Buffalo Place will proudly produce the free outdoor summer series, Thursday & Main, weekly from July 8th through August 26th. The re-named series, previously branded as Queen City Social, continues to pay homage to the venerable Buffalo Place-produced summer tradition, Thursday at the Square. Thursday & Main is presented by M&T Bank.
Thursday, July 15th will feature Handsome Jack with special guest McKinley James. Hailing from Lockport, New York, Handsome Jack plays a powerful and emotional fusion of boogie soul rock n roll that has earned the admiration of fellow rock travelers such as Chris Robinson (CRB, Black Crowes), Zachary Gabbard (Buffalo Killers), and Ben McLeod of All Them Witches, who produced their new record. On “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” the trio digs deeper into its soulful influences, brilliantly bringing back to life the classic sounds of Chicago, Memphis and Muscle Shoals, all rolled into one timeless record of American rock music for a new generation. Handsome Jack is Jamison Passuite (guitar/vocals), Joey Verdonselli (bass/vocals), and Bennie Hayes (drums/vocals).
McKinley James is a 18 year-old Rock & Roll guitarist/singer from Rochester. His father, drummer Jason Smay (Los Straitjackets, JD McPherson Band) helped raise McKinley in a very musical household. He started on the Hammond organ at 7 but discovered his passion for guitar at 10. His influences range from Hollywood Fats, Dave Alvin and Garland Green. He started performing in Rochester blues and jazz clubs at age 13 and has performed with Chris Duarte, The Nighthawks, Joe Beard, and JD McPherson. McKinley is also the face of the latest Eric Church album campaign, having starred in his music videos, and also appears on the album cover for Church’s latest record, Mr. Misunderstood.
The free and open-to-the-public happy hour, presented on Thursday evenings in the heart of Downtown Buffalo at Fountain Plaza (Main at Chippewa Streets), continues the mission of Thursday at the Square: creating awareness and spin-off business for Downtown restaurants, bars, and retailers.
Thirty-two years ago, in 1987, Fountain Plaza hosted the first Thursday at the Park season, produced and managed by Buffalo Place. One year later in 1988, crowds for the happy hour became too large for the space. The series was shifted to Lafayette Square and Thursday at the Square was born. Fountain Plaza was recently renovated by the City of Buffalo as part of the Cars Sharing Main Street Project and is a beautiful public space in Downtown. It provides the perfect setting for this summer’s Thursday & Main series.
The 2021 season will continue weekly:
Thursday, July 22nd: Miller & The Other Sinners with Maria Aurigema Trio
Thursday, July 29th: An Evening with Sonny Baker
Thursday, August 5th: Johnny Hart & The Mess with Grace Stumberg
Thursday, August 12th: The Stone Lows
Thursday, August 19th: Grosh with Tedesco Knows Best
Thursday, August 26th: Ten Cent Howl with Adrianna Noone
Thursday & Main is made possible with the generous support of our official sponsor family. The series is presented by M&T Bank and supported by Crowley Webb, Try-It Distributing, Big Ditch Brewing Company, and The Buffalo News.
