{"id":1417,"date":"2017-06-04T23:28:11","date_gmt":"2017-06-05T03:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=1417"},"modified":"2017-06-05T00:00:05","modified_gmt":"2017-06-05T04:00:05","slug":"lonestar-rocks-the-downs-in-first-concert-of-the-summer-at-batavia-downs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2017\/06\/04\/lonestar-rocks-the-downs-in-first-concert-of-the-summer-at-batavia-downs\/","title":{"rendered":"Lonestar “Rocks the Downs” in first concert of the summer at Batavia Downs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
With close to 4,000 people coming to see Lonestar, Batavia Downs kicked off their Summer Concert series on Sunday.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Marilyn Torcello, a 64 year resident of Batavia, says she is a country music fan and to have them locally right here in Batavia is excellent. \u00a0Torcello said that she was fortunate to receive two free tickets. Torcello came to the show early, spent a little money and enjoyed a concert. She says she plans to come to the other concerts also.<\/div>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/div>\n
“We looked at what other gaming facilities in the area were doing and WNY is a fair and festival area and when May hits and up until it starts snowing, there are concerts outside and why not here,” says\u00a0 Ryan Hasenauer, Director of Marketing for Batavia Downs.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“We have all this space, parking and lets make this a place to fill our calendar to have people come and enjoy hearing artists place.”<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Hasenauer was just excited about the renewed interest in the Batavia Downs.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
“I fielded \u00a0several phone calls where people were telling me that they haven’t been here in years, so we are able to show the new renovations and it will bring more money to Batavia with local businesses.”<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Rob Bilson from Rob Bilson and the Rugged Hearts, one of three opening acts, has been involved with music since high school. \u00a0This is the first time that he has been in Batavia performing at Batavia Downs.\u00a0 He is semi-retired from live performances.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
Bilson has put out ten albums and a solo full length album called Beautiful Tonight. \u00a0He has had 5 top ten hits, a number one song on Kiss 98.5 called “Everything” and number one record on Billboard.<\/div>\n
Bilson has opened for Kelly Pickler, Kanye West, and also Brett Michaels.<\/div>\n
You will also hear his music on TV shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Wallburgers”.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \"\"<\/div>\n
Two other acts, Barnstorm and Jillian Cardarelli opened up as well for Lonestar.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/div>\n
Buffalo Sabres layer, Danny Gare and Buffalo Bills, Hall of Famer, Thurman Thomas made an appearance to cheering fans.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The headliner of the first summer concert series, \u00a0Lonestar, has been playing together for over 25 years. \u00a0The band consists of Richie McDonald(lead vocals), Michael Britt(lead guitar), Dean Sams(keyboards & backing vocals) and Keech Rainwater(drums).<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Known for their hit “Amazed”, which was number one on Billboard top hits, has received several awards from 1999 ACM Single of the Year and Song of the Year \u00a0for “Amazed” and then also in 2001 the CMA Vocal Group of the Year.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Lonestar will be on tour all summer playing their hit songs and also new songs from their 2016 album “Never Enders”. \u00a0They also raffled off a signed guitar, with all proceeds going to local organization Volunteers for Animals<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Batavia Downs will have 5 more concerts, which will feature many WNY bands as opening acts.<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Coming to\u00a0 Batavia Downs is Dennis DeYoung, Eddie Money, Lou Gramm, The Marshall Tucker Band, and Lee Greenwood.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
For more information on the Summer Concert Series go to\u00a0Log In or Sign Up to View<\/a><\/div>\n
For more info on the Bands that played you can go to:<\/div>\n
Barnstorm—https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Buffalobarnstormband\/<\/div>\n
Rob Bilson and the Rugged Hearts–https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robbilsonmusic\/<\/div>\n
Jillian Cardarelli–https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jilliancardarelli<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Story and photos by Julie Carasone<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With close to 4,000 people coming to see Lonestar, Batavia Downs kicked off their Summer Concert series on Sunday. Marilyn Torcello, a 64 year resident of Batavia, says she is a country music fan and to have them locally right here in Batavia is excellent. \u00a0Torcello said that she was \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,23],"tags":[376,377],"class_list":["post-1417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batavia","category-genesee-county","tag-batavia-downs","tag-rockin-the-downs-concert-series"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-mR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1778,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2017\/07\/17\/genesee-countybatavia-downs-will-continue-summer-concert-series-will-add-two-more-dates-next-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":1417,"position":0},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs will continue summer concert series, will add two more dates next year","author":"aka","date":"July 17, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Batavia Downs President\/CEO Henry Wojtaszek says the \"Rockin the Downs\" concert series will continue next summer. The series kicked off in June with Lonestar and will be wrapping up July 22nd with the Lee Greenwood show. \"It has been a great experience and we want to continue it into\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Genesee County"","block_context":{"text":"Genesee County","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/genesee-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/crowd.