Thank You Scientist at Buffalo Iron Works | May 21, 2026

There are bands that make more sense at a club than they do on paper, and Thank You Scientist is one of them. After Dark Presents brings the seven-piece prog-metal-jazz outfit to Buffalo Iron Works on Thursday, May 21 — the first night of a northeast spring run. If you have never seen them live, this is the right room and the right reason.

Thank You Scientist formed in 2009 at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where guitarist and bandleader Tom Monda assembled a group around a shared obsession with Frank Zappa, the Beatles, Harry Nilsson, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. What came out was a seven-piece ensemble — Salvatore Marrano on vocals, Ben Karas on electric violin, Cody McCorry on bass and theremin, Kevin Grossman on drums, Alex Silver on saxophone, Joe Gullace on trumpet, and Monda on guitar — that spends its live sets tearing apart genre walls. Ticketmaster describes it as “carefully contained chaos.” A Songkick reviewer put it this way: the band “perfectly blends a number of different genres — progressive rock, jazz, pop, prog-metal, among others — into a distinctive sound that balances technical skill with accessibility.” Both descriptions hold up.

Their 2016 album Stranger Heads Prevail cracked the Billboard Top 200. Their 2019 double album Terraformer runs over 84 minutes — their most ambitious studio statement to date. They’re signed to Evil Ink Records — Claudio Sanchez’s label — and have toured with Coheed and Cambria, Yes, Haken, Periphery, and Protest the Hero. After Buffalo, the run continues: Burlington, VT on May 22, Portland, ME on May 23, and Hamden, CT on May 24.

Buffalo Iron Works is at 49 Illinois St in Buffalo. More upcoming shows in the Buffalo / Western NY calendar.

Doors at 8:00 PM. Tickets start at $25. Get tickets.