Eric Crittenden, David Cloyd and Damone Jackson Roundtable

Welcome to Why Music Matters, a podcast where we examine the power and influence that music can wield in our lives. 

I’m your host, Jeff Miers.

Today, we’ve got a special edition of the podcast, featuring a roundtable discussion with three diversely talented musicians and music educators, who also happen to be movers and shakers in the Buffalo and Western New York music scene. 

Damone Jackson, Eric Crittenden and David Cloyd are three very different people with varied musical outlooks and a broad spectrum of life experiences. But all three are bound by their deep belief that music elevates all of us, musicians and listeners alike. 

Recently, Crittenden and Cloyd - who are co-founders of the Buffalo Music Club music education collective - teamed with the Sportsmen’s Americana Music Foundation and the Borderland Festival to create the Borderland Band Camp. The Camp offered an opportunity for young musicians in the area to create a set of music to be performed as part of this year’s Borderland Festival, which takes place September 13 - 15 at Knox Farm State Park in East Aurora. Jackson is one of 7 professional instructors who took part in the camp. 

Our conversation ran the gamut, from raw comedic asides, to deep and intensely personal reflections on what it means to be a musician, and why music matters more and more, the deeper you dig into it. 

Thanks for listening, and we hope to see you at the Borderland Festival!