Up Close with Cameron Whitcomb and Ben Cottrill at Babeville

One strength of Buffalo that remains is its variety of music venues, from small to large, and DIY ones, too. This show was at the 9th Ward which is a part of Babeville. 9th Ward is a small, speakeasy-like club that holds 150 people. Thanks to terrible Buffalo weather, this show had about 50 attendees. This led to a very exclusive session with a heightened experience.

The opener for the show was Ben Cottril who is a part of Cameron Whitcomb’s band. During his set, Ben told a little story of how he used to be a busker in the streets of Ontario back in the day. His busking skills clearly came out during his performance as he let everyone know how personal and intimate the rest of the show would get. Overall his performance was very clean and professional, an experienced, versatile artist and musician who helped everyone warm up from the cold weather outside in the coolest way possible.

Cameron Whitcomb was the headliner for the show. Cameron is a very young gun in the music scene right now and this show was a part of his first tour. During the show, Cameron talked about how he got his start by doing Tyler Childers covers on Reddit, what it was like being on American Idol, and what it’s like touring in his own band after getting signed on to Atlantic Records. His performance showed how worthy he was to get signed.

Cameron lets his musicianship shine with his raspy voice. He also shows humility. You really feel like you are his friend watching from the crowd. Some concert goers shared ZYNs with him throughout his set. At one point, Ben was even soloing on the piano with a ZYN container. Cameron opens up with full vulnerability on stage by playing his well known songs such as “Wreckage” and “Quitter” as well as some of his deep cuts that most people haven’t heard. He even played songs he said he simply will never release. This felt special, and shows just how much creating and performing music means to him. It added to what was an exclusive unplugged ambiance.

The unique and highly intimate show kept the crowd warm. Cameron Whitcomb and his band are excellent performers and musicians who really do care about their audience. Cameron created a space of collective effervescence where everyone felt they were a part of his songs. Cameron’s career has just begun and I’m already looking forward to catching his next show in Buffalo. You should too.