July 1st — Tonawanda’s Gateway Harbor!

Tonawanda’s Gateway Harbor schedule was released today, and as promised, we’re on it for July 1st!. (That’s just a few days before Saturday In The Park … and it will be the Fourth of July!) Mo Porter, an AMAZING band, is also on the bill for the show on Wednesday the 1st. Don’t miss them — they start at six. We hit at eight. REALLY looking forward to it!

Tonawanda’s Gateway Harbor is at the western terminus of the Erie Canal. The stage is on Sweeney Street on the North Tonawanda side, backing on Delaware Ave. This is one of a few shows we’re doing this summer. We can’t lock in the dates until the Buffalo Bills season schedule is announced. You’ll know as soon as we do!

Long time no talk!

Hi Friends!

If you were at Tonawanda’s Gateway Harbor last night to see those two excellent bands, you may have heard the announcement that The Chicago Authority will be performing there next summer.

Truth is, we had a couple of meetings the week before last and decided to get the brothers back together to play some shows next year. We’re all REALLY excited about it!

We haven’t finalized any dates or venues yet, so stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted.

Finale

A sell-out crowd of more than 1,000 friends helped us get through one of the most emotional shows we have ever done. We were all on the border between laughter and tears all night long.

We would love to thank each and every one of you by name if we could. Instead, all we can do is thank all of you — for coming to our show, and for supporting us over the past ten years. It has truly been a remarkable run, and a band of brothers that we will never forget.

There was so much love in every corner of that room … we just have no more words except:

Thank you.

The Farewell Outdoor Concert, July 12, 2023

To say our farewell outdoor performance at Tonawanda’s Gateway Harbor was an emotional roller coaster is an understatement. Emotions ran from Zenith to Nadir and back again every few minutes as we felt the love from thousands upon thousands of hometown friends.

Over the past decade, the outdoor concerts in western New York have been the highlights of our summers. We are blessed to have been able to do what we love, and to bring some smiles to our audiences. We are truly going to miss it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support, your love, and for allowing us to do what we do!

With Love,
The Chicago Authority
Barry Arbogast
Kacy Dolan
Ryan Gentner
Dave Herr
Rick Johnston
Jim Mauck
Eladio Rodriguez
Tom Scime
Justin Sledz
Keith Spurlock

July 12, 2023 and October 28, 2023 …

Photo by Justin Sledz

Hi Friends,

After 10 years of performing together, The Chicago Authority has decided to perform two “farewell” concerts in 2023. We are beyond happy that these concerts can be held at the venues who believed in us when we were starting out a decade ago.

July 12, 2023 at Tonawandas Gateway Harbor is the first …

October 28, 2023 at Lockport’s Palace Theatre is the second.

It has been quite a ride. We’ve traveled thousands of miles to perform hundreds of shows. We’ve weathered the storms of membership changes and health issues. And we’re fortunate that we accomplished what we set out to do: Celebrate the music of Chicago.

We all have our own careers, families, and lives that are bound spiritually and physically to Western New York, so it has been an honor and a privilege to also incorporate charitable elements into our performances through the years to give something back to the people who supported us.

Every single event at which we’ve performed over the years has been an absolute BLAST, and we look back on every one with loving, joyful memories. The guys in the band have formed a brotherly bond that will never be broken, and collectively we’ve formed a bond with all of you friends and fans — so much so that we consider you to be part of our family.

Thank you SO MUCH for accepting us, for supporting us, and for helping us relive our memories of one of the best bands on the planet: Chicago.

“Let’s all get together soon, before it is too late
“Forget about the past and let your feelings fade away
“If you do I’m sure you’ll see the end is not yet near

“Where do we go
“Where do we go
“Where do we go from here?”

July 12, 2023 and October 28, 2023 …

Photo by Justin Sledz

Hi Friends,

After 10 years of performing together, The Chicago Authority has decided to perform two “farewell” concerts in 2023. We are beyond happy that these concerts can be held at the venues who believed in us when we were starting out a decade ago.

July 12, 2023 at Tonawandas Gateway Harbor is the first …

October 28, 2023 at Lockport’s Palace Theatre is the second.

It has been quite a ride. We’ve traveled thousands of miles to perform hundreds of shows. We’ve weathered the storms of membership changes and health issues. And we’re fortunate that we accomplished what we set out to do: Celebrate the music of Chicago.

We all have our own careers, families, and lives that are bound spiritually and physically to Western New York, so it has been an honor and a privilege to also incorporate charitable elements into our performances through the years to give something back to the people who supported us.

Every single event at which we’ve performed over the years has been an absolute BLAST, and we look back on every one with loving, joyful memories. The guys in the band have formed a brotherly bond that will never be broken, and collectively we’ve formed a bond with all of you friends and fans — so much so that we consider you to be part of our family.

Thank you SO MUCH for accepting us, for supporting us, and for helping us relive our memories of one of the best bands on the planet: Chicago.

“Let’s all get together soon, before it is too late
“Forget about the past and let your feelings fade away
“If you do I’m sure you’ll see the end is not yet near

“Where do we go
“Where do we go
“Where do we go from here?”

Nothing More to Say

Photo by Justin Sledz

We left it all on the stage last night at the Palace Theatre in Lockport, NY. The energy from the audience was so intense we could have cut it with a knife. We returned it with our performance of every phrase of every song, and the audience in turn returned it back to us. It was our best show so far, and the perfect ending to an amazing season!

Lakefront Property

Photo by Sue Porter Ottaway

Actually, harbor front property in Dunkirk, New York, at their Thursday Music on the Pier series. As the first band, The Untouchables, played their amazing high-energy set of Blues Brothers-influenced songs, the question we asked ourselves: “How are we going to follow THAT?!?” Good or bad, depending on your perspective, follow it we did, and the crowd seemed to love the entire night. We had fun both watching and performing!

Monday in the …

Photo by Bob Koshinski

… Town of Niagara Veterans Memorial Park. Nasty weather was forecast, so the crowd wasn’t as big as it has been in the past. It rained just as opener The USA Band was finishing their set, which thinned the audience even more. Still, several hundred people braved the storm (which lasted for only 20 minutes or so) and stayed for our show. A couple of technical issues with the sound and electronics due to the rain were dealt with quickly by our Production Manager, Justin Sledz and sound system engineer Scott Nichols. Before our show was over everyone got to witness one of the most beautiful sunsets of the summer at one of the area’s finest outdoor music venues.

Saturday in the …

Several hundred of our closest old & new friends spent their Saturday In The Park at Sportsmens on a picture-perfect western New York summer day. The food and bevs flowed easily and the music filled the air. One of the most enjoyable things the guys in the band love to do is help out charitable organizations. Yesterday we donated another $1,000 to the Sportsmens Americana Music Foundation, bringing the 8-year total to over $7,000! Thank you so much for helping us do this!