Waiting for Little Feat

On Aug. 3, Little Feat marches into Artpark to headline the next "First Niagara presents Tuesday in the Park" free concert at 6:30 p.m. The jam band pioneers are known for their hits "Willin'," "Easy to Slip," "Cold Cold Cold," "Dixie Chicken," and more.

Little Feat is very possibly the last-man-standing example of what used to be the norm in American music, a fusion of a broad span of styles and genres into something utterly distinctive.  Feat took California rock, funk, folk, jazz, country, rockabilly, and New Orleans swamp boogie and more, stirred it into a rich gumbo, and has been leading people in joyful dance ever since. And it all began because in 1969 Frank Zappa was smart enough to fire Lowell George from the Mothers of Invention and tell him to start a band of his own. George assembled an eclectic group and named them Little Feat, the spelling pays homage to The Beatles. They were quickly signed by Warner Bros., and released 12 highly successful albums with that venerable company.  

Success is hard. It cost Feat their founder, Lowell George, who passed in 1979 while working on "Down on the Farm." In 1986, members Paul Barrere and Bill Payne met up in a chance jam session, and found themselves on the road again joined by Craig Fuller on vocals and Fred Tackett on guitar.

Opening the show is the Jamie Holka Trio.

All concerts in the "First Niagara presents Tuesday in the Park" series begin at 5:30 p.m. with free hands-on art activities and fun for children. Artpark's free concert events always feature a wide variety of free, family-friendly hands-on art workshops, including drawing, face-painting, dress-up, self portraits and plenty of creative fun prior to the weekly concert events.

Artpark's Outdoor Amphitheater opens to the public at 4 p.m. on event nights, and can be accessed via the upper park's Portage Road entrance off of Center Street or through South Fourth Street nearest the Mainstage Theater. Carry-ins (food and beverages) are prohibited at all of Artpark's free concert events while on-site parking is available (New York state parking fee is $10).

For a full schedule of 2010 events, call the Artpark Box Office at 754-4375 or visit the Artpark Web site.