Johnny Manchild & The Poor Bastards at Rec Room | August 9, 2026
If you have been looking for an excuse to get to Buffalo this summer, Sunday, August 9 is your date. Rec Room on Chippewa Street sits in the middle of downtown Buffalo’s Chippewa entertainment district, and it is built for exactly this kind of night — 5×12 ft LED video walls, full food and drink service, specialty cocktails, bottle service, and a stage that a seven-piece band from Oklahoma City is about to fill up completely.
Johnny Manchild & The Poor Bastards are hard to file neatly: piano-rock, punk, jazz, funk, ska, and a full brass section, all operating at once. Think Ben Folds-style piano melodies crossed with angsty 2000s punk rock energy, then layer in orchestral textures and a brass section delivering jazzy funk-influenced passages. The Oklahoma City-area seven-piece formed in 2016, has five albums out, and has built a following of more than 400,000 listeners — heading into 2026 with a sixth record, Side Effects, on the way. Their summer tour covers two countries and 15-plus dates. They have collaborated with musicians from No Doubt and Sublime and performed alongside the Dresden Dolls, and their 48-show house tour tells you everything you need to know about their range and work ethic.
Two supports round out the bill. Karma and the Killjoys — a piano-rock quartet out of Baton Rouge whose debut album Hellscape dropped in December 2022 and whose songwriting leans socially conscious — open alongside Friend of a Friend.
Doors at 6 PM, show at 7. This is a 16-and-up event — anyone under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Rec Room is at 79 W Chippewa St in downtown Buffalo. eTickets deliver digitally two days before the show.