Ride a Bio Bus from North Carolina to the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival Feb 8-12th

World-Renown GrassRoots Music Festival Poised to Take Centerstage at the Historic Miami Virginia Key Beach

Scheduled to perform: Chaka Khan, Del McCoury, Arrested Development, Immortal Technique, Beausoleil, Keith Secola & His Wild Band of Indians, Locos Por Juana, The Lee Boys, Donna The Buffalo, Jahfe, & more…

In the spirit of family, cultural celebration and fun, The Historic Virginia Key Beach Park will serve as home to the world-renown Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance, February 9 – 12, 2012.

The Festival organizers are planning to fill a bio diesel bus in North Carolina to travel down to the festival. Here’s what they say about it:

Hey folks! We’re planning on renting out a 55 passenger bio diesel bus for an epic road trip from the Shakori Hills Festival location in triangle area NC down to the Florida Keys for the first annual Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival. http://virginiakeygrassroots.org/

The bus leaves Wednesday, Feb 8th and returns Sunday, Feb 12th after the music.

The Tour Bus is super comfortable with DVD and bathroom, and runs on locally made bio fuels.  We’ll drive 1600 miles round trip (14 hours each way), starting out in the night so we’ll wake up at the beach! $120 per person covers fuel and drivers, and saves you festival overnight parking costs of $50.00. Plus, you can bring your camping gear with you!

NOTE: We need 55 people to sign up in order to fill the bio bus. Email grassrootsbiobus@gmail.com or Call Iris @ (919) 542 0244 for more info or to sign up.  For more info click here.

The four-day event will showcase some of the world’s most amazing and respected talents from over 50 performing groups whose genres include: roots rock, reggae, hip-hop, Latin, funk, Cajun, bluegrass, African, Kompa, world beat and zydeco. Grammy® Award winning performers Chaka Khan, The Del McCoury Band and Arrested Development will headline the inaugural festival along with the legendary ska/reggae band Fishbone, Donna the Buffalo, BeauSoleil avec Micheal Doucet and several South Florida local favorites Locos Por Juana, Suenalo and ArtOfficial.

To learn more about The Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival, performers, or to purchase tickets please contact Emma Hewitt at (786) 332-4630 or visit us at http://www.virginiakeygrassroots.org.

Read Full Post »

We’ve got your Dream, Mr King. It’s in our Hearts!

“Mr. King”

~ Written by Donna the Buffalo’s Jeb Puryear ~

We’ve got your dream Mr. King
It’s in our hearts
We’ve got your dream Mr. King
And Ms. Rosa Parks
We’ve got your dream
Of peace, love and harmony
It’s a vision of the way things have gotta be

Everybody stand up
Stand up for what you know is right
And we’re gonna never
Never give up the fight
You can see how far we have come
There’s still a mighty battle to be won
We’ve been marching out from the past
That lovely day when we’re all free at last

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, The Good Neighborhood posted a blog with five songs that bear King’s inspiration and are either lesser known or their connections to him lesser told, featuring Donna the Buffalo, Patty Griffin, Grant Green, Nina Simone, and Bruce Springsteen & the Seeger Sessions Band.

Read Full Post »

Donna the Buffalo continues to stampede with the Herd this winter!

“With more than 20 years of experience, impeccable musicianship, and uplifting, heady music, Donna the Buffalo has become one of the premier Americana and roots-rock outfits on the eastern seaboard, if not the whole country.” ~ Ryan Whirty, Rochester City Paper

***

***

Donna the Buffalo continues to stampede with the Herd this winter! They will be traveling through North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama before heading back up north to West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York before making the trek back down to Florida for the Inagural Virginia Key Grassroots Festival the 2nd weekend of February!

Travis Newbill wrote an awesome live review from Donna The Buffalo’s recent show at Revolution Live in Ft Lauderdale on Jan 9th! Some excerpts are below.

Donna’s groove is infectious, hypnotic and wholesome, subtly incorporating trance, reggae, and pop qualities into a sound which is Americana first and foremost. It is rootsy music offered by deep, sensitive players. At times they could be described as Mazzy Star, sped up and minus the echo, with an emphasis on allowing grooves to develop, peak, and come to rest.

