New York music festivals have come a long way since this writer’s first one

By Robert J. McLennan
(All photos by Robert J. McLennan)

What a scene!  As I looked out at the massive crowd on Friday night (Sept. 12) at Borderland, as Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats were into their soulful set and the sun was setting over the Knox Farm parkland countryside, it was dazzling.  I was only a few steps away from our tent where we were letting the Borderland music fans know all about the Buffalo Hive, but one couldn’t help but be mesmerized at the majesty of it all. 

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Peace and love?  You got it: here in East Aurora for three days of music and fun and joy and camaraderie.  Fifty-six years ago, I was at another fest, albeit a much larger one, that had the aura of peace and love attached to it, and it did indeed deserve that label.  The Woodstock Music and Arts Fair in August 1969 in Bethel, N.Y., was an incredible gathering of about 400,00 people that managed to keep the peace in very difficult conditions, starting with the rain that turned everything to mud and extending into running out of all food and supplies and portable toilets and on and on. 

So, that was a great time when I was a teenager, but I prefer my peace and love and music when the weather is perfect, like it always seems to be at Borderland, and when there is a wide selection of food and drink, and plenty of porta-potties to the point of never having to wait in line, unlike being at a Bills game. There are interesting vendors selling their wares, a big food and drink selection, plenty of room to roam and great respect is always shown by all for the property we’re utilizing.

I’m going to give you a quick rundown of my highlights from the weekend but it’s not a full picture of all the music, as I wasn’t able to see all the bands, so this is a very subjective bit of commentary.  As I mentioned, I was working the Buffalo Hive nonprofit site for much of the weekend, but I got around the best I could.   Even the bands I’m not highlighting, where I only heard a song or two, sounded promising.  The booking Jennifer Brazill and her staff do is very impressive, and it’s right here in our home region, and one of the coolest things is having the Brass Machine march all over the grounds with a New Orleans second line, entertaining the crowds when there’s a break between acts.

The first part of my Friday was spent enjoying local music.  My opener was the Leroy Townes Band at the Homespun stage and they were fantastic as usual.  Like all the WNY bands at Borderland, there’s not a dividing line on quality between “national” bands and local ones.  Given the right set of circumstances, Leroy Townes and others could well be the national acts.  

Then I moved on to Roy G Biv, the Battle of the Bands winner who won a spot on the Mainstage.  This quartet, the drummer Tyler “Smidge” Midgley told me, is “rooted in funk and rock ‘n roll” and it showed, and the crowd loved it.  The band includes Sean Thurman, from the legendary Niagara County-based Thurman Brothers family, on guitar.

And then I went back to the Homespun stage for the mighty Organ Fairchild and caught their killer version of “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”  After checking in at the Buffalo Hive site I managed to catch part of the Soul Rebels set with all their horns; The Big Easy in Buffalo never fails in bringing in great New Orleans music.

My night closed out with Mountain Grass on the Homespun stage.  This was a great addition to Borderland.  If you like your bluegrass ass-kicking fast like a freight train coming at ya, this is a band for you; I hope they come back to Buffalo.

Saturday, I started with Folkfaces and Friends, one of my favorite sets of the weekend.  Tyler Westcott is an amazing bandleader and he assembled an all-star lineup of WNY musicians, playing New Orleans, klezmer and old-time music.  Speaking of fests, Folkfaces will put on their own fest on Oct. 2-5.  Check it out at FOLKFACES FEST | Folkfaces. You probably won’t have heard of a lot of the bands but just trust Tyler, it will be great!

Next on the Homespun I was very excited to see Ulithian Vibes from the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific backed up by an incredible array of musicians from WNY, led by Jeff Miers, who produced their album (I wrote about them in the Hive before the Fest).  They did not disappoint, with their reggae-infused sound from the islands, and I heard a little bit of Tallking Heads in a song or two.

Driftwood and The Heavy Heavy were the next two on the Mainstage.  Great performance from both. Driftwood is bluegrass but they do much more, and their sound has continued to develop over the years since I first saw them at the Sportsmen’s Tavern.   The Heavy Heavy rocked that Mainstage with a very energetic and impressive show.

Johnny Mullenax and Robert Randolph were next, in that order, at the Homespun stage.  I guess I’d call Mullenax punk-country.  And the steel guitar of the Robert Randolph Band was awesome.  The variety of music at Borderland is just remarkable.  As we closed out the Buffalo Hive tent for the night we enjoyed the soul-drenched sounds of the Teskey Brothers from Australia.

On Sunday, between working the Buffalo Hive site and the Bills game I didn’t hear too much early on but I loved the sounds of The Wailers and I got up close for Trampled By Turtles, a killer bluegrass band I last saw at DelFest, the great bluegrass festival in Maryland. 

The closer, Khruangbin, sounded superb, their psychedelic “Thai-rock” echoing around the park.  Quick-name another Thai-rock band.  That’s the beauty of Borderland; global music welcomed here.

Borderland is so well-run that you don’t have to worry about the tangibles like food and drink.  You don’t have to worry at all, just relax and have a good time moving from stage to stage to catch as many of the acts as you can.  And if you want to get up close, you can do that.  The overall vibe of the fest really is peaceful and accommodating and friendly, everywhere all over the park.  I walked around a lot, and I never once witnessed any negative interaction between festivalgoers.  Amazing, in this contentious world we’re living in, nearly 20,00 people gathered peacefully each day, for three full days and nights.  It’s a beautiful thing; to paraphrase Elvis Costello, there’s nothing funny about peace, love and understanding.

Robert J. McLennan

The Buffalo Hive