Grosh plays it close to home at The Cave

Buffalo's own rock quartet takes a small Military Road stage Friday night with Blaised & Confused, a long way from the Texas studio where it made its latest record.

A band that has headlined the Town Ballroom doesn't have to play a room of under 200 people. Grosh is doing it anyway. On Friday, October 30, the Buffalo rock band headlines The Cave at 71 Military Road, with Blaise Mercedes's band Blaised & Confused opening. The band's own show listing runs it from 8 to 11pm, and our listings put the room at about 174. Bring earplugs and get there early.

Grosh is about as Buffalo as a band gets. In our records it has played here more than anywhere else, 21 shows, and the name itself is a local origin story. Per the band's site, it started as a duo: Grace plus Josh equals Grosh. It has since grown into a quartet, with Megan Brown on vocals, Grace Lougen on guitar, Dylan Hund on bass and Josh English on drums.

Grace plus Josh equals Grosh.

The latest chapter took them a long way from Military Road. The band's most recent album, Start Again, was recorded with producer Tim Lefebvre at Sonic Ranch Studios, the residential studio in Tornillo, Texas, outside El Paso. The band's media page credits the 2025 sessions to Lefebvre and Sonic Ranch, and Buffalo music writer Jeff Miers reported that Lefebvre invited the band down to record with him, with a release show at the Town Ballroom in March 2025. It followed the earlier album Not Down for Long. We didn't find a newer release announced, so Friday is a chance to hear the Start Again songs after more than a year of living with them on stage.

That's the case for a small room. Songs built in a big Texas studio don't stay polished long once a working band gets hold of them, and the rough edges are the good part. At The Cave you'll hear Lougen's guitar from a few feet away, not from the back of a ballroom.

The opener is worth showing up on time for. Blaised & Confused is fronted by Blaise Mercedes, a Buffalo singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor, and the band describes its sound as a blend of rock, soul and funk. Put that next to Grosh and you've got a bill that's all Buffalo, top to bottom, the night before Halloween.

The Cave is out on Military Road, so plan your ride. Our listing doesn't show a ticket link, so check the band's show page or the venue before you head out.

Hometown shows by bands that tour can feel like victory laps. A Friday night at The Cave feels more like Grosh checking in with the people who were there before the Texas trip. If you're one of them, go say hi. If you're not, this is the easy way in.

Sources: Grosh: Shows (groshband.com); Grosh: The Band (groshband.com); Grosh: Media (groshband.com); Grosh: Not Down for Long (groshband.com); Grosh: home (groshband.com); Jeff Miers: Where the Bands Are (Start Again release) (jeffmiersmusic.substack.com); Blaised And Confused (Facebook) (facebook.com); The Cave Buffalo (thecavebuffalo.com)