Donna the Buffalo has built a hard core group of loyal fans over their 30 plus year career through near constant touring. Forming in 1989 in New York state the group originally intended their name to be ‘Dawn of the Buffalo’, but when that was misheard as Donna the Buffalo, they just stuck with the altered version.
Tara Nevins and Jeb Puryear are the only original members remaining in the band, and Taras says “We were Americana before Americana was Americana. Jeb and I are the two original members of the band, and we met playing old-time fiddle, old-time Appalachian music. Sure, we grew up listening to some mainstream music and all that,” Nevins says. “But, really, [the] kind of music that sent this whole thing off in the direction that defines us the most is … old-time fiddle music.”
What has changed for Donna the Buffalo over their three plus decades of performing? For one they have a large, devoted following and secondly, Tara Nevins believes that they are now much better at what they do, citing the fact that the band is much more at ease with one another now versus anytime in their past.
Along the way the band has created their own music festival. The Grassroots Festival began as a small benefit show in the band’s hometown of Trumansburg, NY but has now grown to a multi day event drawing over 15,000 attendees. The concept of this festival of music and dance was so successful that the band hosts multiple events each year in different locations, including Virginia.
