Donna the Buffalo News & Rumors

July 2008


GrassRoots Festival:
The Grand Finale
One of the sweetest annual traditions of the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival is Donna the Buffalo's Sunday night closing set, when the band invites a string of their musicial friends onstage for a series of all-star jams. Among this year's guests were celloist Hank Roberts (for two songs, including the night-ending Family Picture), John Specker (for John Hardy), Billie Henry (for Slow Down), Sim Redmond, Willy Watson (for a particularly memorable Werewolves of London), Trevor MacDonald, the Balfa Toujours (for three songs), Preston Frank, Keith Frank, Richie Stearns, Pat Burke, and several others. The marathon gig started at about 9:15 p.m. and didn't end until 12:45 a.m. Intrepid DonnaFans.com contributor John Yust was there until the very end, and provides us with 12 photos of DtB and friends playing on 7/20/08 in Trumansburg, NY. John, I can't thank you enough for these and all of the photos you have so generously allowed me to post over the years. (posted 7/27/08)

New Photos: Saturday Night At GrassRoots
Donna the Buffalo's annual Saturday night headlining set at the GrassRoots festival is a difficult one to photograph: The crowd is huge, the Infield stage is high, and the lighting is tricky. But John Yust has been returning from this fest each year with photos of the big gig, and 2008 was no exception. John shares with us 11 photos of DtB performing on 7/19/08 in Trumansburg, NY. Former DtB keyboardist Joe Thrift sat in for I Don't Need A Riddle and Revelation Two-Step. Many fans who were not at GrassRoots were still able to enjoy this set via webcast (see beow). In addition to photos from Saturday night, I've posted a pair of John's shots from DtB pre-GrassRoots gig on the Ithaca Commons on Wednesday, 7/16, and a photo of the single most talked about guest appearances of the entire festival. Thanks, John! And don't miss Greg Cotterill's 17 photos of Donna's Thursday night GrassRoots set. (posted 7/26/08)

DtB Fall Tour To Include West Coast Shows
Donna the Buffalo has recently added a tremendous amount of shows to its schedule for the upcoming months, including West Coast dates in Seattle, WA (11/19), Portland, OR (11/20) and San Francisco, CA (11/21). The band now has more than 40 gigs scheduled between now and the end of 2008. For full details, see DtB's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/donnathebuffalo. (posted 7/26/08)

DtB's Saturday Night GrassRoots Set Was Webcast!
Donna the Buffalo's performance last night (Saturday, 7/19) was webcast live at HaveYouHerd.com. Thanks to a selfless, generous group of fans who have been webcasting DtB shows in recent years, those at home were able to watch and hear DtB's set on their computers. The band opened with These Are Better Days. The set include most of the songs from the new CD, Silverlined, as well as old favorites Positive Friction, Family Picture, and Funkyside. There was a scorching Hot Tamale Baby, and a Conscious Evolution "tease" that melded into 40 Days and 40 Nights. Rumor has it that earlier in the fest, both Tara Nevins and former DtB guitarist Jim Miller sat in with Preston Frank at the same time. (updated 7/20/08)

