Coming soon: Sat Sep 19 Alison Pipitone Band 20th Anniversary of Tigerbabies $20; Sun Sep 20 Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys $20; Tue Sep 22 Will Hoge $30; Wed Sep 23 The Nighthawks $25; Sat Sep 26 Latin Night w/Ladies First Jazz & Verneice Turner $20; Sun Sep 27 The Clapton Band "A Tribute to Eric Clapton" $10; Tue Sep 29 Dale Watson & His Lone Stars $35; Wed Sep 30 Danielle Nicole $25; Sat Oct 3 Coat of Many Colors A Celebration of the Life, Music & Legacy of Dolly Parton $20; Sat Oct 3 Micky and the Motorcars (Acoustic) / Jason Eady $25; Sun Oct 4 The Gibson Brothers $30; Sat Oct 10 Fred Eaglesmith $50; Sun Oct 11 The Claudettes - Sportmens $15; Sat Oct 17 Heart Attacks & Valentines All The Racket In The World The Music of Tom Waits $20; Sat Oct 24 Big Shrimp $15; Sun Oct 25 23rd Annual Female Musicians Fighting Breast Cancer $10; Sun Oct 25 The Empty Pockets $20; Wed Oct 28 Marshall Crenshaw Band $40; Sat Nov 7 The Sheila Divine $25; Thu Nov 19 Kelsey Waldon $25; Fri Nov 20 Talking Dead Heads NIGHT ONE $20; Sat Nov 21 Talking Dead Heads NIGHT TWO $20; Sun Nov 22 Eilen Jewell $30; Fri Nov 27 THE SMITHS etc Tribute to The Smiths $20; Fri Dec 11 Sue Foley/ GA-20 Together for the Holidays $40
Sportsmens · The Cave · the park
Three stages on one block in Black Rock. Family-run since 1985.
The original Black Rock stage
Opened in 1985 by Dwane and Denise Hall, Sportsmens grew from a neighborhood bar into one of the best live-music rooms in the county. National touring acts share the calendar with Buffalo's own, forty-plus shows a month, in a classic unpretentious room that still serves wings and a cold pint.
326 Amherst Street, Buffalo, NY 14207
(716) 874-7734Tap for upcoming shows
Intimate room behind Sportsmens
The Cave is the Hall family's intimate live-music room, tucked behind Sportsmens on Military Road. Close walls, a serious PA, and Thursday-through-Saturday nights that run from garage rock to Latin jazz. 18+ shows happen case by case.
71 Military Road, Buffalo, NY 14207
(716) 310-2020Tap for upcoming shows
Open-air stage on Amherst Street
The outdoor room of the complex. Summer tributes, festival days, and bigger touring bills play rain or shine under string lights in the courtyard behind Sportsmens. Same family, same music town.
340 Amherst Street, Buffalo, NY 14207
(716) 874-7734Tap for upcoming shows
The building on Amherst Street goes back to about 1890, when it opened as a grocery and saloon. The Sportsmens name stuck. Dwane and Denise Hall bought the tavern in 1985 and never left the block. Dwane grew up in Black Rock, played lap steel in honky-tonks as a kid, led Stone Country, and used to shove the pool table aside to play in the corner.
They turned a neighborhood bar into a music house the slow way: a real stage in the late ’80s so local bands had a place to play, the ceiling opened up, seats upstairs. The recording studio opened next door in 1995. The Private Party Series started in 2008 and brought touring national acts into a room that still serves wings. The Cave went in behind the tavern on Military Road; the park took the courtyard. Sons Jason, Jeffrey, and James run the complex with their father.
In 2014 the family started the Sportsmens Americana Music Foundation. In 2018 the tavern was named best venue in the country at the Ameripolitan Music Awards. Forty-plus shows a month, still a corner bar. They call it the honkiest-tonkiest beer joint in Buffalo.
The Private Party Series and the regular board have put national touring names in a room that holds a few hundred. Rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson. Ricky Skaggs. Marty Stuart. Peter Tork. Texas swing from Asleep at the Wheel. Poco. Junior Brown. Dave Alvin — the first ticketed show, 2006. Bill Kirchen, Dale Watson, James McMurtry, Chris Knight. Marcia Ball, Tinsley Ellis, C.J. Chenier. Marshall Crenshaw, Robyn Hitchcock, Steely Dan guitarist Elliott Randall. The Bottle Rockets, Chuck Prophet, Fred Eaglesmith, Eilen Jewell. John & Mary. Tom Hambridge, Buddy Guy’s longtime drummer. The house has also staged a Last Waltz recreation and kept Buffalo’s own on the board every week.
Closed right now · Sportsmens today 5pm – 12am
The Cave follows the show calendar, mostly Thursday through Saturday. The park is seasonal and weather-dependent.
Advance tickets through the official listing. Door sales when the night isn't sold out. Bring ID.
Sportsmens is a bar. The Cave can run 18+ shows case by case. Assume 21+ unless the listing says otherwise.
A real neighborhood bar: loud when it should be, unpretentious, excellent sound. Come for the band, stay for Greg's wings.
Sportsmens
The Cave · The Park · The Foundation
Three stages in Black Rock, family-run since 1985.
Get a ping 24 hours and 2 hours before favorited shows, and when tonight's bill is up. No account. Off unless you sign up.
Band dates, private events, and the studio. One email reaches Sportsmens and The Cave. Call the house if you need a person on the floor.
Opens a mail to the booking desk with your details. No account required.