The Hammond B-3 is a church instrument. Melvin Seals has always known that, and Jerry Garcia knew it too — which is part of why the two made music together for years, and why Garcia nicknamed his keyboardist “the Master of the Universe.” When a musician with deep gospel and R&B roots sits down at a Hammond B-3 in front of a room full of Deadheads, something happens that resists easy classification. That collision has been Seals’ life’s work, and it continues October 19 at Town Ballroom in Buffalo.
About the Show
Seals joined the Jerry Garcia Band on January 22, 1981 — his path into the band running through vocalist Maria Muldaur, who was connected to JGB bassist John Kahn — and stayed through the group’s final performance in April 1995, becoming the longest-tenured keyboardist in the band’s history. He recorded on Garcia’s final solo album, Run For The Roses (1982), contributing organ. Garcia died in August 1995; bassist Kahn followed in May 1996. Seals became the custodian of what remained. He formed Melvin Seals & JGB not as a tribute act but as something more honest: the band’s own biography describes him as someone who “kept it alive — stretching it, reshaping it, and bringing his own voice into the mix.” The tagline is “Keepers of the flame.”
The band arrives in Buffalo as part of the October 2026 Northeast Tour, a run that moves from the West Coast through Albany, Pittsburgh, Hartford, and beyond. The current lineup includes John Kadlecik, John-Paul McLean, and Jeremy Hoenig alongside Seals. The music blends blues, funk, rock, jazz, R&B, and gospel, creating what the band calls “natural organic grooves that challenge genre boundaries,” shaped differently each night, drawing from both frequently played Garcia catalog pieces and rarer material surfaced only a handful of times historically. Seals’ official site describes his performances as “a must see, must feel experience” that can stretch into a journey of several hours — built on improvisation rather than a fixed setlist. No support act has been announced for the Buffalo date.
Venue & Logistics
Town Ballroom sits at 681 S. Main Street in Buffalo, a standing room anchoring the western New York touring circuit. Doors at 7 p.m. The show is all-ages 12+; anyone under 16 must be accompanied by a parent. Government-issued ID required. Presented by Twenty6 Productions.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Tickets are available through ETIX; the show went on sale August 7, 2026. Buy tickets