Donna the Buffalo News & Rumors

July 2006 GrassRoots 2006: The Grand Finale Check out John Yust's 12 photos of Donna the Buffalo's closing set on Sunday, 7/23/06 at the GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg, NY where the band brought out 437 of their closest musical friends to join them for a song or two. Well, OK, that's an exaggeration--but not by much! In addition to the beloved Frank Family, DtB's set also featured Richie and Jennie Stearns onstage together for Green, Pat Burke and Park Doing for a version of Colorblind James' Fledgling Circus, John Specker on fiddle for Waterbound, the Believers for Love Hurts--and a marriage proposal. Go to Donnabase.com for a detailed list of who played what and when. Thanks to John, Linda, and Cassady for the photos. (posted 7/31/06)

Just Added: Photos From GrassRoots 7/20/06 Each year at the GrassRoots Festival, Donna the Buffalo ends the first day of the event by performing on the Infield Stage. This year, the rain started to fall right as the band came out at 11:45 p.m., and the wind blew it directly onto the stage. Though the band looked uncomfortable, the crew covered some of the equipment, and the show went on. Midway through the set, the rain ended, and by looking at John Yust's 12 photos of DtB playing on 7/20/06 in Trumansburg, NY, the only way you could tell it rained is in one shot where you can see the plastic tarp covering Kathy Z's keyboards. Both Keith Secola and Ward Puryear joined in at different points of what was an exceptionally fine set. More details about this performance appear in my review. Thanks for the photos, John, and I'll be adding more of them soon. (posted 7/29/06)

More GR Photos: Tara Nevins With Preston Frank, 7/23/06 One of the best things about the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg, NY is the ever-changing combinations of musicians sitting in with each other. Quite literally, you never know who might show up with who. Most folks look forward to Donna the Buffalo joining Keith Frank's band for some late-night zydeco dance tent madness, or to the array of friends DtB has join them to close the festival on Sunday night. But that's only some of what goes on. DonnaFans.com contributor was in right place at the right time to grab a half-dozen photos of Tara Nevins joining Preston Frank & his Zydeco Family Band in the dance tent on Sunday afternoon, 7/23/06. Thanks for the photos, Greg! (posted 7/27/06)

DtB, Side2Side To Be At Floyd Fest Both Donna the Buffalo and Side2Side, the group of Herd members who raise funds for worthy causes in the cities in which the band plays, will be in Floyd, VA this coming weekend for Floyd Fest 5. DtB will perform a 75-minute set on Saturday, 7/29 starting at 5 p.m. on the DC Main Stage. Side2Side will be conducting a raffle to raise money for two local high school arts programs and for Zion Frank, nephew of Keith Frank, who has Hyper IgM Syndrome, a rare immunodeficiency disease. Raffle prizes included CDs from the bands who'll play the festival, Herd-made artwork and gifts, and much more. All money raised goes directly to the targeted projects--Side2Side is run strictly on volunteer energy and donations. See you there! (posted 7/26/06)

New Review: 7/20/06 GrassRoots Festival, Trumansburg, NY Donna the Buffalo's Thursday night GrassRoots set is always a special one--the band comes on as the last act of the night on the Infield stage, and the crowd is usually a bit smaller than the rest of the weekend, giving the show a more intimate feel. As I explain in my review of DtB's performance on 7/20/06 at GrassRoots in Trumansburg, NY, despite a rainy start, the band played a hell of a set, breaking out Yonder for the first time in more than a year and setting the tone for the rest of the festival by ending the night with a stunning version of Let Love Move Me. (posted 7/25/06)

More GrassRoots Photos: Saturday 7/22/06 The weather at GrassRoots on Saturday was less than ideal, but in the true spirit of this fest, the celebration could not be denied--even with parts of the Fairgrounds under several feet of water. DonnaFans.com contributor Greg Cotterill sums it up best: "Heavy downpours all day. Cleared up about 6 p.m. DtB hit the stage at 9:10 p.m. Stage was wet. Water/mud in front of the stage was over ankle deep." However, as evidenced by Greg's seven photos of Donna the Buffalo playing on Saturday, 7/22/06, in Trumansburg, NY, these conditions didn't prevent the band from laying down an awesome set that included only the third-ever performance of Let's Try Again, a beautiful Jeb Puryear ballad that the band played on consecutive nights back in November 2004 and then stashed away until Saturday night. Thanks for the photos, Greg, and I'll soon be adding many more of your shots, including a few of Tara sitting in with Preston Frank on Sunday afternoon, and more of the Jim Lauderdale and DtB set from Friday. (posted 7/24/06)

First Photos From GrassRoots: 7/21/06, Jim Lauderdale With Donna the Buffalo As I type this on Sunday afternoon, the music is still underway at the 2006 Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival, but thanks to some quick and generous members of the Herd, DonnaFans.com is able to present the first batch of photos from the event. These 10 photos of Jim Lauderdale's afternoon set with Donna the Buffalo on Friday, 7/21/06 were taken by Paula Martin, daughter of Gene Gene the Dancin' Machine Martin. "The Jim Lauderdale aka Bufferdale set was great as always," Gene said. "I always like them together." Paula's photos including several great shots of Jim just being Jim, Kathy Z looking cool in her Jackie O sunglasses, and Tara tearing up her fiddle on what sounded to me like a more energetic than usual performance that included many of the songs from Wait Til Spring, the 2003 CD by Jim and DtB. Thank you very much, Paula and Gene, for allowing me to host your photos! (posted 7/23/06)

