World tour brings Grand Island's Marc Scibilia back home

Musician is in-demand within industry

SCIBILIA PERFORMS THURSDAY IN BUFFALO

By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

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High on Marc Scibilia’s to-do list when returning home to Grand Island this week was to settle a longstanding local debate.

“We're probably going to get a couple plates of wings from Duff’s and Anchor Bar, and then do some comparisons,” he said Monday.

Having been on the road for about six weeks – performing in places such as Dublin, Paris and Barcelona – and away from Western New York for more than five years – Scibilia was looking forward to some “home cooking,” so to speak.

That’s not to say he can’t find decent wing joints in his new home, Nashville – “There’s a good one down the street from my house. And I religiously, or superstitiously, pick them up before every Bills game” – but it’s not the same.

In fact, neither is performing live on stage.

Scibilia is a musical prodigy and former “Buffalo Idol” winner who was raking in accolades for his piano and vocal prowess even before graduating from Grand Island High School. In more recent years, he has shared stages with artists including Michael Tait, Rodrigo y Gabriela, James Bay, Nick Jonas, Zac Brown Band and ZZ Ward.

But when asked about entertaining a hometown crowd, at Buffalo’s Electric City, Scibilia said, “I would say that's probably the hardest, to be honest with you.

“I mean, at the end of the day, we're in such a routine now; we're kind of in so many different settings, so I would say we're pretty well rehearsed for these types of situations. But that is definitely a different one; because you grow into something and, to everyone, you're kind of the person that left. You're the same guy, even though it's been a long time. You've had a lot of different life experience and whatnot.”

Still, “I can't wait to do it,” he said. “I'm really excited about it. It's been a long time.”

Marc Scibilia is shown inside the recording studio. (Photo credit: Shane Benson // courtesy of Marc Scibilia’s management team)

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Leaving home behind

It’s been the better part of two decades since Scibilia did what many of his Buffalo contemporaries opted not to do: leave. He packed up and moved to Nashville, in pursuit of something he would be hard-pressed to find in Western New York.

“I look back at my younger self; I think what was appealing about Nashville was it was a little more conceivable,” Scibilia said. “It was condensed, in terms of the industry. It felt like it was localized, and it felt like people – there was a location where people cared about songwriting, whether it was Music Row, where all the houses were, where people wrote songs. It's one of the main exports of the city. And so, I think being a music lover, obviously, tons of music comes out of LA and New York … but there's a lot of other things that come out of those cities, too. In Nashville, it's kind of like the medical community, and then there's the music community. There's so many musicians there, and it's just so concentrated.

“I think if I look back, that's probably what was most interesting about it.”

Scibilia noted, “I would never put myself above any of my contemporaries, or where I'm from, or anything like that. But I think that what I found is it's more of a perpetual leaving. It's like, I left Buffalo, I left my family, and I took a shot down in Nashville. But I have to continually leave. I'm constantly saying goodbye. I said goodbye to my wife and kids a couple weeks ago.”

Stacy Clark can relate to Scibilia’s journey, having forged a similar path in performance art just a few years earlier.

A fellow Grand Island native and GIHS alum, Clark moved to California in pursuit of a career in music. She introduced music videos on MTV before working with and opening for acts including Jack's Mannequin, the Plain White T's, The Bird And The Bee, Kate Nash, The New Amsterdams, Joshua Radin, Matt Nathanson, A Fine Frenzy (Alison Sudol), and Leigh Nash of Sixpence None The Richer.

“There are a lot of challenges and sacrifices in pursuing your dreams, no matter what it is,” Clark said. “I truly believed, with a New York work ethic, I could do well. California was calling and always intrigued me with its beautiful coastline and weather. …

“I gave up everything, but also gained everything I ever wanted. I will never wonder, ‘What if?’ I tried and gave it my all. I get to do what I love. I feel very thankful. I'm not saying I am super-successful like Lady Gaga, but I am happy.”

Clark noted, “I think it’s hard for people to leave, because Buffalo truly is full of great people.”

