffalo this weekend for an absolutely amazing collaboration with some of Buffalo's finest local music. Alan Evans of Soulive is returning to the stage of DBGB's joining local rock band Free Henry! and funk-soul DJ, DJ Cutler. Alan Evans and his brother Neal both grew up in Buffalo, graduating from City Honors and went to form the organ jazz trio Soulive with guitarist Eric Krasno in Woodstock, NY in 1999. The band has been hugely successful in the jazz and jamband community. Honestly, if you live in Buffalo and have never seen Soulive, I'd be surprised.


This amazing collaboration of musicians was organized by local do-good organization The Good Neighborhood. This is the first "Pushin' the Evnvelope" event and will continue to be a quarterly event. The evening will begin with a mixer from 7-8pm that will include open bar and appetizers from DBGB’s new menu, with local trio the Square Circle performing. Admission to both the mixer and concert is $15 (only $10 if you arrive after 8 pm - but you miss the open bar!!) with a percentage of door proceeds plus raffles and a silent auction benefiting PUSH Buffalo. Check out the facebook event for more info.