BUFFALO, N.Y. — There will be sounds of silence, musically at least, at Canalside this year.
You won't be seeing any nationally touring artists at that part of the Buffalo waterfront. You'll need to go to the Outer Harbor to see the likes of T-Pain or Taking Back Sunday this summer.
"It's now kind of the natural maturation of the concert series to move it out to the outer harbor," said Lauren Moloney Ford, general manager of the Buffalo waterfront. "We have this beautiful new event lawn sprawling views of Lake Erie."
The new Lakeside Lawn at the Outer Harbor is behind the bike park and adjacent to the new pavilion being constructed that will be the home of future concerts as well.
After several years of concerts at Canalside, Ford says the dynamics of the Canalside area have changed.
"It's really becoming a neighborhood with the addition of the long shed, the carousel, now the heritage point project," Ford said. "The concerts were a great way to get people down to the waterfront and get them familiar with Canalside, and that had great success."
One of the positives of several Canalside concerts was many of them were free to the public.
You won't find a free nationally touring artist performing at the Outer Harbor.
"We are still very, very affordable," Ford said. "Our general admission tickets start at $24."
So what will be happening at Canalside this summer instead of the regular concert series? Ford says Canalside is morphing into day-to-day activities, with a full calendar of events designed for family, and quiet.
"Where the stage would have been in our back house areas, now the carousel is open every day," Ford said. "One dollar per ride, so it's a great family attraction."
Additionally, Canalside will be opening the ice rink for roller skating, because you can't make ice in the summer. Ford also noted that the new long-house and Explore & More have announced a variety of events throughout the summer.
Perhaps the biggest issue people commented about on social media when the Outer Harbor was announced as the location for the concert series was parking and traffic concerns.
"We have heard that, and we are actively planning to alleviate as many traffic concerns as possible," Ford said. "In the last year, our operations team has added two additional parking lots out here."
Ford says they are also reducing the capacity of the shows, which will allow them to gauge how much traffic will be flowing in and out of Furhmann Boulevard.
"We are very much encouraging ride sharing and we are setting up additional bike parking if people want to bike out here as well," Ford said.
The first Outer Harbor Concert is May 29, featuring T-Pain.