Minneapolis “light-speed” bluegrass quintet Buffalo Galaxy is set to support Magoo, one of the hottest up-and-coming bands playing improvisational bluegrass.
Magoo and Buffalo Galaxy will play First Avenue’s subterranean 7th Street Entry on Oct. 24. Get tickets here.
Buffalo Galaxy frontman Johnny “Hothands” Kovarik chatted with Jam in the Stream Tuesday and discussed the date with Magoo, future touring plans, and plans to release both full show videos of past performances and the second volume of the live compilation series, Don’t Pet the Fluffy Cows.
“Magoo shreds, and they are blowing up,” Kovarik said of the Denver-based progressive bluegrass quintet. “We kept bumping into them.”
While a lot of bands starting out play mostly local shows before getting the chance to tour, Buffalo Galaxy has kind of done the opposite since forming in 2019.
Magoo has generated a lot of buzz among jam fans with high-energy string improvisations, selling out rooms in the stomping grounds Colorado.
PHOTO BY ANGIE WILDER; COURTESY OF MAGOO
Both bands ended up on several of the same festival lineups in the past year, and Kovarik pointed out the first time he and his bandmates got to see Magoo perform — at the Palisade Bluegrass Bash back in April. Silas Herman (son of Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman) filled in on mandolin.
“Our first full set wasn’t the full Magoo,” Kovarik said.
They crossed paths again at Sól Grass Music Festival on Washington Island in Wisconsin in June.
“We got the full Magoo on Washington Island,” Kovarik said. “They tore the roof off that stage. … They are going to knock your socks off. They jam, they go deep. They do all of the things you want. They are going to show up and freak people out.”
Magoo is about to head off on a larger tour starting out in their home state of Colorado (Colorado Springs) Oct. 5. Check out their full tour schedule here.
Buffalo Galaxy is also about to play a stretch of shows leading up to their supporting night at 7th Street Entry.
They play three shows in three nights starting at the Mousetrap Tavern in Eau Claire, Wis., Thursday, Oct. 9. From there, it’s Milwaukee’s Nashville North Oct. 10, and then The Livery in Benton Harbor, Mich., Oct. 11.
Buffalo Galaxy plays most of its shows on the road — but will be playing four shows across Minnesota this month. PHOTO BY GEOVANNI H.; COURTESY OF BUFFALO GALAXY
The following weekend, they also play a stretch of three shows in three nights, this time in Minnesota. That run is kicked off at Bent Paddle Brewing in Duluth Thursday, Oct. 15, followed by a pair of shows on consecutive nights at Up Yonder in Grand Marais.
Check out their full tour schedule with ticket links here.
I asked about the next installment of Don’t Pet the Fluffy Cows. The band released the first volume of the series last year. It’s a compilation of songs recorded live. The first volume was excellent and drew heavily from the band’s tours out west, which were always coupled with visits to natural places and National Parks. Check out my review of that here.
“It’s going to be an annual thing,” Kovarik said of the live series. “We capture audio at as many shows as we can. We have also started to capture video. … We are in the process of picking the songs. We are zeroing in on our track list.”
The current goal is to get Volume II out by February or March, or sooner, if possible, he said.
Before then, the band intends to release a bunch of full show videos.
“We have a system dialed in for live capture,” Kovarik said. “We are going to start releasing them. We don’t have a name for it yet. We are thinking about ‘Buffalo Galaxy Cast.’”
This series will be sets from across the country. Kovarik said it would likely be launched in the next month or two.
All the good things seem to be the culmination of years of grinding away on tour, albeit in shorter stretches than some bands choose to tour.
“We try to space things out smart,” he said. “We might do one or two or three weeks on, then take one or two weeks off. The road work is paying off.”