DoDowntown

Canalside Live

This long-running outdoor concert series traces its history to 1986, the first year Thursday at the Square was held at Lafayette Square in the heart of downtown. In 2011, event organizers responded to the increasingly large crowd sizes by moving the second half of the schedule to the much larger Canalside area, where the entire series is now held. Evolving from its humble beginnings as mainly a showcase for local bands (and with shows no longer held exclusively on Thursdays), Canalside Live has grown to host internationally known artists and groups such as Blues Traveler, Parliament/Funkadelic, the Violent Femmes, Hootie and the Blowfish, They Might Be Giants, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and dozens more, and is also well-known for regularly showcasing Canadian acts such as Sam Roberts, the Lowest of the Low, Sloan, and 54-40. Concerts are held from June through August.

Price: $5 general admission, children 5 and under free
Website: canalsidebuffalo.com (opens in a new tab)

Suggest a nearby place

Listing from Wikivoyage: Buffalo/Downtown, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

No exact location on record.

More in Buffalo

DoLive music venueAllentown and the Delaware District
Kleinhans Music Hall
Designed by the internationally-famous father-and-son team of Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Kleinhans Music Hall is among the most architecturally distinguished buildings in Buffalo (it has served as a model for Festival Hall in London, among other venues), and boasts world-renowned acoustics. Aside from the several-times-weekly performances of the Buffalo Philharmonic itself, Kleinhans also features performances by other orchestras, small theatrical shows, and popular music acts — which have included Natalie Merchant, Johnny Mathis, and the Indigo Girls — performing either on their own or backed by the Philharmonic as part of the BPO Rocks! concert series.
DoTheatreDowntown
Shea's Performing Arts Center
Located in a dazzlingly ornate former movie palace that has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Shea's Performing Arts Center has been the cornerstone of downtown Buffalo's Theater District since the late 1970s, when its opening thwarted plans by civic leaders to demolish the grand old building. Today, Shea's is Buffalo's premier venue for lavish Broadway-style musicals such as Dreamgirls, The Lion King, and Wicked, as well as live music and performances such as Sesame Street Live and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The Mighty Wurlitzer organ, installed in the theater in 1926 to provide musical accompaniment to silent movies, is also occasionally dusted off for performances of various types.
Wheelchair accessible
DoTheatreAllentown and the Delaware District
Shakespeare in Delaware Park
Delaware Park's has since 1976 been the setting of Shakespeare in Delaware Park. With a goal of enriching, inspiring and entertaining diverse audiences through performance and educational programming with a focus on the works of William Shakespeare, this not-for-profit professional theatre company performs two selected Shakespeare plays annually from June until August at their striking Tudor-style outdoor stage adjacent to Hoyt Lake, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, and the Delaware Park Rose Garden. Performances are free of charge at this longstanding summertime tradition, though donations are greatly appreciated.
Free entry
DoCinemaNorth Buffalo
North Park Theatre
Almost inarguably the most distinctive movie theatre in the Buffalo area, the North Park was built in 1920 as an old-fashioned silent movie palace and still boasts an exquisite (and newly restored) Baroque interior with Art Deco flourishes. The single screen shows indie films almost exclusively. The North Park Theatre is also famous as the site of the world premiere of Buffalo '66, the critically-acclaimed directorial debut of local native Vincent Gallo, which took place here in June 1998.