By Patrick Sawers

Suicide is a sensitive and devastating issue, its grim unpleasantness generally leading to an environment of avoidance, confusion and silence. This weekend, though, a group of area musicians are taking steps to confront the problem in the best way they know how – with a mammoth, all-day blowout featuring live music at a beloved Cobblestone District venue.

On Saturday, July 26, 10 local bands will descend on Iron Works for Broken World: A Suicide Prevention Music Festival, an event designed to create awareness, raise money and provide community togetherness.

“Broken World is an all-day music festival to raise money for suicide prevention,” said event organizer Matt Riley, who is producing the festival for its third consecutive year. “It’s 10 bands coming together, all local, Western New York bands, and the main idea of the event is to tell people that they are not alone and that there’s help out there for them.”

Riley plays guitar in the band Call Me Disaster, whose set will close out the evening. The festival, he said, has a dual purpose – to help raise money for suicide awareness prevention, and also to create a community space where people can find and provide mutual support. The impetus for the annual undertaking, he added, is both practical and deeply personal.

“Years ago I lost a buddy of mine who I would play music with,” he said. “I had no idea he was struggling. Zero idea, like the warning signs just weren’t there. So I lost a buddy, and I’ve known some other people who have struggled with mental health, and it just seems like the right thing to do, to create this space for people. It’s a safe space to come and celebrate life, and to do it in a fun way and raise money for a serious cause and ideally provide some resources and help to those who need it.”

The festival evolved out of an event called Taco Fest, held last summer at Deep South Taco, and its success prompted Riley to bring it back for another year. The recent announcement of Deep South’s closing, however, forced him to come up with a new location, and the move to Iron Works also provided an opportunity to refine the festival’s overall tone.

“We thought changing the name to Broken World was important for a few reasons,” he said. “The main one is that we don’t want to ever glorify suicide. Suicide is a very serious topic, and a lot of times people feel that the world is broken and there’s nobody out there. It’s easy to feel alone but we want to send the message that you’re not alone, and it’s only a broken world if you’re not in it.”

Robbie Holdaway is the singer and lead guitarist for the band Heart For Sale, and he said he was glad for the chance to contribute to an event that combines a good time with a great cause.

“One of the biggest reasons (we wanted to play) was that it is for suicide prevention,” Holdaway said. “On a personal note, I am someone who has struggled with that, and I know members of my band have struggled with that also. And I think that seeing a local festival specifically come together for something like this is something you don’t see very often.”

Holdaway’s was one of the bands that played at Taco Fest last year, and he recalled that it was a remarkable and especially memorable occasion.

“Last year at Deep South, it was held outside and it was like 95 degrees out, pure sun, everyone was sweating,” he said. “It was a great time and the energy was a little bit more open, where it kind of didn’t even feel like a concert. This year, being at Iron Works, it’s going to be a little bit more intimate and I think that it will be a great opportunity to connect with all the other bands and them connect with the audience that you’re playing for also.”

Vocalist Cass Ryan’s band is also set to appear, and she, too, acknowledged the need for an event such as Broken World.

“As someone who personally has struggled with mental health, and just knowing friends and family members who have also struggled, being a part on an event like this is really an honor, just to be able to be a part of something that’s so important, to bring awareness to something that is really difficult to talk about,” she said.

Ryan’s band, Ormolu, performed at last year’s event as well, although back then they were called Dirty Dishes (copyright concerns forced them to switch names shortly after they’d finished recording their first album).

“The Buffalo music scene is pretty tight-knit,” she said, “so getting the chance to play with these bands that we are playing with is so exciting. So I think that’s also what drew all of us in, just the aspect of it being a really fun celebration of life and a spreading of awareness rather than a sad, melancholy kind of day.”

To augment those donations – and to commemorate the day in a fun and unique way – Riley is also co-developing a beer specifically for the occasion.

“I’m partnering with Windy Brewery, we’re making a small batch of Passionfruit Kolsch,” he said. “It’s going to have a custom label and everything, and all the money is going to charity. It’s a cool thing to add to the atmosphere of the event. I did it last year, everybody loved it and we decided to roll with it again this year.”

The all-day event runs from noon until 10pm. In addition to Call Me Disaster, Heart For Sale and Ormolu, seven other bands will perform – Prairie Pavement, Little Liar, Goodbye Metro, Cold Shot Trio, Rom Com Victims, Sevagoth and Sliver.

“I honestly absolutely love what this festival has done and what it is doing, and I’m really excited to see how this year goes and how it develops and blossoms over the next few years,” said Holdaway, who will be subbing in on bass that night for Call Me Disaster as well. “You’re in a room filled with people who are saying, ‘Hey, I’m supporting this cause and I want to be a part of this.’”

“It’s a bunch of bands, a bunch of different genres, a bunch of really great people who have donated their time,” Riley added. “The main idea of the event is to tell people that they are not alone and that there’s help out there for them.”