Donna the Buffalo is a band from

Trumansburg Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2010 census. The name incorporates a misspelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman. The Tremans spelled their surname several different ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It plays both original songs and

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s. A musician friend suggested "Dawn of the Buffalo" as a name for the band, which was misheard as "Donna the Buffalo" and, over thirty years later, the band is still called "Donna the Buffalo". The followers of the group are called The Herd, a self-organized "tribe" of people who found each other at the group's live events.Interview with Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins
The Americana Music Show, episode 147
released July 8, 2013 Donna the Buffalo is one of the founding and host bands of the annual

Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance Started in 1991, the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance is an annual festival held the second-to-last weekend of July in Trumansburg, New York, a small town ten miles north of Ithaca. The GrassRoots Festival, or simply GrassRoots ...

, and of the

Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance is a biannual music and dance festival held the first Thursday thru Sunday in May and October in Pittsboro, NC. The festival takes place on a venue which is managed by Shakori Hills Commu ...

; and is among the headliners at

The Great Blue Heron Music Festival The Great Blue Heron Music Festival is an annual music festival held the first or second weekend of July in Sherman, New York, a small town in the Amish country side of Western New York, United States. The Great Blue Heron Music Festival, or sim ...

Sherman, New York Sherman is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It is an interior town in the county, west of Chautauqua Lake. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 1,618. The town contains the village of Sherman. History The area ...

. The band was featured in ''On The Bus'', a documentary co-directed by

Dave Sale David Sale is an American singer-songwriter, who after putting out "Sins of the Father" on Atlantic records under the name Camus, and co-writing and producing a few other projects, he got involved in investigating wrongful convictions. Whose s ...

. The band has performed and recorded with a variety of musicians, including such prominent folk/roots performers as

Jim Lauderdale James Russell Lauderdale (born April 11, 1957) is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, a ...

, the father and son zydeco musicians Preston and Keith Frank,

Bela Fleck Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal *Bela, Janakpur, ...

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal *Bela, Janakpur ...

, the Malian musician

Mamadou Diabate Mamadou is a common given name in West Africa among predominantly Muslim ethnic groups such as the Mandé and Wolof people. It is a variant of the Arabic name Muhammad. Academics * Mamadou Diouf (historian), Senegalese professor of West African h ...

Claire Lynch Claire Lynch (born February 20, 1954) is an American bluegrass musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. She is a three-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year honors. She is considered one o ...

, David Hidalgo of

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cu ...

The Duhks The Duhks are a Canadian folk fusion band, formed in 2002 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Featuring banjo, fiddle, guitar, percussion, and vocals, The Duhks blend folk music together with various Canadian and American traditional styles, includi ...

and Amy Helm. In 2009, Tara Nevins toured with the former

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

drummer

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

and his band,

BK3 BK3 were an American rock band led by Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Kreutzmann formed the band in 2008 with Max Creek guitarist Scott Murawski and Allman Brothers Band bassist Oteil Burbridge. Formation Bill Kreutzmann and Scott Murawsk ...

Members

*Tara Nevins - vocals, acoustic guitar, fiddle, accordion, washboard, occasional backing vocals, tambourine *Jeb Puryear - electric guitar, vocals, occasional pedal steel, rare backup vocals *Chris English - drums *David McCracken - electric keyboard, organ *Ted Pecchio - electric bass guitar Stage jeb

Nevins and Puryear do most of the songwriting. Past band members include: *Keyboards: Joe Thrift, Richie Stearns, Kathy Ziegler and Sam Fribush *Drums: Mark Raudabaugh, Vic Stafford, Tom Gilbert, Shane Lamphier and Jimmy Triplett *Guitar and frequent vocalist: Jim Miller *Bass guitar: Bill Reynolds, Kyle Spark, Jay Sanders, Jordon Puryear and Jed Greenberg.

Discography

*''The White Tape'' (1989) *''The Red Tape'' (1991) *''Donna the Buffalo'' (a.k.a. ''The Purple One'') (1993) *''The Ones You Love'' (1996) *''Rockin' In the Weary Land'' (1998) *''Positive Friction'' (2000) *''Live From the American Ballroom'' (2001) *''Life's A Ride'' (2005) *''Silverlined'' (2008) *''Tonight, Tomorrow and Yesterday'' (2013) *''Dance in the Street'' (2018)

References

External links

Band official websiteDonna the Buffalo Internet ArchiveDonna Fans official websiteThe Donna Base: Search lyrics of all Donna the Buffalo songs, and live shows
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donna The Buffalo Jam bands Musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 1989 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from New York (state)