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Tara Nevins has the presence of an Americana shaman. Whether she is zoning with the tambourine, violin, washboard, accordion, guitar, or singing, she is visibly tapping into mystical energy, and inviting all those willing into that vast space. Ditto guitarist Jeb Puryear, whose eyes roll involuntarily into the back of his head while the rest of his body surrenders as well–possessed by the groove with jaw agape.

The band was locked in from start to finish Friday night while delivering their sweetly melodic songs and jamming extensively. The crowd was locked in as well. The audience was equal parts bluegrass, Grateful Dead, and reggae people — all friendly spirits. It is no wonder why this band has such a dedicated following. There is no other band that this writer has come across that does quite what they do. And they do it with a humble confidence and great joy. Click here for the full review in the Broward-Palm Beach New Times.

Photo credits: Full band shot by John D Kurc.  Jeb Puryear by Gene Martin. Tara Nevins and Kyle Spark by Rich Orris.

******************************************

DtB on the radio this winter:

***

Sun, Jan 15th; between 6-8pm EST — WQFS in Greensboro, NC — Interview with Tara on “Hangin’ with Higgs”. (also doing a ticket giveaway!)

Tue, Jan 17th; 6-8pm EST — WMNF in Tampa, FL — Jeb Puryear Co-Hosts & plays Virginia Key GrassRoots Fest DJ with DJ Ed Greene on “Freak Show” Listen to the Poscast!

Thu, Jan 19th; 4pm EST — WQFS in Greensboro, NC — Duo session with Jeb & Tara on David Wright’s program “The Caravan” (also doing a ticket giveaway!)

Fri, Jan 20th; 5pm EST — WDVX in Knoxville — Jeb & Tara duo session with Tony Lawson in the “Features at 5”

Sat, Jan 21st; between 4 and 6pm — 98.1 The River in Asheville — Jeb & Tara duo session with Aaron LaFalce in “Studio AVL”

Sat, Jan 21st; in the 5pm EST hour — WCOM in Carborro, NC — Tara Nevins interviews on Tom Arnell’s “Placeholder Show”

Sun, Jan 22nd; starts around 7pm EST — Kix Country in Port Charles, FL — Studio session and interview with Jeb who will also play DJ with Virginia Key GrassRoots Fest Music on Larry’s Timko’s show “Down Home Cookin'”

Sat, Jan 28th; — time tba  WWVU (U92 fm) in Morgantown, WV — Jeb and Tara duo session with Carly Parana’s “Alternate Routes”

Sun, Feb 5th; 2pm WLRN in Miami, FL — Interview with Jeb Puryear and Emma Hewitt about the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival with Michael Stock on “Folk & Acoustic Music”

**********************************

DtB on tour this winter:

Thu, Jan 19, 2012 – Greensboro, NC – The Blind Tiger – w/ Woody Pines
Fri, Jan 20, 2012- Knoxville, TN – The Bijou Theatre – w/ Woody Pines
Sat, Jan 21, 2012 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel – w/ Woody Pines
Sun, Jan 22, 2012 – Huntsville, AL – Crossroads Café – w/ Woody Pines
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 – Birmingham, AL – WorkPlay Theatre – w/ Woody Pines
Wed, Jan 25, 2012 – Nashville, TN – 3rd & Lindsley – w/ Wooten Brothers
Thu, Jan 26, 2012 – Carrboro, NC – The Cat’s Cradle – w/ Woody Pines
Fri, Jan 27, 2012 – Falls Church, VA – The State Theatre
Sat, Jan 28, 2012 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant Street
Thu, Feb 2, 2012 – West Chester, PA – The Note – w/ Mason Porter
Fri, Feb 3, 2012 – Buffalo, NY – The Tralf
Sat, Feb 4, 2012 – Utica, NY – Uptown Theatre
Sat-Sun, Feb 10-12, 2012 – Miami, FL – Virginia Key Grassroots Festival
Fri, March 23, 2012 – Charleston, SC – The Pour House
Sat-Sun, March 24-25,2012 – Live Oak, FL – Suwanee Springfest
Sun, March 22, 2012 – Atlanta, GA – Sweetwater 420 Festival
Thu-Sat, April 26-28, 2012 – Wilkesboro, NC – Merlefest

More shows tbd…
Stay tuned to www.donnatehbuffalo.com

 

Read Full Post »

