BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.0.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:825@wnyblues.org DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230602T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230602T220000 DTSTAMP:20230510T031731Z URL:https://wnyblues.org/events/tommy-z-live-at-fanatics-pub-in-lima-n-y/ SUMMARY:Tommy Z Live at Fanatics Pub in Lima\, N.Y. DESCRIPTION:Tommy Z is a contemporary blues/rock artist and radio host fro m Buffalo\, NY\n\nFanatics Pub\, Lima\, NY\nFriday\, June 2nd\, 7:00 PM\nW NYBD Discount Code: WNYBS-TOMMY\n\nGet your tickets here! - https://events .eventgroove.com/event/Tommy-Z-74268\n\n\n\n\nTomm Z has been described as a "blues treasure" (Jim Santella\, Buffalo News)\, and "one of WNY's best kept secrets" (Sarah French\, Blues Matters Magazine). He is a guitar-dri ven\, electric blues-based stylist onstage\, but in the studio composes a variety of music. Experienced and versed in traditional blues\, jazz\, and rock styles\, he is an artist who puts that soulful blues feeling into al l the different music he creates. Tommy has been recognized with numerous awards over the years\, including being voted Top Blues Vocalist in Wester n New York 2003/2004/2006\, Top Blues Guitarist 1993\, 1994\, 1995\, 1997\ , 2004\, 2005\, 2006\, and his band has won the Top Blues/Crossover Blues Band categories 1994\, 2005\, 2006\, and was honored with the Muddy Waters Award for "Artist of the Year" by the Blues Society of WNY in 2004. In 20 07 Tommy was inducted into the Buffalo Music Hall of Fame\, recognizing hi m alongside some of the best talents that come out of WNY (including Rick James\, The Goo Goo Dolls\, Billy Sheehan\, etc.). He has had the opportun ity to perform\, write\, record\, and/or co-bill with some of the world's top artists in the blues/rock genre including B.B. King (and daughter Shir ley)\, Buddy Guy\, Tom Hambridge\, Johnny Winter\, The Fabulous Thunderbir ds\, Jimmie Vaughan\, Robert Cray\, Jeff Healey\, Colin James\, Tinsley El lis\, Roomful of Blues\, Blues Traveler\, Derek Trucks\, Joe Bonamassa\, R obert Randolph\, Peter Frampton\, Ian Gillan (Deep Purple)\, Carey Bell\, John Mayall\, Lynyrd Skynyrd\, Tommy Castro\, Duke Robillard\, Elvin Bisho p and many more. His first initiation to national touring was backing up G rammy-winning blues pianist Pinetop Perkins (Muddy Waters Band)\, who is c redited as indirectly starting rock-n-roll. Tommy has come a long way from playing the top bars and music venues in Buffalo to being an internationa l and US festival headliner.\n\nThe son of a Vietnam-era veteran\, he has been bringing a taste of home to US troops overseas since 2003 with blues- based concert tours in Iraq\, Afghanistan\, Saudi Arabia\, Kuwait\, United Arab Emirates\, Bahrain\, Qatar\, Japan\, South Korea\, Djibouti\, Italy\ , Spain\, Portugal\, Egypt\, Turkey\, Guam\, Alaska\, and other distant lo cales on behalf of USO/AFE. Rolling Stone Magazine called some of these lo cations "The most dangerous gigs on Earth." Tommy contributed guitar track s to Deep Purple vocalist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ian Gillan's alb um "Gillan's Inn"  on the track "When A Blind Man Cries." This also featu red blues-rock legend Jeff Healey and Deep Purple's Jon Lord.\n\n\n\n\nIn 2004 an album entitled "Universal Love" was recorded with Canadian engi neer/producer Nick Blagona (BeeGees\, Chicago\, Police)\, and it was descr ibed as "soul-rockin' blues" by Bob Putignano\, NYC Blues Society Presiden t and Sounds of Blue DJ (WFDU)\, "awesome" by Bob Silvestri (Best of WNY) and "should feature high on your list of 'new' acts to investigate" (Mick Rainsford\, Blues in Britain Magazine).  He's been featured/mentioned in industry magazines such as Fender's Frontline\, Mix Magazine\, Blues Matte rs\, Blues Blast\, Blues Music Magazine (Germany)\, Blues-E-News\, Jazz/Bl ues Florida\, and Guitar Edge Magazine\, etc.In addition to his performanc e schedule\, Tommy is a Canisius College graduate (BA Communication)\, gui tar teacher\, and between albums as an artist he has spent much of his c reative time as a composer/producer for Film\, TV\, Sports\, etc. His cred its include writing the victory song for the St. Louis Blues (NHL)\, Red H ot Chili Peppers Biography\, Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure (i Tunes #1 indie film)\, Last Comic Standing (NBC)\, TLC's Stager Invasion\, Animal Planet's Swamp Wars (main title)\, Bravo's Chef Roble and Co.\, Di scovery Channel's Biker Live\, America's Top Model\, Insane Pools/Off the Deep End\, Bad Chad Customs\, Wheeler Deals\, Outdaughtered\, and others.