Pittsburgh based modern folk/Americana outfit Buffalo Rose will perform this Sunday 12/18/22 at the Abbey Bar in Harrisburg at 7 pm as part of the first ever Susquehanna Folk Emerging Artist Showcase Reunion. More information and Tickets can be found HERE. Sharing the bill will be fellow EAS alums Angela Autumn and Noah G. Fowler.
Buffalo Rose has had their praises sung my luminaries across the folk scene, including celebrated songwriter Tom Paxton who said, “”How can a band be loose and tight at the same time? Listen to Buffalo Rose for the answer. I flat love them.” The group recently released their newest record entitled, “Again, Again, Again,” Prior to the show, Susquehanna Folk Executive Director Peter Winter Lee caught up with Buffalo Rose guitarist, singer, and songwriter Shane McLaughlin to discuss the new album, the band’s process, and how on earth you keep a six member band going through a pandemic.
Tell me the tale of how Buffalo Rose came about?
It was supposed to just be a one off project, but we fell in love with making music together! Originally 4 of us got together to record one of my songs “Momma Have Mercy”. By the time a year had passed we had the 6 of us and we’ve been making music ever since!
What can you tell me about the new record Again, Again, Again?
This is the record I feel that we have been working toward since we started. It reflects so many of the sides of our musical identity while still having a cohesive flow. We also produced, edited, and mixed the record together, so we learned a lot in that process.
How did your collaboration with Tom Paxton come about?
We applied to be a part of a social justice musical compilation put together by an organization called Hope Rises. We submitted our song “Simone” which Lucy wrote, and Tom was on the judge panel and loved it! He reached out to us and we have been writing almost every week ever since!
Walk me through the arrangement process of Buffalo Rose! What’s the process with working out all of those vocal harmonies?
The instruments and vocalists meet separately to work out their parts. Usually we start with just a melody and some chords, and we go over every line until it feels right. I feel that our approach vocally is more intuitive then technical. Instrumentally it definitely has an interesting contrast, more of a who is filling the percussive role at this point, who is going to play this melody.
What was it like navigating the pandemic as a band? Any lessons learned amongst all the challenges?
It was a huge challenge of course, especially with 6 of us! We also had a member step down during the pandemic, though we were extremely fortunate to have that lead us to Margot. I would say we learned how important meeting everyone’s emotional, physical, and mental is to creating and playing music in a sustainable way. We learned to listen to each other and how to take care of each other.
Details and Tickets for the Emerging Artist Showcase Reunion Show on Sunday, 12/18 ft. Buffalo Rose, Angela Autumn, and Noah G. Fowler can be found HERE.
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Peter Winter Lee is the Executive Director of The Susquehanna Folk Music Society and plays guitar and sings in Celtic/Americana Band Seasons with his siblings. Give him a follow on instagram if you’re so inclined.
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