Buffalo 2027

Learn more about our host city! Fact #1: Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal's western terminus in Buffalo turned the city into a bustling gateway to the American midwest. Fact #2: Because of hydroelectric power harnessed from nearby Niagara Falls, Buffalo was one of the first cities in the US to widely illuminate its streets with electricity.

Fact #3: In the early 1900s, boosted by grain milling and steel production, Buffalo had more millionaires per capita than any other US city.

Fact #4: Buffalo holds several major designs by Frank Lloyd Wright, including the Darwin D. Martin House and the Graycliff estate.

Fact #5: Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated in Buffalo following William McKinley's assassination at the Pan-American Exposition.

Fact #6: The Buffalo AKG Art Museum features a world-renowned modern and contemporary art collection.

Fact #7: Opened in 1940, Kleinhans Music Hall is the home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Fact #8: Established in 1926, Shea's Buffalo Theatre served as a movie house under Paramount Pictures and later hosted performances by the Marx Brothers, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope.

Fact #9: Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead designed Buffalo's interconnected system of parks and parkways.

Fact #10: Buffalo is famous for beef on weck sandwiches, sponge candy, and local styles of pizza and fish fries.

SAM, Buffalo 2027: The Playlist

To capture a singular musical identity of the region referred to as Western New York and Ontario, the ancestral homelands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, would be an impossible task. Spanning funk, soul, jazz, punk, alternative rock, hip-hop, metal, folk, and contemporary Indigenous music, the region has been and remains the home of an eclectic mix of artists. This playlist includes artists who were born in, were inspired by, or worked within and drew from themes related to the greater Buffalo and southern Ontario areas, such as Rick James, Grover Washington Jr., Ani DiFranco, the Goo Goo Dolls, Nick Lone, and Shub. – Amanda Paruta

Register for the Conference

Book your room at the Hyatt Regency

Excursions

Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the Burchfield Penney Art Center

For more than 150 years, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum has collected, conserved, and exhibited the art of its time, often working directly with living artists. This tradition has given rise to one of the world’s most extraordinary collections of modern and contemporary art. The museum’s collections span some of the greatest moments in art through the centuries. Impressionism and post-Impressionism are well represented by leading nineteenth-century European artists such as Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Vincent van Gogh. Cubism, Surrealism, Constructivism, and other movements from the revolutionary early years of the 20th century come to life through significant works by Georges Braque, André Derain, Frida Kahlo, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Piet Mondrian, Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, and Alexander Rodchenko. The Gallery has a restaurant, Cornelia, perfect for lunch. The Burchfield Penney Art Center is dedicated to cultivating and elevating the work of Charles E. Burchfield (1893–1967) and Western New York artists. Consistent with its mission as both a single-artist and regional art center, the Burchfield Penney has throughout its history broadened its range of commitments and activities, while intensifying the museum’s focus on the work of renowned painter Charles E. Burchfield. Burchfield, the first artist ever given a solo show at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), inspired the creation of the museum at (then-named) State University College at Buffalo in 1966. Originally called the Charles Burchfield Center, the institution was formally created through the Buffalo State College Foundation Inc.

Buffalo History Museum

An inspired group of history makers founded The Buffalo History Museum, then called the Buffalo Historical Society, in 1862. They assembled a unique collection of regional paintings, photographs, artifacts, and manuscripts to share with researchers and the public. To accommodate the organization’s rapid growth, operations moved into one of three buildings that comprise the current museum campus. Buffalo architect George Cary designed the New York State Building, hostess for the 1901 Pan American Exposition, which was intended to remain the permanent home for local history. Its mission expanded, and exhibitions to share the collection emerged as a priority. In 2012, on its 150th Anniversary, we became known as The Buffalo History Museum. Today, it cares for and shares nearly half-million objects and their stories that characterize Western New York and draw national attention to the community.

Darwin Martin House

Darwin D. Martin (1865–1935) was an accomplished business leader in the city of Buffalo. A self-made millionaire, he was a top executive for the Larkin Company—a rapidly expanding soap and mail-order operation. Built between 1903 and 1905, the Martin House was designed by acclaimed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright as the city home for Buffalo business executive Darwin D. Martin and his family. The Martin House is characterized by its spatial openness, horizontal planes, pier and cantilever construction, and palette of natural colors and materials. It is considered one of the great achievements of Wright’s career, resulting from a remarkable partnership between client and architect.

Colored Musicians Club & Jazz Museum

The Colored Musicians Club and the Colored Musicians Club (Jazz) Museum is dedicated to promoting research and preserving the history of African-American music, not only in Buffalo but globally. It aspires to enlighten, encourage, and educate our youth of their musical heritage. Originally, there was only one Buffalo musicians union, Local 43. This all white Local which was part of the American Federation of Musicians refused to include African American musicians. As a result, a separate union, Buffalo Local 533 was formed on February 3, 1917. Buffalo then became the eighth city in the United States, since the 1896 founding of the American Federation of Musicians, with racially segregated musician’s local unions. In 1979, the Club was granted historic landmark status. In 1999, the Club was designated a historical preservation site. Today, the Colored Musicians Club is the only remaining African American club in the entire U.S. and, as such, it actively encourages historical research and preservation of the history of jazz in Buffalo.

Special Events

Vivian Perlis Concert: The Colored Musicians Club at the Buffalo Public Library

Sacred Harp Sing

2027 Honorary Member, Sadie Buck

SAM looks forward to welcoming Sadie Buck as an Honorary Member at our 2027 annual conference in Buffalo. With roots in the Tonawanda Reservation in New York State and the Six Nations Reserve in Ohsweken, Ontario, Buck has worked across disciplines and communities as an artist, performer, researcher, and advocate for Indigenous music and culture. Her work exemplifies the power of music to sustain communities, transmit knowledge, and foster cultural exchange across generations and borders. Buck and her family will perform during the plenary session at the conference.

Appetizer Banquet

For over fifty years, the Saturday night banquet has been the must-attend highlight of the SAM conference. No fancy attire, assigned seats, or grayish chicken! Just a low-key opportunity to share delicious food, mingle with old friends, and meet some new ones. And, this year, the winners of SAM fellowships and awards will be announced at the meal. Join us!

Exhibitors! We would love to have you join us in Buffalo. You can register here.

Program Committee

Paul Sommerfeld, chair; Mark Burford, Sara Haefeli, Nicole Powlison, Marysol Quevedo, and Myrta Leslie Santana

Local Arrangements Committee