The grunge revival has carved out a durable niche in the upstate touring circuit, and Seattle Sons — the Syracuse-based tribute act that has been working this material with uncommon seriousness since 2018 — brings their case to The Vine Showroom at del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo on Saturday, July 18.
About Seattle Sons
Four-piece tributes live or die by the musicianship behind them, and Seattle Sons arrive with credentials worth noting. Vocalist Shane Stillman, guitarist Jake Bunger, bassist Gabe Infantino, and drummer Kevin Dean collectively bring more than a century of combined experience to a catalog spanning Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Mad Season, and Temple of the Dog — over five hours of material, by the band’s own count. The members come out of Central New York outfits including Stone Soul Foundation, Brand New Sin, Country Swagg, and Rattlebasket, names that will register with anyone who has tracked the region’s original music scene over the past two decades.
Their résumé extends beyond the local circuit. The band performed at Woodstock ’99, have collaborated with Heart and John Popper of Blues Traveler, and have recorded with Greg Hawkes of The Cars and Liberty DeVitto, the longtime drummer for Billy Joel. Those associations don’t prove anything about a given night’s show — tribute bands carry their own variables — but they speak to players who have moved in circles well beyond the typical cover act. Bunger’s command of guitar effects and tone is cited as a distinguishing characteristic; Stillman’s vocal approach to grunge-era material holds up under scrutiny, which it has to, given the source recordings he’s working from.
The Vine Showroom at del Lago Resort & Casino
Del Lago’s dedicated performance room holds 1,400 and has earned Gold recognition for Best Night Club in the Rochester / Finger Lakes region. The space is described as acoustically designed for live music — for a guitar-heavy show at this price point, that distinction is worth noting. Box office opens at 4 PM on show nights. ADA seating is available by calling 315-946-1695. Del Lago is located at 1133 State Route 414, Waterloo, NY 13165.
Tickets & Pricing
General admission is $10. FastTrack Rewards members — players enrolled in del Lago’s complimentary loyalty program — receive free entry by showing their player card at the door, which makes this one of the more accessible live music options in the Finger Lakes this summer. This is a 21-and-over event. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster; del Lago advises against third-party platform purchases, which carry fraud risk. Showtime is 8:00 PM.