First Photos: 7/17/08, GrassRoots Festival, Trumansburg, NY
Every year, Greg Cotterill does a beautiful thing: He attends the first day of the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival, photographs Donna the Buffalo's set and other sights and sounds, and then emails his images to me to share with you. This year, DtB's set took place while it was still light, and Greg's 17 photos of Donna playing on 7/17/08 in Trumansburg, NY perfectly capture that special first-day-of-the-festival feel, with the band playing a relatively intimate gig to a very happy crowd. DtB's set included a guest appearance by Joe Thrift on scrubboard on a zydeco number, as well as performances of Voice In My Head, Come to Life, Each and Every Direction, Everyday, Hey Trudy, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Wood and Stone, No Place Like the Right Time, and I Don't Need a Riddle. I've got a bunch more of Greg's photos from Thursday that I'll post soon. Thanks a million, Greg! Don't forget to log on to www.webcast.haveyouherd.com on Saturday, 7/19/08 at about 11 p.m. EDT--we just might get another excellent webcast of DtB's set! (updated 7/18/08)
DtB's GrassRoots Sets Might Be Webcast!
Some of Donna the Buffalo's performances at this week's GrassRoots festival in Trumansburg, NY might be webcast (audio and video) by the same crazy, dedicated crew that has brought us webcasts of previous shows on HaveYouHerd.com. Earlier today (Thur. 7/17), a test webcast of the festival's opening set by Bubba George went well, and with luck you'll be able to see tonight's DtB set (scheduled to start at 7 p.m. EDT) as well as Saturday's show (scheduled to start at 11 p.m. EDT). To watch, log on to www.webcast.haveyouherd.com at about those times, and don't forget to join the chat as well. Thanks to all who are making this happen! (posted 7/17/08)
New Photos: NYC Cruise, 7/10/08
While the words "Donna the Buffalo" and "cruise" usually bring to mind visions of an oceanliner setting sail from Florida for destinations throughout the Carribean, New York City area DonnaFans were recently treated to a cruise of a different variety. On Thursday, 7/10/08, DtB playing the Rockin' the River cruise, an evening trip down the Hudson River and through the NY Harbor, passing by the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge, with the most fantastic views of the NYC skyline all the while. During this show, the band had two very special guests--Tara Nevins' niece, Angelina Torreano on electric guitar, and Ashleigh Harris on acoustic--for The Pressure Is On and Song of Desperation. The set also included Wood and Stone (last played 4/17/08, Silk Hope, NC), Living in the Promiseland (last played 5/9/08, Troy, NY), Each & Every Direction (last played 5/10/08, Burlington, VT), and several from the new CD, Silverlined. Paul Livingstone was on board, and kindly provides us with 9 photos of DtB performing on 7/10/08 in New York, NY. Gail Vanderheyden also was there, and her 6 images of DtB from the 7/10/08 NY show include shots of the the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. Thanks, Paul! Thanks, Gail! (updated 7/17/08)
First Photos From
Great Blue Heron Festival
Donna the Buffalo celebrated the release of their latest CD, Silverlined, by making their annual appearance at the Great Blue Heron Festival in Sherman, NY. In addition to the excitement about the new CD, this year's GBH was unique because DtB's performances were webcast live on HaveYouHerd.com by Rand, Carol, Gene Gene, and the rest of the crew who have so tirelessly worked to bring us webcasts of Donna the Buffalo shows in the past year. Karen Landau was at this Fest and shares with us 12 photos of DtB playing in Sherman, NY on 7/4-7/6/08. Thanks for the photos, Karen, and thanks to everyone who takes the time out of their Donna the Buffalo experiences to share the sights and sounds of the band's performances with fans worldwide. (posted 7/8/08)

New "Official" DtB Site Coming Soon!
Donna the Buffalo's official web site, www.donnathebuffalo.com, is undergoing an extensive redesign. Right now the site features a slick flash intro to promote the new CD, Silverlined, and a copy of the new Silverlined video (see below). The new site will be launched soon. In the meantime, be sure to visit the band's MySpace page at www.myspace.com/donnathebuffalo for the latest tour dates and other information. (posted 7/8/08)
Silverlined Has Arrived!
Fans who pre-ordered Donna the Buffalo's brand-new CD Silverlined from Funkyside.com have started to receive their discs a few days ahead of the "official" 7/8 release date. Most of the tracks were recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, NC. Special guests include Bela Fleck (on banjo on Temporary Misery and Beauty Within), Amy Helm of Ollabelle (background vocals on Garden of Eden, The Call, Blue Eyes, and Forty Days And Forty Nights), and David Hidalgo of Los Lobos (background vocals on Silverlined). Silverlined is a real treat--especially for those of us lucky enough to have seen the band frequently over the past few years--because it features studio versions of songs we've come to love with special touches we very rarely get to hear live, such as banjo, pedal steel, and horns. My personal favorites: Biggie K, Garden of Eden, and Silverlined. The disc also contains Blue Eyes, a Jeb Puryear song that the band has not yet performed live. You can buy your copy from Funkyside.com, where you can also purchase the recently-released, mastered matrix recording of DtB performing live on 7/21/07 at GrassRoots in Trumansburg, NY. (posted 7/3/08)


DtB Debuts Video For Silverlined
On Wednesday, 6/25, Donna the Buffalo debuted a new promotional video in advance of its soon-to-be released CD, Silverlined. The video is available on the band's MySpace page, www.myspace.com/donnathebuffalo, and on the band's official site, www.donnathebuffalo.com. The mini-documentary features clips of the band performing at the Crawfish Festival in Augusta, NJ on 5/31, interviews with Jeb and Tara, interviews with fans, and more. (posted 6/25)



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