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| Donna the Buffalo (photo by John D Kurc) |
There’s good news and then there’s so-so news for summer
music festival lovers. The good news is there are more festivals than ever before.
The downside is fewer music festivals cater to just one specific musical form
like bluegrass or Cajun. According to Tara Nevins of Donna the Buffalo, festivals are moving towards an all
inclusive model with various roots music styles offered. The idea of blending
traditional music styles is welcome news for Nevins and Donna’s organically engineered zydeco and old timey fiddle music.
“There are more and more festivals but now they have become
more homogenized,” Nevins said during a recent interview.
“It used to be if there was a folk festival it was all folk
music. Now they’re all Americana
festivals and they have some of everything. It exposes the audience to a wide
range of music and makes music more like the universal language, like one
voice.”
With the music festival season underway for a couple of months
now Grand Rapids audiences can expect Donna the Buffalo to bring the spring
vibe indoors May 17 at the Intersection.
“People have just discovered that it’s a positive experience
being outdoors for three or four days with a bunch of people who are there for
the same reason,” Nevins said of the newer festival attendees. “That includes loving music, community building,
and all things positive."
Donna hosts the Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance in Trumansburg, NY
every summer. Nevins says featured performers this year are Lake Street Dive
and Dickie Betts.
Nevins released the introspective solo effort Wood and Stone in 2011. It was recorded at Levon Helm’s studio in upstate New York (Helm played
drums throughout). She also performed at one of Helm’s famed Midnight
Ramble shows. She admits the one time she thought about pinching
herself to make sure things were real was when she was onstage with the Levon Helm Band singing “The
Weight."
“I’m just so grateful that my life intersected with his for
a short period,” Nevins said. “And that I got the opportunity to record with
him. He was a fabulous person and fabulous musician.”
Of late D the B is performing selections from their most
recent release Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday
and songs like “I Love My Tribe.” More often than not, however, you never really know
just what songs the band has in store or how long they'll play.
“We always grab from a very large bag of songs," Nevins said. "Sure our show
will contain newer songs but it will also cover old favorites and songs that haven’t been recorded yet."
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Even as Donna the Buffalo
turns the corner on 25 years in the business, Tara Nevins refuses any thought
of resting on success. “I just want to keep on doing what we’ve been doing,”
Nevins said. “I’m proud of my band and what we’ve accomplished but we’re going
to keep striving.”
Donna the Buffalo wsg Big Dudee Roo, 8pm (doors 7), Saturday at the Intersection.
The 'section web page for this night: http://sectionlive.com/events/donna-buffalo/
