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September 10. Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Starset, and Kami Kehoe at Darien Lake. Four bands. One evening. The kind of bill that does not require a sales pitch.
About the Show
Breaking Benjamin does not get enough credit for how physically relentless their live show is. Benjamin Burnley built this band around songs with real structural weight — “So Cold,” “Diary of Jane,” “The Diary of Jane,” “Blow Me Away,” “I Will Not Bow” — and the band performs them with a focused intensity that leaves very little room for spectacle to compensate for lack of substance. There is no spectacle-over-substance problem here. This is a band that earns every decibel.
Chevelle is the co-headliner that makes this bill a genuine event rather than just a good show. “Face to the Floor,” “Face to the Floor,” “Send the Pain Below,” “The Red” — Chevelle’s catalog is a masterclass in the kind of heavy melodic rock that radio forgot about after 2008 but that audiences have never stopped caring about. Putting Breaking Benjamin and Chevelle on the same night is the kind of booking that makes alt-rock fans feel seen in a landscape where their genre rarely gets this level of attention.
Starset and Kami Kehoe fill out a four-act bill that could legitimately anchor any of their positions higher on smaller lineups. This is a full evening of music, and if you are planning to show up for just the headliner you are leaving serious value on the table.
September at Darien Lake is underrated. The summer heat has broken, the crowds are slightly smaller than peak July, and the amphitheater atmosphere takes on something almost intimate for this kind of show.
Venue Info
Darien Lake Amphitheater runs to about 22,000 capacity and handles rock shows with real production efficiency. The sound on the lawn for a heavy bill like this carries well and hits hard. Close-in reserved seats if you want to be in the mix with the production; lawn if you want room to move. Full details at Darien Lake Amphitheater. More Western NY shows at Western NY.
Tickets & Pricing
$48 to $150. For four acts of this caliber, the entry price is genuinely reasonable. Tickets through Darien Lake. Go.