{"id":461681,"date":"2024-02-07T12:11:02","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T17:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitbuffaloniagara.com\/?p=461681"},"modified":"2024-02-07T12:11:30","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T17:11:30","slug":"off-the-beaten-path-allure-at-duende","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitbuffaloniagara.com\/off-the-beaten-path-allure-at-duende\/","title":{"rendered":"Off-the-Beaten Path Allure at Duende"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A silo mentality in defined by closed-off thinking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So maybe it\u2019s a bit ironic that a place signified by its encircling, towering silos now plays host to Duende<\/a>, one of Buffalo\u2019s most eclectic and unexpectedly multifaceted music venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Duende’s exterior space \/ Photo: Olivia McCarthy<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Established in 2018, the part-city tavern\/part-Rust Belt oasis is nestled down a gravel road off the Buffalo River, and in the shadows of behemoths that used to store a significant helping of America\u2019s grain. But when it first opened, the locale\u2019s main building was meant to be nothing more than a useful piece of property at the center of the industrial labyrinth dubbed Silo City<\/a>, consisting of the most concentrated collection of concrete silos in the world, and an expanse that\u2019s played host to a number of inventive art and music festivals since opening to the public in 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInitially, Silo City didn\u2019t have any water or place to use the restroom, so the Duende space was intended to be a hub of the campus,\u201d says Rick Smith, owner of Duende and de-facto mayor of this 27-acre riverfront parcel. \u201cBut after hosting live music festivals and other music events, we wanted to have a place where we could host performances year-round, like a music bar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rick Smith, owner of Duende and Silo City \/ Photo: Randy Duchaine<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Initially, music was planned for just the main bar. But after opening its outdoor cantina \u2014 a ramshackle, minimalistic outdoor bar seemingly built with materials left at the site from the Erie Canal era \u2014 music was moved out there, too. Once the popularity of the space grew, its original sidewall was moved back five feet to accommodate musicians, but it kept the intimacy and warm sound cantina customers had grown to enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered operations, the Duende team used the off time to add another component to its live performance capabilities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring [the early days of] COVID, we weren\u2019t doing anything, so we decided to build the outdoor stage in the summer of 2020,\u201d says Smith. \u201cWe already had a portable stage to supplement the [Buffalo Niagara] Blues Festival and shows we\u2019d had outside before, but we wanted something that was fully operational for outdoor shows. That created our outdoor venue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Paul Kozlowski Trio performing inside Duende \/ Photo: Duende (Facebook)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Cantina at Duende \/ Photo: Grant Taylor<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A performance and projection outside at Duende \/ Photo: Just Buffalo Literary Center – Pat Cray<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Perched outside the back of the cantina space, the small, covered stage faces an open outdoor area \u2014 dotted with scattered aluminum lawn chairs, makeshift tables, and secondhand stools \u2014that\u2019s surrounded by the site\u2019s unconventionally beautiful grounds, perfect for patrons to enjoy everything from local singer-songwriters to touring indie acts. There\u2019s also a performance space set atop the main bar, a 150-capacity venue dubbed the Bin Floor that\u2019s currently used for ticketed shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For musicians \u2014 from folk to jazz to the chamber performers who fill its regular \u201cMimosas and Minuets\u201d<\/a> slot \u2014 Duende\u2019s an accommodating artistic haven that evokes a vibe derived from both its post-industrial surroundings and past stewards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe way Silo City is set up, it\u2019s a backdrop like no other,\u201d says Smith. \u201cThere\u2019s probably more concrete here than any other place on the planet, but there\u2019s also a sensitivity to the fact that the land was once the Buffalo Creek Indian reservation for the Senecas, so there\u2019s a certain spirituality about the place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For visitors, there\u2019s still an in-the-know gratification of patronizing the place, even five years after opening. Despite delighting soccer fans, summer drinkers, and multi-genre music fans for all this time, Duende still hasn\u2019t gone mainstream. And for those who cherish the original off-the-beaten-path allure that drew them there in the first place, that\u2019s just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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