Janelle Bradshaw has wondered, “Why can’t the Finger Lakes be like Nashville?” As a local resident of the Finger Lakes region, Bradshaw has witnessed the sheer volume of talent the area has to offer. The problem was easy access to the region’s music scene. So Bradshaw pioneered a website to promote the various musicians and venues of the Finger Lakes area.
Created by Janelle Bradshaw, FLX Music 247 offers a meticulous planner, containing various artists’ and venues’ schedules throughout the entire Finger Lakes’ area. The website’s homepage hosts a master calendar organized by region, genre, and venue, allowing its users to discover live music without the hassle of scrolling through multiple websites for hours on end.
“The combination of what’s to eat, what’s to drink, and who’s playing the music all influence the decision of where to go out,” the creator of FLX Music 247, Janelle Bradshaw, stated. “If you don’t have all those pieces, you just stay home.” Bradshaw’s innovative website solves this dilemma, making planning effortless, whether it be planning for a night out or for a trip months in advance. The calendar currently promotes events from as recent as the current date to as far as five months in advance in December.
Since its creation in January of 2022, Bradshaw has publicized music from over 400 venues, promoted over 750 musicians, and advertised approximately 40,000 live music events. Around 90% of these events are free and are located within the rural Finger Lakes area. Professional venues, such as CMAC, aren’t included in the statistics, proving that the Finger Lakes area has much to offer.
It’s this sheer volume of musical talent in the Finger Lakes area that makes Bradshaw wonder why the Finger Lakes can’t be more like Nashville. She hopes one day artists will record in studios throughout the rural area, transforming the Finger Lakes into a musical hotspot. Bradshaw hopes her website can be an integral part in elevating the music scene as a whole, consistently presenting better and better music.
To reach this goal, Bradshaw wants to change people’s mindset. When planning a night out, she wants the band to be at the forefront of people’s minds, not the venue. “People get pigeonholed and can’t find new music, because they only go here and there. But would they go somewhere else if they were following a band?” Bradshaw wondered.
Instead of heading to a venue, hoping the music is good, people can head to FLX Music 247 and base their decision of where to go out on the band that’s performing. Bradshaw stated, “If I could see four different bands and they’re all within eight to ten miles of each other, I’m going to hear the band I want to hear, not just go to drink the venue’s beer.” With this new mindset, venues will shift their objective to promoting top-tier music, and in turn, artists will be pushed to perform to the best of their ability.
In addition to FLX Music 247, Bradshaw continues to promote the Finger Lakes’ music scene through the Rocco Scott LaFaro Geneva Jazz Festival, which she co-created with Michael George Gonzalez in 2023. The idea for the festival arose after Bradshaw realized that Philadelphia bassist and leading name in jazz, Christian McBride, was going to perform in Geneva to celebrate the life and legacy of Rocco “Scott” LaFaro. Geneva has previously celebrated LaFaro’s jazz legacy for six years; however, this was the first-time famed jazz bassist and composer McBride would be part of the celebrations. As a jazz enthusiast, Bradshaw wanted to generate a pathway of excitement for McBride’s upcoming performance. It was her passion for jazz and desire to spread this passion that led to the creation of the Rocco Scott LaFaro Geneva Jazz Festival.
The first annual Rocco Scott LaFaro Geneva Jazz Festival took place the week leading up to McBride’s concert. Artists like Jimmy Richmond, the Nancy Kelly Quartet, and Jimmie Highsmith Jr. performed across various venues in the Finger Lakes area. It was such a success that jazz fever told hold of the region. “Two years ago, there was no jazz in Geneva,” Bradshaw stated. “Last year, you could see jazz in Geneva about once a week. And this year, you can see jazz four times a week in the Geneva area.”
Local venues, like Brewery Ardennes and Geneva On The Lake, now host weekly jazz happy hours and jazz brunch. But this isn’t the only way local venues have joined the jazz community. During the second annual Rocco Scott LaFaro Geneva Jazz Festival this past April, ten venues hosted various jazz musicians’ performances.
One such venue was Club 86. Although it now acts mainly as a wedding venue, the club was once the spot for jazz legends, hosting the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Nat King Cole, Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich, and Tony Bennett. Club 86 was brought back to life during the annual jazz festival. Not only did the jazz festival rejuvenate the club but it was also a thrilling experience for the performers. Bradshaw stated, “To be able to say, Hey, I played on the same stage as Ella Fitzgerald, is a cool thing to be able to say.”
Bradshaw has already begun planning the third annual Rocco Scott LaFaro Geneva Jazz Festival, which is scheduled to take place from April 3-6 in 2025. She hopes the festival will be not only a celebration of the Finger Lakes’ jazz scene but a reminder of the exceptional music the Finger Lakes’ area has to offer. To view all the music the Finger Lakes provides, head to Bradshaw’s website FLX Music 247 or click here.
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