Scibilia said, “It's kind of a mindset more than anything, of like riding the trade winds – like Mark Twain says – and trying to imagine your life 20 years from now without any regret of the things you wish you would have done. I think that's just a perpetual state of being, and it's something you've got to keep doing – and it doesn't really get any easier. It didn't get any easier two months ago when we headed out for Europe, and I've got to say goodbye to three kids and a wife.”

Scibilia acknowledged, “The great thing now, with the internet, is you can kind of grow from wherever you are. I don't actually think you really have to go anymore.

“But when I left, I think you kind of had to go, because there was really not a whole bunch of other ways to make it happen.”

Marc Scibilia (Photo credit: Shane Benson // courtesy of Marc Scibilia’s management team)

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‘More to This’

“More to This” is the name of Scibilia’s 2024 release – a collection of songs that deal with life, the loss of his father, and, yes, home. The album has flavors of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty.

“I think it seems like the farther I am away from Buffalo, in terms of when I've lived there, the more I want to kind of write about it,” Scibilia said. “Maybe I'm romanticizing it? I don't really know. But I think I’ve realized the best my music is, is when it's about where I'm from, or where I'm going, or how I'm going to just keep going there. Those are really the three things.

“And I think ‘More to This’ really has a lot of those things. There's a lot of actual references of streets and places and snowbanks and stuff like that, and things that are not exclusively native, but certainly belong to our area. That's kind of the idea.”

"More to This" is also what Scibilia has found since his last musical trek.

In May, he wrote, “My last headline show was 6 years ago, and it was a challenging experience, to say the least. Attendance was low, with many sparse rooms, and although I had a lot of fun, it was a grueling undertaking in many ways.

“I was initially resistant to the idea of going on tour again, but with the support of my agent and close friends, I decided it was time to get back on stage and do what I love most.”

Upon releasing “More to This,” the title track racked up more than 50 million views – over a billion when counting fan mashups – and 10 million streams. Covers of The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (8 million plays) and Coldplay’s “Clocks” (6 million plays) are also resonating with listeners.

Scibilia sold out a U.S. tour last fall – and even had to add extra nights in Chicago, New York City, and his new hometown of Nashville.

Over the course of his career to date, Scibilia has had songs featured in “Shrinking” on Apple TV+, “Bones” on FOX, and in movies “Peter Rabbit” and “About a Boy.” He’s also garnered writing and producing credits with Teddy Swims, Robin Schulz, Quinn XCII, Claptone, Ingrid Andress, Seal, Ben Rector, Lennon Stella and Keith Urban.

Marc Scibilia (Photo credit: Shane Benson // courtesy of Marc Scibilia’s management team)

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Making it in music

Only recently has Scibilia started to feel like he’s “made it.”

“I think my dreams, when I started, were both totally attainable and totally unrealistic,” he said. “I feel like I had two kinds of dreams going. I had one dream of, ‘I want to be this household name, everywhere, and sign autographs and sing songs, and that's it.’ And then I have this other dream – this other side of my brain – that came from a working-class musician family that was like, ‘Oh, if you could just do this in any respect and not have to work another job, you've made it.’

“I think, in the best-case scenario, where I really landed, is neither of those things are really the goal of ‘making it’ for me. I have loved the process so much. I love creating things. And I think it’s the best when I get to make something that I feel is going to speak to a lot of people and live on for a very long time, and it's done at the highest level. I don't think it could really be any better. So, if I write and produce a song, and I think, ‘This is as good as what anyone's doing anywhere,’ then I kind of feel like, ‘OK, I did it.’

“There are certain success markers. For instance, when we played a sold-out (show with) like a 1,000 people in London, for my first time I've ever played there, I thought, ‘OK, this is probably some version of making it.’ Or, we were just playing really big shows all around Europe, and it kind of felt like that. 

"It's like making it to an extent. Because, when I walk on those stages, I think of my grandfather, who was a musician; my dad was a musician; a lot of my family; and how I've gotten to stand on their shoulders to live this moment. So, in that sense, it did kind of feel like I made it in some regard.

“But I think the thing about being in music is it also always feels like … there's no clear path. It's not like you get any security. It always feels like it can fall apart. But I'm just enjoying what's happening now.”

Marc Scibilia headlines a concert Thursday at Buffalo’s Electric City. Click HERE for tickets or more information.

Find Marc online at www.marcscibilia.com.