
Americana outfit Donna the Buffalo is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new album and lengthy North American tour.
The musicians are set to kick things off this Thursday (7/10) with a gig on New York City's Rockin the River Cruise, and then travel around the eastern US (with a stop at the Ottawa Folk Festival) through fall. They'll play a host of summer festivals in July and August, and then hit a series of clubs, theaters and radio shows in September.
In October, Donna the Buffalo will headline Silk Hope, NC's Grassroots Festival, an event the group began in 1990 as a way to raise funds for AIDS research, according to its bio. Grassroots has grown into a four-day music fest that hosts some 60 performers and draws 15,000 fans.
Donna the Buffalo will release its seventh album, "Silverlined," tomorrow (7/8) on Sugar Hill Records. The new set builds on DTB's signature sound--a bedrock of traditional mountain music infused with elements of Cajun, rock, folk, reggae and country. It features guests artists including Bela Fleck, Claire Lynch, Los Lobos' David Hidalgo and Amy Helm of Ollabelle.
A couple of songs from "Silverlined" are being previewed at Donna the Buffalo's MySpace page, which also features a promotional video for the record.
Their mutual love for old-time Appalachian music brought DTB founding members Tara Nevins (vocals, guitar, fiddle, accordion) and Jeb Puryear (vocals, guitar) together in upstate New York 20 years ago. The band's current lineup is rounded out by 11-year alumnus Tom Gilbert on drums, keyboardist David McCracken and bassist Jay Sanders.