Donna the Buffalo News & Rumors

May 2007 DtB To Headline Eggstock In Connecticut Donna the Buffalo will be playing just a handful of gigs through the end of June. Tonight, Thursday, 5/31, the band will perform a free show at the Downtown River Jam in Nashville to celebrate that city's anniversary. Then they're off to Asheville, NC for a set at 9 pm on Saturday, 6/2 at the Asheville Music Jamboree. The following weekend, DtB will play a pair of gigs at festivals in Connecticut. First they'll headline Eggstock, a family-oriented event at Flamig Farm in Simsbury, CT on 6/9, following by an afternoon set at the 11th Annual Cajun/Zydeco Festival in Preston, CT on 6/10. The band will close out the month by heading south to Norfolk, VA to play the Bayou Boogaloo on 6/23. As always, check the Tour Dates page of the band's official site, www.donnathebuffalo.com for details. If you're going to be at any of these shows, feel free to send me your photos: fans@donnafans.com. (posted 5/31/07)

DonnaFans.com Message Board Is Back Up The DonnaFans.com forums, which had been down for "maintenance" for the last week or so, are now available again at http://donnafans.com/phpBB. Anyone can read the forums but you have to register to post. If you have any questions or problems registering, email fans@donnafans.com. (posted 5/23/07)

Up Close & Personal: 5/12/07 Portsmouth, VA First-time DonnaFans.com contributor Jeff Barba was at Donna the Buffalo's show last Saturday at the Gosport Arts Festival in Portsmouth, VA. The festival featured arts and crafts booths in a several-block area, with the stage set up in a parking lot in the middle. "I had the fortune of shooting dozens of shots from this perfomance," Jeff wrote. These 12 beautiful B&W photos of DtB playing on 5/12/07 in Portsmouth, VA are just a small sampling of his work, and include some absolutely gorgeous portrait-style shots. The set lasted a little less than 90 mintues and included what most of the Herd would call the band's Top 40 hits, such as Blue Sky, Tides of Time, Family Picture, Positive Friction, Ancient Arms, Funkyside, and No Place Like The Right Time, though they did encore with Mystic Water. DoG said there was one person who videotaped the show, though he apparently left during the encore. Thanks for the photos, Jeff! (posted 5/15/07)

Just Added: Photos From Chicago 5/4/07 Donna the Buffalo's show at Martyr's in Chicago on 5/4/07 was notable on several counts. First, there was the stellar setlist, which included such rare gems as Do It For Love (last played 5/22/04), Silver Lining (for only the second time this year), River of Gold (also played only once before in 2007), and the always-popular Yonder, which appears to be working its way back into rotation. The second thing was the encore, which featured an apparently planned three-song medley. It started with a slow version of Gathering of the Herd that some say contained more than a hint of the Bobbie Gentry song Ode to Billie Joe, which tells the tale of the night "when Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge." This blended into Positive Friction, which blended into River of Gold to end the set. You can check out this show by streaming or downloading Jeff Frank's recording of it from the Live Music Archive. Finally, this show was noteworthy in that DonnaFans Bill and Elaine from NJ were there, which always makes a Donna show special (hi guys!). Linda Dicus, whom some know as "the keeper of the Purple Head," kindly shares with DonnaFans.com 8 photos of DtB playing in Chicago on 5/4/07, including this awesome shot of Jeb (left). Thanks, Linda! See you at GrassRoots! (posted 5/12/07)

New Review: 5/3/07 Cleveland, OH Donna the Buffalo has performed at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, OH seven times since 2001, but the band's gig there last Thursday was the first since November 2004. First-time DonnaFans.com contributor Jon Winer was there, and shares with us his review of DtB's show on 5/3/07 in Cleveland, OH, which he originally posted on the Grateful Dead Hour list. Jon's not only a big fan of the band, but also is able to quite nicely capture the spirit of a Donna show with his prose: "The ease with which the band plays music allows the audience to feel as though we have been invited to join them on their front porch in Ithaca, NY, for a neighborhood sing-along of old-time music" and "With a few more songs under their belts, Tara is smiling broadly, and the Herd is moving like a sea of migratory mammals, bobbing in the rolling wake of a passing ship." Thanks, Jon! (posted 5/7/07)

Tara Nevins Shines At MerleFest Kickoff Jam On 4/26/07 Each year at MerleFest one of the traditions is the annual Thursday night Kickoff Jam, where a series of musicians share the stage and their talents. Warren Catlett was there at the 2007 Kickoff Jam and provides us witha half-dozen photos of Tara Nevins performing on 4/26/07 at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC. At various times, Tara was joined by Reyna Gellert, Kristin Andreassen, and Abigail Washburn, all three of Uncle Earl. She also did a rendition of the old-time song Nothing Really with "Dr. Banjo" Pete Wernick. Thanks for the photos, Cat! I've got more of Cat's photos of DtB from MerleFest that I'll be posting over the next week. (posted 5/6/07) Check Out The Webcast Of DtB's 5/4/07 Show In Chicago On Friday, 5/4/07, Rand and Carol of HaveYouHerd.com teamed up with MadTaper and Gene F. to bring you a live webcast (audio only) of Donna the Buffalo's show in Chicago. You can check out an archived, multiple-song sample of that webcast at http://webcast.haveyouherd.com. Many thanks to Rand and Carol for providing the website/streaming-server/chatroom, to Gene F. for handling the on-site computer duties, and to MadTaper for providing the audio source. Hope to see more of this in the future! (updated 5/6/07)

Led Zep's John Paul Jones Plays With DtB At MerleFest What do Donna the Buffalo and Led Zeppelin have in common? Pretty much nothing--except for last Saturday at MerleFest, when legendary Led Zep bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones sat in with DtB for a set. Jones, an accomplished mandolin player and old-time music fan, sat in with several bands during this festival. Warren "Cat" Catlett, who hosts the awesome Internet radio station Radio Free Americana was on hand and shot 24 photos of DtB's dance tent set at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC on 4/28/07. Jones played mandolin for most of DtB's set but later "they coerced him into playing bass," Cat said. It was an eventful gig: Joe Thrift and Dave McCracken, both of whom sat in with Donna at Shakori the week before MerleFest, also joined the band on this set, and Jeb played broke out his Kent guitar. The setlist has not yet been confirmed. Thanks for the photos, Cat! (posted 5/1/07)

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