Melvin Seals came to the Hammond B-3 through the church. He was eight years old in San Francisco, already learning piano in a gospel setting, when the influence of organists like Billy Preston showed him what the instrument could do beyond the sanctuary. By the time Jerry Garcia brought him into the band in January 1981, that foundation — soul, R&B, and the blues running underneath everything — was irreversible. Garcia understood exactly what he had. He called Seals “Master of the Universe,” and that assessment held for 18 years, through the band’s final show in April 1995. Seals carried something into that band beyond technique: a tradition rooted in the same ground that American popular music was built on. Melvin Seals & JGB plays Buffalo Iron Works on Monday, October 19.
About the Show
After Garcia’s death in 1995 and bassist John Kahn’s the following year, Seals did not step away from the music. He built JGB, keeping faith with the catalog and, crucially, bringing Garcia’s original background singers, Gloria Jones and Jackie Labranch, into the new band. The group’s debut release, “Welcome to Our World (For Members Only),” offered expanded, jazzy reworkings of rock, folk, country, gospel, pop, and Grateful Dead standards. The current touring lineup features guitarist John Kadlecik, John-Paul McLean, and drummer Jeremy Hoenig. Their sets are built on spontaneity: “intuitive, expressive” journeys, in their own words, that vary nightly, moving through blues, funk, rock, jazz, R&B, and gospel, with room for both frequently played standards and catalog cuts the original Jerry Garcia Band performed only a handful of times. Their performances have been described as often psychedelic in character. The band calls what they do “Keepers of the Flame,” also the title of their 2005 album, and the name lands plainly. Garcia’s original background singers are still in the fold. The repertoire honors both the familiar and the rarely heard. That is not tribute-band work; it is stewardship.
The Buffalo date falls mid-tour on a nine-date October run announced August 5, 2026. The band played Albany on October 14 and continues to Pittsburgh on October 20. No supporting act is listed for this date.
Venue & Logistics
Buffalo Iron Works, a 500-capacity club at 49 Illinois St in western New York, hosts this date. For a Hammond B-3 player, 500 seats is the right room. Doors open at 7:00 p.m.; stage time is 8:00 p.m. The show is 18 and over.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Tickets are available through Buffalo Iron Works via Etix. Buy tickets