The festival features concerts of varying musical genres at venues throughout downtown including free, all ages shows at the Winter Garden Plaza. Headliners Smackdab will perform there as well as Mikaela Davis, Miller & The Other Sinners, Workingman’s Dead, Porcelain Busdrivers, The Assembly, Emily Strong, St Vith, and more.

The Beer Snob and Jamestown Wine Cellar will host ticketed evening headliners that include Mungion, LITZ, Solar Circuit, Thee Audience, and more. These shows are 21 and over, and require a Whirlybird Pass or Cover Charge to enter.

Free pop-up solo performances will take place at the Jamestown Public Market, Pearl City Hops at DoubleTree, 4 Below Haggy’s Bar and Grill, Labyrinth Press Co, Brazil, and Crown Street Roasting Company.

For more information and tickets, visit www.whirlybirdfest.com.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN HERE

The Audience (Matt Baxter, Mark Cooper, Ryan Ecklund, Dan Witherspoon – Jamestown, NY) will celebrate 10 years of their first album ‘Below & Beyond,’ playing it in it’s entirety during a live show at Mojos on April 22. They will be joined by Roger Bryan & The Orphans and Big Lunch.

In anticipation of the upcoming show, WRFA featured The Audience with past interviews and live performances during the April 14 episode of Arts on Fire. Enjoy!

WRFA General Manager Dennis Drew at the 2014 Great American Picnic (June 1, 2014 at Southern Tier Brewing Co. in Lakewood, NY)

JAMESTOWN _ The annual Great American Picnic fundraising event for WRFA will take place Sunday at Southern tier Brewing Company.

Featuring three hours of music with the theme of ‘Music from the Motor City” – the Great American Picnic will be hosted by Rolling Hills Radio host Ken Hardley along with WRFA General Manager Dennis Drew. It will also have performances from:

• Erickson, Peters, & Peterson
• Preach Freedom & Connect
• The Audience (Featuring Jonny J)
• The Bogarts
• Djava + 1
• The Distractions
• Dirt Track Racing

The performances will also be recorded and broadcast on WRFA during Arts on Fire (New Time – Fridays at 5 p.m. on WRFA) over the next three weeks.

There is no cost to attend the Great American Picnic. Instead, a portion of all proceeds collected by Southern Tier Brewing Co. between 1 and 4 p.m. will go directly toward WRFA.

In addition to music and beverages, the WRFA Advisory Board will be grilling and selling hot dogs, with proceeds to benefit Jamestown’s only locally owned and operated community radio station.

Donations will also be accepted. All ages are welcome. So stop by and support Community Radio in Jamestown NY – WRFA LP 107.9 FM – Low Power to the People!

Third Thursday is a free, all ages community arts event and concert series, presented by the Active Artists Alliance and Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, taking place on the third Thursday of each month from May through September in Winter Garden Plaza (located on North Main St., right next to the Wine Cellar).

To help support the 2015 Third Thursday Concert Series, the Active Artists Alliance’s Bill Thomas says they are also conducting an online fundraising campaign at Kickstarter to help pay for the cost of the event to help it grow and get even better.

“Basically we’re just asking people who’ve enjoyed our events in the past to – if it’s within their means – chip in $5 or $10 or whatever they can afford,” Thomas told WRFA during a recent interview. “There’s reward levels where, rather than it being a ‘donation’ – you get something or what you give. So we’ve got some artist-designed T-shirts, postcards, prints, and things like that.”

Tonight’s Third Thursday event will run from about 6-9 p.m., with live original music by The Audience and Trip The Deuce.

A few local AAAlliance members will also be bringing their easels and paints out to the plaza and working on their paintings and other creations. Organizers say that any interested local artists and/or crafty folks should feel free to bring their materials down to the plaza, to work and network with others.

[WRFA’s Jason Sample interviews Shane Hawkins from Infinity during a recent episode of Arts on Fire]

JAMESTOWN, N.Y. – Local music fans will once again descend upon downtown Jamestown to show their support for music and arts education in Chautauqua County. The eleventh annual Local Music Showcase (LMS) is set to take place on Saturday, Sept. 6 at ten participating venues with all proceeds once again going to Infinity Visual and Performing Arts.

“LMS is our biggest fundraiser of the year, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to support instruction costs at Infinity,” explains Infinity Executive Director Shane Hawkins.

This year, the fundraiser is even more important than any other year. In October 2014, Infinity plans to begin their new program year in a new, larger location in the ground floor of the Lynn Building, 301 E. 2nd St., Jamestown, NY. The renovation’s budget for the new Infinity Center is $222,000. Updates and more information about the progress and capital campaign for the renovation project can be found at wwww.Infinity2014.com.

Hawkins adds that each year LMS is only made possible through collaboration between local businesses, musicians and volunteers.

“This event would not be possible without the support of the local venues, business owners, local musicians, sound technicians and the team of over 60 volunteers that donate their time each year to make this event possible.” Hawkins says. “All of the ten participating venues this year and many of the performers and volunteers have been strong supporters of LMS every year. It’s a wonderful community effort to support arts education and local music, and a terrific night of local entertainment.”