\ n\nIn 2013 Tommy re-focused on making his own music as an artist and relea sed the album "Sometimes" which garnered considerably more national and in ternational attention than "Universal Love." It made both the Roots Music Report Top 50 Blues Airplay charts\, overseas blues charts in France\, Aus tralia\, etc. and was accepted for the first round of voting for Best Blue s Album at the Grammy's for that year (Blizzard of Blues was also subseque ntly accepted). It received glowing reviews in such publications as Americ an Blues Scene\, Blues Rock Review\, About.com/blues and many more. Then i n 2015 (and again in 2019) the band was invited to be the international he adliner for the Cali Blues and Folk Festival in Colombia\, South America f or nearly two weeks of concerts and master classes which were extremely we ll received. The band's contributions to the Cali festival helped earn it a prestigious Blues Music Award from the Blues Foundation in Memphis in 20 19\, TN. Also in 2015\, Tommy was hired as a blues radio host/DJ by the N PR/WNED affiliated station WBFO 88.7 FM. He now has his own 27/7 blues rad io station called WBLZ\, Blizzard of Blues Radio.\n\nThe follow-up album\, "Blizzard of Blues\," was released in the Winter of 2016. Two weeks befor e the official release date it debuted as the #1 Blues Rock Album (Roots M usic Report) where it spent eight straight months on the RMR airplay chart s. On the day of release\, it shot up onto iTunes Top 10 Blues Chart while being a featured iTunes album and then it debuted on the Billboard Blues Top 10 Album Chart at #8 alongside such greats as Billy Gibbons\, Gary Cla rk Jr.\, Johnny Winter\, Buddy Guy\, Tedeschi/Trucks\, etc. It was the onl y release by an unsigned independent artist on the chart. The reviews and accolades and chart positions continued to pile up for "BoB" including a d ebut on the Feb. 2016 Living Blues Radio Chart (#14).\n\n\n\nIn the Summer of 2018\, Beth Hart had a short-term medical issue that forced her to can cel an appearance in Buffalo opening for Kenny Wayne Shepherd. When names were being tossed around the KWS tour bus for a replacement\, it was Chris "Whipper" Layton\, legendary drummer for Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Tr ouble\, who spoke up and said\, "I know him (Tommy Z)\, call those guys." It turned out to be one of the most epic Canalside concerts ever. 2018 (an d 2019) concluded with the Tommy Z Band as the headliner of the Buffalo Ba ll Drop.  It is the 2nd largest ball drop in the country with upwards of 40\,000 in attendance and widespread TV coverage.  They were scheduled to perform a third time\, but it was canceled over the virus scare. \n\nWit h a festival headliner in Denmark\, the 2nd tour of Colombia\, and adds as support to dates for Robert Cray and Jimmie Vaughan\, 2019 showed no sign s of slowing down until the pandemic hit. Fortunately\, Tommy went down to Nashville prior to it in Jan. of 2020 to work on tracks with 4x Grammy-wi nning producer/writer/drummer Tom Hambridge. They worked through the lockd owns via the internet to finish recording\, mix and master the follow-up t o "BoB" called\, "Plug In and Play." In under two weeks from its release d ate it had already racked up #1 Blues/Rock album for airplay\, #1 Hot New Release Seller on Amazon for Electric Blues\, #5 on the Billboard Blues Ch art (heatseeker award that week)\, and #5 on iTunes US Blues chart (The so ng "Sticky Lips" went as high as #3 and the album #4 on Australia's iTunes Blues Chart). Subsequently\, it was featured on XM Sirius BB King's Blues ville's Rack of Blues countdown for three consecutive weeks.  The song "T ommy Guns" co-written with Hambridge/Fleming was also named an honorable m ention winner in the blues category of the International Songwriting Compe tition.  Between all of TZ's albums\, he's been on over 1\,000 Spotify pl aylists alone.\n\n\nTommy Z\nFanatics Pub\, Lima\, NY\nFriday\, June 2nd\, 7:00 PM\nWNYBD Discount Code: WNYBS-TOMMY \n\nNot a Blues Society of Wes tern New Your Member? Join Now!\n\nGet your tickets here! - https://events .eventgroove.com/event/Tommy-Z-74268 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://i0.wp.com/wnyblues.org/wp-content/upload s/2023/05/Tommy-Z-June-2-2023.jpeg?fit=620%2C413&ssl=1 CATEGORIES:Live Blues Music LOCATION:Fanatics\, 7281 West Main St\, Lima\, NY\, 14485\, United States GEO:42.904931;-77.612755 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=7281 West Main St\, Lima\, NY\, 14485\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Fanatics:geo:42.9049 31,-77.612755 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20230312T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR