Happening every year over the last two weeks of July, Infringment Festival is a musical and artistic free-for-all.
Infringment can feel chaotic and that’s by design. The festival is part of a movement started by a Montreal theater group who felt that the city’s Fringe Festival was becoming too commercial and too confined to the “in-crowd” of performers.
In response, the Optative Theatrical Laboratory launched the first Infringement Festival in 2004. The festival quickly spread to Toronto, Quebec City and Ottawa. After performing at the Toronto Infringement Festival – Buffalo’s Subversive Theatre Collective held its own festival in 2005.
The movement’s spirit of inclusiveness survives today and that means creators of indie, abstract, modern and outsider art have two weeks in July when they can let their freak flags fly.
While inclusiveness means opportunities for anyone to perform, a big problem with being so inclusive is quality control. Infringement events are held in so many places with so many artists – figuring out where to spend your time can be overwhelming.
As a general rule of thumb, these are the two weeks you should spend as much time as possible walking the length of Allen Street. There are so many official and unofficial performances going off, you’ll undoubtedly see something – either on the street or in one of the music venues. In fact, it’s common to spot a crowd of people all clutching something in a brown bag and standing on the sidewalk to watch street performers rattle off a classic American folk song during Infringement.
Wandering around Allen can be fun on its own, but below is a breakdown of some of the events that caught our eye. Highlights include a party atop the Broadway Market, art at the Burchfield Penny and a street carnival on Allen between Elmwood and Wadsworth.
For more info on the Infringement Festival, visit their website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
Friday July 24
Hot Licks Show at Stamps
“Grimey Punk n Grunge”
98 Main St. – Tonawanda
8pm – midnight
Electric Ave Hip Hop Fiasco
“Underground Hip Hop”
300 Ellicott Street – Buffalo
9pm – 1am
Milkie’s Meltdown
“Jam-tronica”
522 Elmwood Ave. – Buffalo
9pm – 1am
Saturday July 25
Broadway Market Rooftop Party
“Music and Fashion atop a Buffalo icon”
999 Broadway Ave. – Buffalo
10am – 4:30pm
Kidfringement @ Bidwell Park
“Art and music for the kiddos”
Bidwell Park (near the Farmer’s Market) – Buffalo
10:30 – 3pm
Poetry @ Glow Gallery
“All-day poetry readings and discussions”
224 Allen Street – Buffalo
2pm – 8pm
Sunday July 26
Hot Mama’s Super Infringement Sunday
“Chill Sunday Rock Vibes”
12 Military Road
4pm – 4am
Monday July 27
Best Monday Ever @ Nietzsche’s (with new and improved POTLUCK)
“An Infringment tradition”
248 Allen Street – Buffalo
9pm – 2am
Tuesday July 28
Wizards & Witches Costume Party @ Mohawk Place
“Zeppelin-style original music”
47 East Mohawk Street – Buffalo
8pm – midnight
The Worst Show Ever @ Nietzsche’s
“Comedy, music and burlesque”
248 Allen Street – Buffalo
8pm – 1am
Wednesday July 29
Mid-Week Rock at the ‘Hawk
“Indie rock and grunge”
47 East Mohawk Street – Buffalo
9pm – midnight
Humpday Hop ‘n Hip @ Electric Avenue
“Underground and live hip-hop”
300 Ellicott Street – Buffalo
10pm – 1am
Thursday July 30
Barging into the Burch’ @ The Burchfield Penny
“Performers, musicians and interactive displays”
1300 Elmwood Ave – Buffalo
4pm – 7:30pm
Thursday Night Hootenanny @ BABEVILLE (9th Ward)
“Third annual folk night at the former church”
341 Delaware Ave – Buffalo
7pm – 11pm
Post Canalside Indie Show @ Mohawk Place
“Indie rock after the Iron & Wine show”
47 East Mohawk Street – Buffalo
9pm – midnight
Friday July 31
Gallery Opening @ ArtSpace
“Large scale art and small scale sculpture”
1219 Main Street – Buffalo
6pm – 9pm
Sugar City Masquerade Ball (across from Resurgence Brewery)
“All-ages rock”
1239 Niagara Street – Buffalo
7pm – 11pm
Nietzsche’s Masquerade Ball: aka The Boo-yah Bash
“Alternative rock and rap”
248 Allen Street – Buffalo
10pm – 3am
Saturday August 1
100 Drums Along Hoyt Lake
“The ultimate drum circle”
Delaware Park – Buffalo
11am – 4pm
Saturday Night Experimentation @ Hallwalls
“A/V art”
341 Delaware Ave – Buffalo
7pm – 11pm
Punk Rock Saturday Night @ Mohawk
“Old school Buffalo punk rock”
47 East Mohawk Street – Buffalo
10pm – 1am
Sunday August 2
MEGAFRINGE
The festival will be capping it all off this year by blocking off traffic on Allen Street from Wadsworth to Elmwood for an open-air art fair and performances between noon and 8pm.
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