A Heartfelt Thank You to the Buffalo music community
Our 'Help On the Way' benefit concert raised more than 6K to aid musicians displaced by the LA Wildfires
On Monday night, the Buffalo music community showed up at the Sportsmen's Tavern in large numbers to support their brothers and sisters who've had their lives upended and watched their communities be destroyed by the Pasadena-Altadena and Pacific Palisades wildfires in Los Angeles. Because of your generosity, our "Help On the Way: A Buffalo Benefit for Musicians Displaced by the Los Angeles Fires" raised in excess of $6,000 for MusiCares' Los Angeles Wildfire Relief Fund - money that will go directly to aid the countless musicians who've either lost their homes, their studios, and all their musical equipment, or been displaced with no clear path to returning home. (Including many transplants from right here in Buffalo.)
Of course, this devastation reaches far beyond the struggles facing musicians. There is an incredibly disturbing strain of poor, lazy, agenda-laden journalism and political posturing aimed at convincing people that this disaster only affected "rich people." Don't believe the hype. Look to credible sources, and you'll find that the majority of the folks affected were regular old working people - and in the Pasadena-Altadena region (one of the first areas in this country where Black people were allowed to be landowners) you'll find a story involving multiple generations of families who've had their history and their culture all but wiped off the face of the earth. Learn a bit about this here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eaton-fire-devastates-altadena-historic-black-community-history-book-lit-on-fire/
Several insurance companies cancelled customers' home insurance policies in the areas affected shortly before the fires came, leaving them uninsured when they lost everything. You can read about this total scumbag move here: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2025-01-12/california-homeowners-are-getting-cancelled-by-their-insurers-and-the-reasons-are-dubious
My heart was deeply touched by the people who came to our event on Monday, and left politics where they belong - outside the door. This was about helping our brothers and sisters, and you all embraced that idea and showed both generosity and empathy.
The list of people to thank is a long one. Abundant thanks to the musicians who donated their immense talents to the cause - Organ Fairchild, The Damone Jackson Outcome, Critt's Juke Joint, Miller & the Other Sinners, and Tiger Chung Lee all played their hearts out, for free. Thank you to my co-host, Linda Appleby, for gracing us with her presence and her wisdom. Thanks to Kim Miers for her graphic design and marketing work. Thanks to the Sportsmens Tavern for offering us a night on such short notice. Thanks to Marc Odien and Buffalo.fm for the live stream. Thanks to the television and digital media members who covered the event, both before and after. And thanks to all of you for coming.
It will be a long, hard road out of hell for Los Angeles. Help will continue to be needed for a long time to come. If you're moved to do so, you can still donate at https://donor.musicares.org/page/lafirerelief
XO Gratitude
Jeff
Well done.