Seamus Gallivan

Seamus Gallivan is the 150th guest on In the Flamingo Lounge. He joined Rockabilly Greg On January 22, 2025 for a lively conversation about the local community and connecting people and communities.

Seamus is a social connecter who has lived in a majority of Buffalo's council districts and worked in every single neighborhood. A founding force behind the likes of Larkin Square, Slow Roll Buffalo, and the campaign of India Walton for Buffalo Mayor, his latest venture is Reconnecter, which provides stories and events for social connection.

Seamus had a backdoor entry into the music business. He began careers in both baseball and journalism while still a high school student, working at every level of professional baseball including the Buffalo Bisons along with organizations in Florida and Texas. While back in Buffalo between stints with baseball teams in Texas, he was a preschool teacher of Declan Miers, son of longtime Buffalo News music writer Jeff Miers, forging a bond that led him to become a freelance contributor to the News beginning in 2003.

Seamus stayed on regular assignment for The Buffalo News even after returning to Texas in 2005, covering the local music scene and previewing visits from touring acts, many of which were based in or passing through Austin. While working in baseball there, he joined the review staff of NPR affiliate KUT Radio, and cofounded the annual Reckless Kelly's Celebrity Softball Jam, which over 10 years donated nearly a half-million dollars to local charities.

Upon repatriating to Buffalo in 2009, Seamus founded The Good Neighborhood, often "gathering for the greater good" at music clubs such as the Sportsmens Tavern, Nietzsche's and Mohawk Place with a cause for every concert as well as a daily website covering community. This venture led to invitations to be a founding part of Larkin Square and Slow Roll Buffalo, the former celebrated in a 2012 Buffalo News column that described him as an "omnipresent culture maven."

After Larkin and Slow Roll became the bulk of Seamus' work for the better part of a decade, Reconnecter is both a return to and evolution of the purpose of The Good Neighborhood, and music remains at its heart - his free weekly email, the Buffalodown, includes "Musings on Music," a concert-heavy list of upcoming community events, and links to conversations on music as a force for social connection.