The Grand Finale At Artpark

Go big or go home is what most people say. Well, Artpark hit it out of the park with their last show of their Golden Anniversary. Cage the Elephant, Young the Giant, and Willow Avalon played a sold-out show for the fans of the WNY area. Unfortunately, Bakar, who was originally on the bill, was not able to perform at this show.

First up was Americana artist Willow Avalon. Avalon is a brand new artist who just released her first EP earlier this year called ‘Homewrecker.’ She also did her first tour in 2024 as well. She definitely made the most out of her half-hour set. She went back and played an acoustic guitar and sang acappella. Her seven songs had some flavor to them. Highlights for me were “Gettin’ Rich, Goin’ Broke” and “Homewrecker.” She kept the audience’s attention, and that’s usually hard to do for an unknown opener. She reminded me of a young Margo Price. I see big things going forward for Avalon!

In the middle spot was Young the Giant. This was the first time I was catching the band live. It was the 2nd time they performed at Artpark, so they were very comfortable with the area and crowd. Their hour set was energetic, to say the least. Led by frontman Sameer Gadhia, the band opened up with a track off the 2016 ‘Home of the Strange’ called “Jungle Youth.” They kept the momentum going with “Wake Up.” The set was full of upbeat anthems. Gadhia talked about the humble beginnings of the band and said sometimes playing smaller places and making connections with their fans is more meaningful for them.

The band even brought out an unreleased track called “Bitter Fruit.” A intense delivery of “Dollar $tore” followed. The finally slowed things down some with “Call Me Back.” Overall, the band sounded very tight and was a terrific pick to open the show.

The final band that will grace an Artpark stage in 2024 was up next in Cage The Elephant. Going back to a show that took place in Atlanta on August 2, vocalist Matt Schultz broke his foot. He still performed on a knee scooter. The band is on tour in support of their 6th studio effort titled ‘Neon Pill.’ It’s their first major tour in 10 years and the first time back to Artpark since 2011. So you can say there was a lot of built-up enthusiasm for the band show since it went on sale earlier this year. The band's 1 hour and 35 minute set was a nice retrospect, as the band played at least one cut off of each of their 6 albums. They went back to the 2009 ‘Social Cues’ album to open up the show with the tune “Broken Boy.” Guitarist Brad Schultz made his way into the crowd during the song for about 1 minute. A very cool effect that both brothers are known to do.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen for Matt due to his broken ankle. Artpark lit up like a Christmas tree with everyone holding up their cell phones for the song “Trouble.” They had some cool laser effects throughout the show as well. They closed the set in high fashion with “Sabretooth Tiger.” One of the band's biggest hits, “Shake Me Down,” started the encore, and they finished with a blazing version of “Come a Little Closer.” How Matt Schultz performed in a mobile scooter was simply impressive. It was almost like he wasn’t limited at all and moved around as much as he could in that scooter.

Again, Artpark ended in high fashion by bringing a show like this to the area. It gives everyone a nice bow to place on the 2024 season at Artpark.

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