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/crowd.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/crowd.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/crowd.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/crowd.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23915,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2021\/03\/18\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-announces-additions-to-summer-concert-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":1417,"position":1},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs announces additions to Summer Concert Series","author":"aka","date":"March 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release Additional Concert Added to bring total to nine BATAVIA \u2013 Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel is pleased to announce the following changes to the upcoming Rockin\u2019 the Downs Summer Concert Series.\u00a0\u00a0 The Grass Roots\u00a0replaces The Sweet, originally scheduled for July 30th.\u00a0 The Grass Roots originated in the Mid-60\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68163,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/16\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-presents-make-a-wish-foundation-with-a-check-from-the-summer-concert-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":1417,"position":2},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs presents Make-A-Wish Foundation with a check from the summer concert series","author":"aka","date":"September 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Contribution From Chair Rental Booth at Summer Concert Series Press release BATAVIA \u2013Western Region Off Track Betting (WROTB) and Batavia Downs President and CEO Byron Brown was joined by staff from Make-A-Wish Western New York, as Batavia Downs Presented them with a check for $11,763.\u00a0 These proceeds were from this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20250916_131232.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20250916_131232.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20250916_131232.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20250916_131232.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20250916_131232.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26544,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2021\/07\/07\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-announces-change-to-summer-concert-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":1417,"position":3},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs announces change to summer concert series","author":"aka","date":"July 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Press release Slaughter Will Now Perform on July 23rd, 2021 BATAVIA \u2013\u00a0Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel announced today that due to circumstances beyond their control, the concert on Friday, July 23rd, 2021 will no longer feature Skid Row.\u00a0 Batavia Downs hopes to welcome Skid Row to the summer concert series\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Genesee County"","block_context":{"text":"Genesee County","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/genesee-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59106,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/11\/18\/genesee-county-batavia-downs-presents-make-a-wish-foundation-with-9310-check-from-summer-concert-series-chair-rentals\/","url_meta":{"origin":1417,"position":4},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Batavia Downs presents Make A Wish Foundation with\u00a0$9,310\u00a0check from summer concert series chair rentals","author":"aka","date":"November 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cG7S_2VDrpU Video of check presentation BATAVIA \u2013Western Region Off Track Betting (WROTB) and Batavia Downs President and CEO Byron Brown was joined by staff from Make-A-Wish Western New York, as Batavia Downs Presented them with a check for\u00a0 $9,310.\u00a0 These proceeds were from this past summer\u2019s Chair Rentals, Glow in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20241118_102711-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20241118_102711-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20241118_102711-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20241118_102711-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/20241118_102711-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C668&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35292,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2022\/08\/20\/batavia-dire-straits-legacy-wraps-up-the-rockin-the-downs-summer-concert-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":1417,"position":5},"title":"BATAVIA\/Dire Straits Legacy wraps up the Rockin the Downs Summer Concert series","author":"aka","date":"August 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Video clips from the Dire Straits Legacy concert August 19, 2022","rel":"","context":"In "Batavia"","block_context":{"text":"Batavia","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/batavia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/still-16.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/still-16.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/still-16.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/BD-Lonestar-4.jpg?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1417"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1438,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417\/revisions\/1438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}