By Kate Bartlett
The Music is Art Festival (MiA) attracts thousands of people to WNY and has even gained international attention. This annual festival was started in Buffalo 20 years ago by Robby Takac of the multi-platinum band Goo Goo Dolls in order to showcase art in numerous forms. This year, MiA will be held on Saturday September 10, from 11am-midnight at Buffalo RiverWorks. As always, it is free to attend and will feature many family-friendly attractions including a Kids’ Village, Instrument Zoo and a variety of food and beverage vendors.
The Villager was fortunate to connect with Robby about Music is Art. In addition to playing with the band Goo Goo Dolls, he also runs a recording studio called GCR Audio and has a small record label called Good Charamel records. Robby started Music is Art, a 501c3 not-for-profit in Buffalo, NY that does a variety of arts/music programming throughout the year, including the annual MiA Festival. “The Goo Goo Dolls are the motor that drove this from the beginning and helped raise awareness and support for MiA. Without them, none of this would be possible.”
The festival has evolved and grown substantially over the years. “We started in 2003 with 2 stages as an “unofficial add on” to the Allentown Art Festival. Over the years, the festival has been in a few different locations including The Albright Knox Art Gallery and Delaware Park. “We originally began the festival to help prop up underground artists and musicians within the community and have grown into much more. The first festival had 2 stages and about a dozen artists. The 20th Anniversary festival will have 24 stages with performance artists, DJs, dancers, skateboarding, wrestling, projectionists, muralists, circus acts, a Kids’ Village, dozens of visual artists and so much more.”
Visitors can expect live music of every kind including rock, hip hop, electronic, jazz, country, singer-songwriter, jam bands, and traditional vocalists. “The music journeys into artforms and environments that span from the most traditional to the most Avant Garde. It’s so much more than art and music; it’s about the creative community as a whole. The festival is a sensory overload. It’s a real chance to experience something you’ve probably never encountered before. It’s one-of-a-kind.”
Almost all of the bands are local talent. “99% of the musicians and artists are from our Western New York Community! We are bringing in a few artists and musicians this year including Peelander Z from Japan doing a live mural and performing live on the GCR Audio Main Stage, as well as returning artist Jess Pfhol from Baltimore, MD.
This year, the festival will feature a skate park for the first time. They’ll also have stages across the water in River Fest Park, as well as having 2 stages at the corner of Ganson and Michigan Streets, and the Wonder Coffeehouse Singer Songwriter stage. “We’re also expanding the Refringement in the Silos Experience this year into the Rail Barn with video mapping and live EDM music. We’re so excited for our first Skate Park with professional and amateurs on skateboards, BMX bikes and skates doing their thing on a massive halfpipe. We are bringing in Nickel City Wrestling with a full series of bouts throughout the day. The Button Factory and Blossom Buffalo will be showcasing an amazing art experience including Virtual Reality experiences. We’ll also be featuring a hip-hop Cypher at the end of the evening on the Beats stage… and I’ve barely scraped the surface. There’s just so much going on this year you gotta check it out.”
Past events featured Willie Nile, Lisa Loeb, Goo Goo Dolls, The Jim Rose Circus, The Alarm, Shonen Knife and other national acts. But the most impactful part of the event is the Buffalo connection and the power of the creative community coming together. It’s really about showcasing our local talent.”
Robby loves watching the kids at the annual festival. “It’s great to experience it through their eyes. I just love watching the kids that come with their folks to experience all these unique and special things. Knowing that we’re giving them a lasting memory that may help move along their creative spirit is just incredible.”
Robby invites everyone to come out to the festival and support our local talent “because it’s the right thing to do. Somebody told me once that they were planning to move away from Buffalo shortly after a past MIA fest. After displaying their art at the event that year and experiencing all of the personalities and energies that made up the MiA family, they realized the wealth of people, knowledge and creativity in this city and decided to stay. I really, really loved hearing that, and invite YOU to come experience it for yourself.”