Rusted Root, Donna the Buffalo perform in Pa.
Two big shows are on the roster at the Choconut Inn in Friendsville, Pa., this weekend.
Rusted Root
On Friday night, the Pittsburgh-based band Rusted Root will return to the region with its eclectic and danceable mix of roots, rock and world music.
With eight albums and more than two decades under their belts, more than 3 million records sold worldwide and countless nights on the road, Rusted Root’s music has been featured in films such as “Ice Age,” “Twister” and “Matilda,” TV shows like “New Girl,” “Ally McBeal,” “Charmed” and “Chuck” as well as recent Enterprise Rent-A-Car commercials.
The ensemble’s sweat-inducing and hypnotic live performances have allowed them to tour alongside everyone from Santana, Dave Matthews Band, The Allman Brothers Band, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page’s reunion tour, and many others.
In 1992, Rusted Root’s members released “Cruel Sun” independently, and two years later while signed to Mercury they released their platinum-selling breakthrough “When I Woke,” which spawned the Top 40 hit “Send Me On My Way,” that went on to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100. In 2004, the band released the double album “Rusted Root Live” on their own Touchy Pegg label, following the re-release of the newly remastered “Cruel Sun” in 2003. Rusted Root continued to tour between the release of “Cruel Sun” and the 2009 release of “Stereo Rodeo.”
Rusted Root’s Shanachie Records debut, “The Movement,” was released in 2012 and has received critical praise for its energized and poetic collection of original tunes. To involve its fanbase, the band created the “Fortunate Freaks Unite! We Are Rusted Root” campaign, a campaign where fans contributed to the making of the album while receiving some cool opportunities with the band.
Tickets to Friday’s 7 p.m. show are $25.
Donna the Buffalo
Ithaca-based roots/rock group Donna the Buffalo headlines a show Saturday night.
Closing in on the quarter-century mark, Donna the Buffalo has won praise for crafting both social narratives and danceable grooves. With 10 studio albums under its belt — including “Tonight, Tomorrow and Yesterday,” released on Sugar Hill Records last June — the band is led by founding members and songwriter-vocalists Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins.
Throughout its career, Donna the Buffalo has traveled millions of miles and performed at the country’s most prestigious festivals and clubs. Its fervent fan base, nicknamed The Herd, follows the band with zeal and has created a supportive community online and at DTB shows across the nation.
As an extension of this community and the band’s own dedication to live roots music, Donna the Buffalo started its own annual event — The Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance — 20 years ago in Trumansburg, which draws more than 15,000 people every year, and have since added to the GrassRoots festival family with Shakori Hills in North Carolina and the Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival in Florida.
The opening acts for Saturday’s 7 p.m. show will be Tumbleweed Highway and Honeyspoon. Tickets are $20.
To purchase tickets in advance, go online to www.thechoconutinn.com. The Choconut Inn is located at 10 Quaker Lake Road in Friendsville, Pa.