Although most students have gone home, UB will still be energetic, loud and very much alive this summer.
The College of Arts and Sciences will hold its third-annual Rock the CASbah summer concert series with four outdoor concerts in July. The concerts are free and open to the public, and will take place from 12:05-1:05 p.m. on Tuesdays outside the Student Union. The rain venue is the Center for the Arts.
The purpose of the summer concert series is to add to the environment of the campus, according to CAS Undergraduate Programs Administrator Don McGuire, who is part of the staff coordinating the college's summer programs.
"It makes it feel like a vibrant place, not simply a bunch of buildings where students attend classes and professors have office hours," McGuire said. "I think it's an important cultural component."
CAS chooses its lineup each year with the help of Robert Falgiano, assistant director of the Center for the Arts. This year, Falgiano put together a varied lineup.
"Since I'm familiar with a lot of different groups and musicians in Buffalo, I've really tried to give people a little taste of all the different styles you would find in Buffalo," Falgiano said.
The schedule:
- July 10: LeeRon Zydeco & The Hot Tamales
- July 17: Vinnie DeRosa Band
- July 24: The Pyramid Band
- July 31: Critt's Juke Joint
This summer's first performer, Ron Davis - aka LeeRon Zydeco - is a UB alumnus. The Amherst local attended UB for two years in the early '70s.
Davis has played zydeco music with his band, The Hot Tamales, for 22 years in front of a wide variety of audiences in Buffalo and across the East Coast. He describes zydeco music as "a little funkier version of Cajun music" combined with blues, and he has been playing for more college audiences the last few years.
"I'd like to expose this kind of music because a lot of college students aren't aware of the Cajun-zydeco-Louisiana style, so I like to expose them to that," Davis said.
Along with LeeRon Zydeco and The Hot Tamales are Vinnie DeRosa, a rock-pop band, The Pyramid Band, a traditional "big band", and Critt's Juke Joint, a jazz band.
"It's not going to be just one style represented," Falgiano said. "So [CAS] said let's make sure we keep it diverse year to year."
Rock the CASBah is one of the many public activities UBThisSummer, a diverse range of summer courses and events, UB is offering. Other offerings include free public lectures, youth sports and academic camps, workshops, seminars, and special events. For more information and a complete listing of activities, visit www.UBThisSummer.buffalo.edu
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