When Joan Baez recorded three of Richard Shindell’s songs for her 1997 album Gone from Danger — and then brought him along for the 1997–98 tour that followed — the folk world paid attention the way it does when the nod comes from someone who does not give them lightly. Shindell had been working the Houston Street songwriting scene in lower Manhattan by then, a Philosophy graduate who had briefly studied at Union Theological Seminary before deciding that songs were the better calling. Baez recognized something in the writing. The back catalog since has made the endorsement look prescient rather than generous.
About the Show
Richard Shindell brings his fall 2026 acoustic tour to The 9th Ward at Babeville on Tuesday, October 13. Every date on this run is all-acoustic, placing Shindell’s voice and guitar in rooms that reward that kind of economy, with no staging between him and the songs. He arrives in Buffalo two days after a stop at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs and continues on toward Pittsburgh and a November UK leg before the year closes. No support act has been announced for the Buffalo date.
Shindell’s discography runs from his Shanachie debut, Sparrow’s Point (1992), through Careless (September 2016), an album he described as “ambitious and lush” — one that brought electric blues textures into a body of work otherwise known for its narrative precision. Folk Alley pegged him as “more than just a songwriter — a producer, guitarist, interpreter, and harmony vocalist,” though what that description undersells is the quality of the writing itself. His songs, as that same profile put it, “paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images.” In 1998, he joined Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplansky to form Cry Cry Cry, whose self-titled album and tour became one of that decade’s essential folk documents. The trio reunited for a 2017–18 run that ended with a recorded final show at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, California, all proceeds going to Live Music Society. He also collaborated with Kaplansky on Tomorrow You’re Going (2015), a Kickstarter-funded covers album that surpassed its goal in under 48 hours.
Venue & Logistics
The 9th Ward at Babeville is a listening room within the Babeville complex at 341 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, one of western New York‘s most distinctive music venues. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. show.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Buy tickets