By Sue Porter Ottaway-
Welcome to my first of what I hope to be many, weekly articles spotlighting musicians/bands, venues and their events. This week I’m highlighting a musical event and it’s venue at The Spire Theater in Jamestown, NY on Friday, Novembr 11th.
Last week Spire Theatre released: “Blue Moon Management and Broken Glass Productions are proud to present the return of Donna The Buffalo to the Spire Theater. Not just a band, Donna the Buffalo has become a lifestyle for its members and audiences. For the past 34 years, the roots rockers have played thousands of shows and countless festivals. They’ve opened for The Dead and have toured with Peter Rowan, Del McCoury, Los Lobos, Little Feat, Jim Lauderdale, Rusted Root, and Railroad Earth to name a few. Every time Donna the Buffalo comes to The Spire in Jamestown a herd of fans (aka The Tribe) comes out to fill the house with love and dancing.
Special guest for the evening, In Crowd, will entertain the masses before Donna the Buffalo takes the stage. In Crowd is The Spire Theater’s in-house band, a 7-piece band with horns fronted by Spire Theater owners Angelo Valentino and Ylsa Maj. Tickets are on sale now at https://brokenglass-productions.ticketleap.com”
I sat down with Spire Theater owners, Angelo Giuffre and his wife, Ylsa Maj who are also the founding members of opening band, InCrowd. They couldn’t emphasize enough how thrilled they are to have Donna the Buffalo coming back to play The Spire. “It feels like a family reunion when they come to play here with 300 of their closest friends.” Angelo shared. Also making special mention of the two gifted front members, Tara Nevis and Jeb Puryear. Tara is on vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle, accordion, washboard, tambourine and occasional backing vocals. Jeb plays electric guitar, vocals, occasion pedal steel and rare backup vocals.
Angelo and Ylsa’s opening band, InCrowd, are an originals fusion, Newgaloo, Rhythm and Blues, Classic Rock, Latin Soul, Funk, World Music and Psychedelic Rock band. They are extremely excited to be opening for Donna the Buffalo! InCrowd is comprised of some of the most talented musicians in the Jamestown area. Along with Angelo and Ylsa, they are: Drew Minton, Steve Davis, Jeremy Bunce, Kyle Gustafson, Jim Sturdevant, Augie Bates and Kameron Staten. (You will learn more about InCrowd in a future article.)
The Spire Theater is a very special gem for the Arts in Jamestown. Originally a Masonic Temple, later used as First Congregational Church, Angelo and Ylsa purchased it in 2011. By 2012 it was fully operating as the Spire Theater. The Spire is also home to the InSpire Development Center. A complex consisting of multiple parts of the building used for nurturing talent of many kinds. There are various theatrical productions put on at the Spire each year plus it is the current host location for the popular Chautauqua’s Got Talent competition.
The Spire Theater’s annual Raise the Roof Music Festival and capital campaign will be held on Saturday, November 19th. (The theater is not a Non for Profit but owned by Angelo and Ylsa. This old theater is huge with huge repair bills and upkeep to go along with it. The annual Festival helps immensely.) I look forward to seeing you on Friday, November 11 for The Donna The Buffalo show!
In the meantime, here are a few shows to put on your radar for this weekend: Friday, October 28, 2022:
Ellicottville: 2 Guys Drinking Beer • Gin Mill, 8pm. Celoron: Total Chaos • Goodtime Saloon, 9pm, Erie: Funk Knights • Altered State Distillery, 7pm. Mayville: Michael Gerholdt • Big Inlet, 6pm. Saturday, October 29, 2022: Jamestown: Well Worn Boots • Jamestown Wine Cellar, 10pm. Erie: Twister Lid • South Erie Turners 7pm. Ellicottville: Farrow • Balloons, 6:30 and Dunkirk: OsbornNash • Bart’s Cove, 8pm