New Orleans Mojo Revival: Duane Trucks & Flannel Church Tour the Southeast

New Orleans Mojo Revival: Duane Trucks & Flannel Church Embark On Inaugural TourDuane Trucks, Kevin Scott & Gregory “Wolf” Hodges announce all-star jam trio
featuring Roosevelt Collier of the Lee Boys and Shane Pruitt on select dates; on tour this January

Church is in session, and it’s a sweaty, slide-driven soul-saving affair. Duane Trucks and Kevin Scott of Col. Bruce Hampton & the Pharaoh Gummit have joined forces with New Orleans guitarist and vocalist Gregory “Wolf” Hodges to form a funky new blues trio, Flannel Church. Collectively, the group offers a raw, infectious sound that draws from swampy New Orleans funk, old school gospel and traditional rhythm and blues.

Flannel Church is also the side project of Lee Boys pedal steel phenom Roosevelt Collier and South Carolina blues guitarist Shane Pruitt, who bring the sit-in magic of a festival jam session to the group’s live show.

The trio debuted on Trucks’ 23rd birthday in Jacksonville, FL Dec. 28, 2011 following the Tedeschi Trucks Band concert at the Florida Theater. Playing across the street from his brother at Burro Bar, Flannel Church and Collier introduced the hometown crowd to their energetic live show as they jammed late into the night.

The band is currently on the road with Pruitt for their inaugural two week tour, playing intimate venues throughout the Southeast:

January 2012 Tour Dates:
1/2/2012: Nu-Way Restaurant & Lounge in Spartanburg, SC
1/4/2012: Chicora Alley in Greenville, SC
1/5/2012: Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta, GA
1/6/2012: Marty’s in Birmingham, AL
1/7/2012: Barley’s Taproom in Knoxville, TN
1/8/2012: One Stop Deli & Bar in Asheville, NC
1/9/2012: Nu-Way Restaurant & Lounge in Spartanburg, SC
1/10/2012: Evening Muse in Charlotte, NC
1/11/2012: Home Team BBQ (Sullivan’s Island) in Charleston, SC
1/12/2012: Surf Bar in Folly Beach, SC
1/13/2012: Dog Star Tavern “Gregg Allman After Party” in Fernandina Beach, Fl
1/14/2012: The District in Dothan, AL

***

www.facebook.com/flannelchurch
www.reverbnation.com/flannelchurch

Read Full Post »

Scout66’s List of Influential Women in Music

I am so grateful to be included on @Scout66com‘s Janet Hansen’s list of influential women in music! Here’s a short excerpt of the post; click the link to find out about some amazing women that are all on twitter 🙂

A Tip of The Tiara to Influential Women In Music 2012

Read the full post at: http://scout66com.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/a-tip-of-the-tiara-to-influential-women-in-music-2012/

… Let’s look behind the curtain of Twitter for some great contacts and real women  who make the music world go round.Each of these women has a great spirit and a professionalism that fuels a flame under music projects they are hired to handle or those they have a passion for. Listed in no particular order, make sure to follow each of these women to build a foundation of  relationships this industry is built on.

@BigBlendMag  – Nancy Reid and Lisa Smith, a mother/daughter team,  are amazing women who have grabbed new media by the long tail. Internet radio and online magazines are their specialties, and they reach over 270,000 people daily covering myriad topics including new music. Lisa is the Twitter contact, and she’s always in touch with a kind word to make you smile.

@Renagades – Susan Leak makes no bones about how she feels about music. It’s her life! She caters to indie artists from around the world and has a number of social media publications published on http://paper.li which spin her social media posts even further into cyberspace. Check out her site to see how many irons she has in the fire…the woman is a pistol!

@The_MusicMuse  – Jennifer Stoker has recently exploded on the social media music scene. She is a music content writer promoting musicians via reviews on @IndMusicMedia and is the promotions and talent coordinator for @realmsofmusic. You’d be hard pressed to find a nicer person than Jennifer.

@Dreamspiderweb – Erin Scholze is an indie music publicist with a specialty in roots music representing many artists from the cultural hearth of Asheville, North Carolina.  With a firm grasp on the absolute necessity of PR and marketing, Erin’s tagline is, “These things just don’t happen by themselves…” Just keep repeating that phrase, because without PR and marketing, there is no market!

Click to read about all twenty featured women in Music!

Read Full Post »