Why Music Matters With Jeff Miers

This week on Why Music Matters, I get to hang out with my friend Mike Gantzer, guitarist and vocalist with indie jam-rock quartet Aqueous, as well as side project Death Kings - with Ryan Stasik of Umphrey's McGee and Ryan Nogle of Funktional Flow. Mike has spent the past decade on the road, and during that period, Aqueous has grown from a Buffalo band to a major player in the world of jam-based mu...

Today on Why Music Matters, I get to spend some time with one of my favorite musicians, with the added bonus that he happens to be my son. Declan Miers is a bassist, producer, composer and guitarist who is currently on the road with alternative R&B superstar SZA. He’s performed and recorded with a host of Neo-soul, R&B, pop and jazz artists, including Mac Ayres, Renee Rapp, Brass Tracks, C...

Today on Why Music Matters, I’ll be speaking with Shain Shapiro, founder and chairman of the economic consultancy Sound Diplomacy, director of the global nonprofit Center for Music Ecosystems, and author of the forthcoming book This Must Be the Place: How Music Can Make Your City Better. Shain is a serious music-lover, who turned his passion for music into pioneering work on how music can radicall...

On this episode of Why Music Matters with Jeff Miers, I catch up with Goo Goo Dolls bassist and Music Is Art founder Robby Takac. As one of the most successful musicals to have emerged from Buffalo over the past 30 years, Robby has a unique perspective on the ever-changing landscape of the music industry. And as founder of the annual Music is Art Festival, which celebrates its 21st anniversary on...

On this episode of Why Music Matters, I spend some time with Jennifer Brazill, founder of the Borderland Festival, which celebrates its fifth year at Knox Farm State Park in East Aurora, New York, September 15 through 17. This year’s Borderland marks a serious breakthrough for Brazill and her team, as she presents three full days’ worth of roots music, Americana, and jam-band sounds across multipl...

On this episode of Why Music Matters with Jeff Miers, I'm speaking with musician, singer-songwriter, poet, activist and social justice advocate Michael Franti. Franti recently performed an emotional, jubilant show with his band Spearhead at Artpark in Lewiston, NY, and he took some time prior to that gig to talk about music as an agent of transformation, in his own life, and in the lives of his li...

On this episode of Why Music Matters with Jeff Miers, I’m speaking with JoAnn Falletta, Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Called "one of the finest conductors of her her generation” by The New York Times, Maestro Falletta is the first woman to be appointed Music Director of a major American ensemble. Throughout the course of her career, she has been a tireless champion of music...

Welcome to the Why Music Matters podcast. I’m your host, music journalist and musician Jeff Miers. Throughout my life in and around music, I’ve often asked myself the question - Why does music matter? This podcast attempts to answer that question, with the help of musicians, members of the music industry, and music-lovers like you. Join us! https://jeffmiersmusic.com/ https://jeffmiersmusic.substa...