Musicians and artists from all over Western New York shared their respective talents at Buffalo River Works for the 19th annual Music Is Art Festival, including a memorable performance from a member of the Buffalo State community.

Tom Sieracki, a third-year communications major performed at the festival on September 11 with his group, Captain Tom and the Hooligans. One week removed from the event, Sieracki and the band’s new bassist, Shavonne Pucula reflected on the group’s performance on the Tailgate Stage.

“I thought it was really cool,” Sieracki said. “We finally had a chance to play a bigger venue for people that aren’t used to hearing our stuff, or people that wouldn’t normally be exposed to our type of music.”

During their 30-minute set, Captain Tom and Hooligans performed their modern renditions of traditional songs along with original material.

The group has kept busy throughout the summer playing several gigs around the Western New York area. Sieracki said that while these gigs made him and the band feel prepared, they were not sure what to expect leading up to the performance.

“There’s always the uncertainty of how a show is gonna go, he said. “Half of me was saying ‘I don’t know,’ while the other half of me was like, ‘This is going to be a great show.’”

When the band got on the stage, plugged in their instruments and started performing, Sieracki said he was energized by the audience and that feeling was shared by the other members of the band.

“I usually just go off Tom’s excitement because he knows the level and the severity of things. I had so much fun.” Pucula said.
After the band got off stage, their sailor inspired stage outfits got some attention from other festival goers.

“It was just a cool thing, walking around with our outfits on, because there’s a bunch of people there cosplaying,” Sieracki said. “If you’re wearing an outfit people would comment on it.”

Sieracki said that he and the band plan on carrying over the momentum from their performance into some new territory.

“We decided next month we’re going to cut back on the gigs a little bit and focus on recording an EP,” he said.

For more information on the band’s upcoming shows and projects, they can be found on Facebook and Instagram.