Jun 25, 2025
Backlog members, left to right Jim Sturdevant, Dave Ahlquist and Gavin Paterniti, are scheduled for Dunkirk’s Music on the Pier Summer Concert Series on Thursday, June 26 at 6 p.m. at the Dunkirk Pier. Grand Illusion – The Music of Styx plays at 7:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.
The City of Dunkirk’s Music on the Pier Summer Concert Series hosts Classic Rock Night on the Dunkirk Pier on Thursday. The concerts are presented by Dunkirk Festivals, APG, Van Buren Drive-In, National Grid, stage sponsor DFT Communications and Piede Tents, LLC.
This season, music will start a half an hour later at 6 p.m. to better accommodate the community’s schedules.
The free concert, sponsored by Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc./Dads Program, will include Backlog playing from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and headliner Grand Illusion – The Music of Styx on stage from 7:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.
Last week’s rain canceled Canadian Night is rescheduled to Thursday, Aug. 28 with We Speak Canadian and Canada Rocks USA on the pier.
Backlog is a variety rock power trio of Gavin Paterniti (bass/vocals), Dave Ahlquist (guitar/vocals) and Jim Sturdevant (drums) from the Jamestown and Warren, Pa., areas. The group initially formed in 2015 after meeting through the weekly open jam at the Bullfrog Hotel in Jamestown. Since 2021, the group has been performing consistently throughout Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania, amassing nearly 200 shows and cultivating a set list that has entertained audiences of all ages and musical preference.
Since the 1990s, Grand Illusion has stunned local and regional audiences with their impossibly accurate performances of Styx tunes. Playing shows from northern Quebec, Canada to northern Virginia, USA, and just about everywhere in between, Grand Illusion continues to play to “fire-code-breaking” crowds, faithfully recreating the feel of arena concert events of the 1970s, earning them an impressive 7+ awards at the Buffalo Music Awards.
Grand Illusion was the opening act for Honeymoon Suite and Cheap Trick, and is as comfortable on stage in front of arena sized crowds as they are in more intimate venues for only a couple of hundred guests, bringing you all your favorite STYX classics. The band features Rick Allen on lead vocals & keyboards, Scott Helfrich on vocals & guitars, Michael Tantillo on drums, Ric Stave on bass guitar, vocals & synths and John Daniels on guitars and mandolin.
Guests are reminded to bring a chair. Food trucks and other vendors will be on site along with the city’s beverage tent. The Dunkirk Boardwalk Marketplace and surrounding harbor front businesses will also be open with food, drink and merchandise options. Dunkirk event brochures are available from the boardwalk atrium, Dunkirk City Hall or on-line. Any questions or concerns during the event should be directed to the beverage tent staff members. For more information about Dunkirk’s summer schedule of events or local attractions, please visit www.cityofdunkirk.com or Facebook at Dunkirk Festivals & Special Events or contact Scott Mekus, Dunkirk Festivals event specialist at (716) 366-9848 or smekus@cityofdunkirk.com.
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