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Originally Published in Buffalo Rising
July 17, 2018

Buffalo’s music scene has always been strong when it comes to individual shows and acts, but many have found it lacking in large scale mainstream music festivals. That all began to change last year thanks to Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival. Located in the historic cobblestone district, organizers shut down the street and turned the music up to eleven. This year they plan to do it again, even bigger and bolder, over two days and five stages.

“Cobblestone Live Music & Arts Festival is set to be an incredibly special event for Buffalo as we return for our second year,” noted Josh Holtzman, General Manager of Buffalo Iron Works and one of the planners of Cobblestone Live. “With more stages, larger acts and a greater festival experience, Cobblestone Live will certainly leave it’s mark not only on Buffalo but the music industry as a whole.”

The festival will be held on July 27th and 28th in the heart of the Historic Cobblestone district in downtown Buffalo. This year’s festival will include two outdoor main stages located on Illinois and Columbia streets, a stage inside Buffalo Iron Works, an electronic music stage/lounge inside Lockhouse Distillery & Bar, and an acoustic stage on South Park Avenue. Headlining acts include Broken Social Scene, The Sheepdogs, Turkuaz, Aqueous, Chicano Batman, Golf Clap, Andy Frasco & the U.N., Michelangelo Carruba Super Jam, Ratboys, Dynamo, Madaila, & more. See below for the music schedule.

Over the last decade, The Historic Cobblestone district has become a breeding ground for live music and entertainment. Cobblestone Live is a single neighborhood of bars, restaurants, and venues coming together to put on a two-day festival which will continue to grow to a national sized festival in the years to come.

Festival gates will open at 4pm on Friday, July 27th and at 1pm on Saturday, July 28th. Full festival passes will be $45 presale/$60 walk up, single day pases are $25 presale/$30 walk up. VIP packages will be available for $100. Late night only passes will be announced as the festival approaches. Tickets are available immediately at www.cobblestonelive.com.

A portion of the proceeds of this year’s festival will go to the Child Advocacy Center (CAC), a one-of-a-kind service in Erie County which brings together local law enforcement agencies, mental health services, child protection, medical services, and the District Attorney’s Office under one roof to investigate, treat and support victims of child sexual abuse and severe physical abuse. The Child Advocacy Center ensures that these young victims and their caregivers receive immediate, effective and sensitive support. Nationally, Child Advocacy Centers and their multidisciplinary teams have improved conviction rates for perpetrators of child abuse by up to 94%.

“The Child Advocacy Center is delighted to be part of Cobblestone Live’s exciting, family-friendly music festival,” said Howard K. Hitzel, Psy.D., President/CEO of BestSelf Behavioral Health, which houses the Child Advocacy Center. “We want to spread our message about the need to heal children and stop child abuse.”

To purchase tickets please visit www.cobblestonelive.com and for festival news and updates you can follow Cobblestone Live on FacebookInstagram, and Twitter.