New Photos: 7/14/06 Somerset, KY & 7/3/06 Beaufort, NC Now there's something you don't see every day: Donna the Buffalo playing under the watchful eye of members of the United States military. It took place during the band's recent set at the Master Musician's Festival in Somerset, KY. "Everyone was a bit surprised to see the Army men who were guarding the stage. They were not there during the others acts of the night," said first-time DonnaFans.com contributor Jane Mauldin. "It was a bit odd, but the guys were nice and really not imposing at all." Check out Jane's four photos of DtB playing on 7/14/06 in Somerset, KY, which include a shot of David Gans, who sat in on guitar for In Another World>>Revolution. DonnaFans.com mega-contributor John Yust was also there, and generously shares nine photos from the same show. I've also recently added a dozen of John's photos of DtB performing at Pepsi America's Sail in Beaufort, NC on 7/3/06. Thank you both very much for allowing me to host your photos. (posted 7/18/06)

A Picture-Perfect Night In Grand Rapids, MI On Thursday, 7/13, Donna the Buffalo performed at one of the most beautiful venues they'll visit all year--the Meijer Gardens Amphitheater in Grand Rapids, MI. The 1,600-capacity lawn Amphitheater is part of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, a spectacular botanic garden and world-class sculpture park. The band played a two-set show that lasted from a little past 7 to about a quarter to 10, with a 20-minute break. The night ended with Mystic Water and a Ones You Love Encore. First-time DonnaFans.com contributor Jeff Frank caught a lot of great shots on this night, and his nine photos of DtB's show on 7/13 in Grand Rapids, MI reveal a large crowd obviously enjoying their favorite band in a most pleasant setting. Thanks for sharing, Jeff, wish I could have been there! (posted 7/15/06)

Just Added: Photos From Great Blue Heron Fest The 15th annual Great Blue Heron festival, which took place last weekend in Sherman, NY, more than lived up to its reputation as one of the summer's sweetest festivals. In addition to many other bands, fans were treated to two sets by Donna the Buffalo and two sets by DtB's alter ego, Buffalo Zydeco. Ithaca Karen Landau was kind enough to take some time during the event to shoot photos, and her dozen images of DtB from Sherman, NY 7/7/06 - 7/9/06 captured all the highlights, including shots of former DtB keyboardist Joe Thrift sitting in on one of the Buffalo Zydeco sets, Bill hamming it up, and a Herd family picture that's becoming a GBH tradition. Thanks Karen, see you at Groots! BTW, thanks to Jason Espie, matrix recordings of DtB's Great Blue Heron sets on Saturday 7/8 and Sunday 7/9 are already available for download from the Live Music Archive. Thanks, Jason! (posted 7/13/06)

More Photos From Festival For The Eno Durham, NC 7/2/06 Donna the Buffalo's quite popular in North Carolina, which helps explain why I've got three different sets of photos of the band's performance at the Festival For The Eno (which was a benefit to protect the waters and lands of the Eno River Basin, by the way) in Durham, NC. Kelly Farkas' first contribution to DonnaFans.com is 17 photos of the band's set in Durham, NC on 7/2/06, with great shots of all five band members, including ones of Kathy Z singing, Tara tearing up the scrubboard, and Jeb "in the zone." Thanks, Kelly! Want to hear what this show sounded like? A soundboard recording of this show is already available for download from the Live Music Archive at www.archive.org/details/donna2006-07-02. (posted 7/9/06) Great Article On The Herd In Michigan Newspaper On Sunday, 7/9 an article written by John Sinkevics titled "Devotion of The Herd tickles New York band" appeared in the Grand Rapids (MI) Press. Though he got Tara's name wrong, calling her "Nevin" instead of "Nevins," the author did a decent job, pulling quotes from MI Herd member Lori Larson and even Jeb himself, who said "You don't have to be anything in particular to be a member of The Herd. Just say you are." (posted 7/9/06)

New Photos: Durham, NC 7/2/06 Donna the Buffalo spent their Fourth of July weekend in North Carolina, and some of DonnaFans.com's most prolific contributors were there to document the action. On Sunday, 7/2 the band performed at the Festival for the Eno at Durham City Park in Durham, NC. The afternoon was a hot one, as evidenced by John Yust's 11 photos and Terry Killebrew's 11 photos of this show. As usual, they both did excellent work. John captured some great shots, especially of Tara, while Terry got many nice close-ups, including several of Kathy Z. Gentlemen, thanks so much for your contributions! (posted 7/8/06)

Eno Show Already Available On The Live Music Archive On Sunday, 7/2, Donna the Buffalo performed at the Festival for the Eno in Durham, NC. In addition to many of DtB's most popular songs, the band's 70-minute set included Locket & Key, a Tara Nevins song that has been in heavy rotation since she debuted it in Jamaica at the end of March, and Jeb's Garden of Eden, which the band played a handful of times after it debuted last December but hadn't been heard since 1/13/06. Thanks to Joe Champion, a soundboard recording of this show is already available for download from the Live Music Archive at www.archive.org/details/donna2006-07-02. Thanks a million, Joe! (posted 7/4/06)

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