Published: November 16, 2009 09:12 pm      

CITY OF LOCKPORT: Recording artist series booked at Palace

Saturday is the first Blues Night at the Palace.

The show is one of three concerts booked at the Palace through mid-December by Lockport Promotions.

Lockport Promotions owner-operator Gary Chapman, who doubles as general manager of Papa Leo’s restaurant, is intent on livening things up downtown, just for fun as well as for a good cause.

The shows he’s booked are:

• Blues Night, 7 p.m. Saturday, featuring headliner Jony James Blues Band and the Stoll Brothers, Flyin’ Blind Blues Band and The Headers. Jony James is a songwriter/performer signed by the independent blues label Blue Wave Records. The veteran blues man was raised musically in Chicago, toured Canada widely and has worked his craft in Buffalo the past 20 years. He calls his work “survival blues.” Blues Night is a fundraiser for “Rockin’ The Locks,” the city’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration with a ball drop and, for the first time this year, fireworks. Tickets to the concert cost $10 in advance and $15 at the door; they’re on sale at Papa Leo’s, Mills Jewelers and the Palace box office.

• David Allan Coe with special guest Ransomville, Dec. 10. Coe is a storied country songwriter and performer. His first album, “Penitentiary Blues,” released in 1968, featured songs he wrote while in prison. One of his best-known songs is “Take This Job and Shove It.” Over the years, Coe has toured with diverse acts including Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Kid Rock; his songs have been performed by country greats including Johnny Cash, Tanya Tucker and George Jones. Coe performs about 200 country and rock shows a year, in a range of venues from biker bars and honky-tonks to music halls and Las Vegas casinos. Buffalo/Nashville-based Ransomville, a country-rock act, opened for the Charlie Daniels Band at the Molson Canal Concert Series this past August. Tickets cost $35, $25 or $18; get them at Papa Leo’s or call Lockport Promotions, 990-5494.

• Elvis Christmas, a tribute by Terry Buchwald, Dec. 11. Buchwald, who was raised in Western New York, is one of the top two Elvis tribute artists in the United States, according to the Los Angeles Times. Elvis Christmas is, “by far, the best show Terry does,” Chapman said. Tickets cost $15 or $10; get them at Papa Leo’s or call Lockport Promotions, 990-5494.

On New Year’s Eve, Lockport Promotions is organizing Rockin’ the Locks at Ulrich City Centre. Music acts committed to the party include Funk The System, a party band, and 90 West, a country band.