Because LMS is the program’s single biggest fundraiser of the year, Hawkins says support from the entire community is crucial, especially with repeated and wide spread funding cuts to arts and youth programs the past few years.

“It’s important that the community understand that much of our program relies on donations and fundraising efforts like this one,” says Hawkins. “Currently, just .2 percent of our operating budget comes from government-related sources, while nearly ten percent comes from fundraising events like LMS. Attending fundraising events, or supporting Infinity with a tax-deductible donation helps us continue to make this wonderful program and network of mentors available to more of our community’s children.”

The cost to attend LMS is $10, which will pay for an all-access wristband that allows attendees admittance into any and all participating venues. Pre-sale event tickets can be purchased at Infinity Visual and Performing Arts Center at 115 3rd Street and exchanged for wristbands the evening of the event. Wristbands can also be purchased the evening of the event at participating venues.

Infinity is also seeking volunteers to help out for a couple of hours at various venues. Anyone who volunteers gets a pass for the entire event. For more information on the event or to volunteer, call (716) 664-0991 or visit www.infinityperformingarts.org.

THE LINEUP

Brazil
6:00- Alex Kates
7:00- Rob & Karen Suber
8:00- Doc & Bill
9:00- Davis & Eng
10:00- 6 to 12

Cibo
9:30- Bill Ward & Amanda Barton
10:30- The New Tenants
11:30- Skeletons
12:30- Ryan Kinal

Forte
10:30- Velvet Cabbies
11:40- John C. Merino
12:50- Gary & Jay

Infinity
6:15- Jake & Sarah
7:15- Infinity Saxophone Ensemble
8:00- Collective Groove

Jamestown Skate Products
6:00- Buddy McGrupp
7:15- DJ 80n3 feat. M-Dro
8:30- Little Sea Bird
9:45- WAKE
10:25- Plug

Mojo’s
6:00 – Reverend Adam and The Smooth Cruisers
7:15- The Distractions
8:30- The Elektra Kings
9:45- We Speak Canadian
11:15- Uncle Claud’s Band
12:45- Blind Society

Shawbucks
9:00- Qwister
10:00- Big Leg Emma
11:00- The Bogarts
12:00- Thee Audience
1:00- Smackdab

Studio Theater
6:00- Stephanie Benson
7:15- Amanda & Sara the Greatest
8:30- Sean Lander
9:45- Dalton Lanphere
11:00- Joshua Reuter

The Pub
6:15- Dave McDonald
7:10- Andy White
8:05- Steel Rails
9:00- Will & Sara
9:55- Adam Gould
10:50- Ben Bracey
11:45- Kris Meekins
12:40- Tony Flint

Wine Cellar
7:15- Ryan Melquist
8:30- Cindy Love
9:45- William Petransky
11:00- Brian Hanna and Scott Horton
12:15- Joey Cobra

ABOUT LMS: The Chautauqua Region Word newspaper organized the first Local Music Showcase, which was held in 2004 in Bemus Point, N.Y. In 2006, the event was moved to downtown Jamestown to accommodate the increased number of bands and musicians who were interested participating. All proceeds collected from the benefit have gone directly to fund arts education at Infinity Visual and Performing Arts, Inc.

ABOUT INFINITY: Infinity Visual and Performing Arts, Inc. is dedicated to building the resiliency of our community’s youth by providing unique opportunity through access to the arts. More than a place, more than a program, Infinity is a chance for youth to become immersed in arts and learning, to take creative risks, and to discover their infinite potential. To learn more or to donate, visit www.infinityperformingarts.org.

Organizers will be collecting new, unwrapped toys, a bag of non-perishable groceries for St. Susan’s Center or a bag of care-package items for military men and women. The collected items will be used in place of  a traditional cover charge – meaning there is no cost to attend and a simple donation will suffice.

The event will feature live music from local performers Thee Audience, Big Leg Emma Trio, Gina Vecchio, Haley Restivo, We Speak Canadian, and Alex Kates.

There will be a Chinese auction.

Organizers say the even is kid friendly event and will feature a craft tables for the kids as well as Christmas cards for them to make to send to soldiers.

For those who can’t make the event on Sunday but still want to help, there are also toy and food drop off locations around Jamestown for anyone that would like to donate prior to the event. Drop box locations will be at Chautauqua Music, Jones Bakery, Cibo, Shawbucks Press Box Restaurant and Viaduct Vintage.

More details can be found on Facebook or at Chautauqua Music on E. 2^nd St. in downtown Jamestown.

Third Thursday is a Free community arts event and concert series, presented by the Active Artists Alliance and Jamestown Renaissance Corp, and taking place on the Third Thursday of each month in Winter Garden Plaza, right downtown next to the Wine Cellar.

All disaster assistance offered by the American Red Cross is complimentary and made possible by generous contributions from the American people and residents of Chautauqua County. The United Way organizations of Chautauqua County also provide financial support to the local Red Cross mission.

In addition, members of the local group Thee Audience will be using the proceeds from their next show, this Friday night at Mojo’s in downtown Jamestown, to help the residents. Thee Audience and the band’s upcoming show were featured on our most recent Arts on Fire program here on WRA.