Intimate, confessional songwriting at its best

By Frank Housh

I’m a sports fan but I never paid much attention to soccer. Baseball was always my favorite sport and for years I privately regarded other athletic pursuits as occasionally diverting, but largely irrelevant sideshows.

When I finally went to a soccer game and was thrilled by its grace and speed I realized my foolish reluctance was rooted in an ignorant tribalism, the view that my love for baseball would somehow be diluted by enjoying another game. Quite silly of me, really.

That said, musical tribalism is alive and well. Many rock lovers have never cast a shadow at a Buffalo Philharmonic performance, and few members of Buffalo’s hardcore scene will likely attend one of the performances at the Buffalo Friends of Folk Music at Williamsville’s Village Meeting House.

I will confess that despite being a lover of music in the Nickel City for over three decades, yesterday’s performance (Sept. 6, 2024) by Antje Duvekot was my first visit to the folk music series. I was foolish to wait so long.

Duvekot’s return to the series after the Covid pause filled the Meeting House (180 person capacity) with her intimate, confessional songs and delicate, breathy alto. Her pitch-perfect voice mesmerizes, complemented by a sparse but complex guitar counterpoint as in “New Wild West,” below.

The concert was presented without ceremony. The artists sat in the audience until they took the stage, and there was a dialogue between the artists and audience between songs. Less is more, as the folk arts tolerate little artifice or showmanship.

Duvekot needed no gimmicks to keep the audience’s attention, dressed simply on a spare stage with an ancient stool pressed into service as a table. She preceded each song with a an origin story; she shared the tragic tale of wandering a North Carolina cemetery and noticing a gravestone for “Dylan Thomas.” Curious, she approached and noticed toys decorating the grave of a two year old namesake of the Welsh poet.

Duvekot performed for approximately 90 minutes with one short break. Buffalo Music Hall of Fame Member John Brady opened the show with a short, bluesy set.

The Buffalo Friends of Folk Music have a good thing going and, if Antje Duvekot’s performance is representative, a season of intimate, high-quality performances.