The Buffalo Gals are fast becoming the country's favourite old-time country string band.  Firmly rooted in traditional American music, with an authentic sound driven by fiddle, banjo, percussive step dance, and soaring harmonies, they produce an irresistible show packed with all the excitement, passion and fun of Appalachian, Bluegrass, Blues and Cajun tunes and songs.

Buffalo Gals performs Old-time country music from the Southern Appalachian region of the United States, and specialises in using music, song and dance to convey the spirit, excitement and passion of American roots music.  The group was born out of the Old-Time Country Roots Revue project which performed for Frome ECOS festival and the Gables Theatre American Music Festival.  They are a group of professional performers with a wide range of talents and interests, all of whom share a passion for the traditional music of the USA, and bring to their performance their many years of experience and enthusiasm for the genre.  They presently perform at a variety of Folk and Bluegrass festivals, arts centres, acoustic music and folk clubs, and dances.  Recent performances have included:

A1 Festival of Music and Dance
Bath Fringe Festival
Cis Hinkle Contra Dance, Bristol
The Cornish Bluegrass Festival
Cornwall Folk Festival
Didmarton Bluegrass Festival
Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival
Feet First Festival, Matlock
Friends of American Old-Time Music Festival
Frome Arts Festival
Merlin Theatre, Frome Arts Centre
The PROM, Bristol
Wexford Hooves and Grooves Festival.

 
Old-Time Country music with the Buffalo Gals

The roots of American music are alive and thriving, as you will have a chance to discover at a Buffalo Gals performance...where you can have a taste of the fiddle and banjo of the Southern Appalachians, as well as its ballads, gospel, blues, and firey flatfoot stepdancing.

You'll hear the influence of American music everywhere; It has been hugely influential in  many aspects of the music most of us listen to today.  The roots music of America has given inspiration to almost every type of popular music we have heard in the last century.  Elvis Presley's first recording was of a song called Blue Moon of Kentucky, written by the father of Bluegrass music, Bill Monroe.  The Everly Brothers, who based their music on the traditional sound of brother duets, were the major musical influence on the early harmonies of the Beatles.  Early Blues provided a similar inspiration for later forms of popular music, and created a powerful thread of influence on the development of Rock'n'Roll.  With Buffalo Gals, you will have the opportunity to relive the early forms of country music, and hear some of how American traditional music sounded when the recording industry was in its infancy.   

Old-Time Country music blends influences from all over the world, most obviously from those immigrants who carried music from the British Isles, people transported from Africa and living as slaves, and Native Americans.  The main instruments used in this music are fiddle, banjo, guitar, and lap dulcimer, though many other instruments are involved, such as harmonica, jaws harp, bass, and autoharp.  It is characterised by lively tunes, unusual rhythms and timing,  sad ballads and gospel songs.  Much of the music contributed by the British Isles was in the form of dance music and ballads.  The African people contributed a highly developed sense of rhythm and syncopation, a vocal spiritual music that included  church-style harmonies, and the sound of the banjo.  The music of Native Americans also contributed to vocal and rhythmic styles of Old-Time Music.  Geographical and cultural isolation during the early part of the expansion of the USA contributed to a deep feeling of the music belonging to the people who were making it, and to the evolution of a musical identity that was much greater than the sum of its parts.  Above all, it is fun, social music with a great drive and passion, and we aim to involve all of our audiences in its excitement!