08/14/2026
When Black musicians in Buffalo were shut out of the white musicians union a century ago, they refused to be silenced and built something of their own. 🎺 Out of that struggle came the Colored Musicians Club, one of the oldest continuously operating clubs of its kind anywhere in the country.
Founded in the early twentieth century on Broadway, the club became a home for Black artistry and a stop for the greats passing through town. 🎶 Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and so many legends are said to have played or gathered here, in a room thick with music and pride. It was more than a club, it was a stand for dignity and belonging.
More than a hundred years on, the music still plays there every week. It stands as a living monument to talent that would not be turned away.
