Pat Harrington, Victor Wainwright and the Train headlining Buffalo Blues and Roots Festival

Apr. 20—Weeks worth of travel on the road is bringing a local guitarist back to perform in front of a crowd full of hometown fans, family and friends.

Gasport native Pat Harrington will be hitting the stage to headline the third annual Buffalo Blues and Roots Festival at Buffalo Riverworks tonight as a member of Victor Wainwright and the Train.

"I'm stocked to play it," Harrington told the Union-Sun & Journal in a Wednesday phone interview. "I know pretty much everyone on the bill. A lot of them are local friends I've played with through the years."

Ultimately, it was the local connection that is bringing the band to the festival stage.

"I've known Pat for long time," festival organizer Ray Barry said. "We played a little bit together way back. I actually wanted to get them last year, but it didn't work out scheduling-wise, so I already had my eye on them."

Harrington and the band have continued to hone their craft on the road in the years following their Grammy nomination in the category of Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2019.

The performance at tonight's festival will cap off a breezy eight date trek that's kept them out on the road for most of April.

This run of dates for the band has been different than a majority of the band's previous tours.

The shows have been split evenly between the normal full electric band lineup as well as a more stripped down three-piece arrangement dubbed "Victor Wainwright and Friends," featuring Wainwright on keyboard and vocals, Harrington on guitar and bassist Terrence Greyson.

"It's super dynamic. It's a different kind of show and we play some different material than we usually do," Harrington said of the trio performances.

Currently, the band is in what Harrington described as a "transitional phase" as they're starting to write some new material and breaking in two new horn players during the full band gigs, including tonight's performance.

"We're figuring out how to pivot and our next direction musically," he said.

That next direction will eventually lead to a follow-up to their most recent studio album, 2020's "Memphis Loud," which Harrington estimates they'll start working on at some point within the next year.

"We're overdue for another record. (Post-Covid), we hadn't been touring nearly as much or had the opportunity to get together and write. We're slowly but surely figuring that out," he said.

As for Saturday night, Harrington assured that those in attendance can expect a "high octane, powerful set with a lot of energy."

The festival will feature an array of local, regional and nationally touring blues artists including Tas Cru and Miller & The Other Sinners running from 1 to 11 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online and at the door. More information about the event can be found at https://www.facebook.com/buffalobluesandrootsfestival.