Connecticut rockers Goose will be hosting an eclectic mini-fest called FRED the Festival – a three-day event on the revered LOCKN’ Farm in Arrington, VA. Anchored by four sets of Goose, the lineup also features Dawes (original set + Black Sabbath Paranoid set), Dr. Dog, Hiss Golden Messenger, Cory Wong, Grateful Shred, Sammy Rae & The Friends, aGOOSEtic Trio, and more.
“Last year, we were booked at LOCKN’ and we were so excited to perform on that legendary stage for the first time. We were all pretty disappointed after the festival was canceled so it’s an honor to be invited back to the farm for our own event,” said Goose’s Peter Anspach (Guitar, Keys, Vocals). “Along with an amazing lineup of incredible bands, we have a ton of surprises planned and we can’t wait for all of you to #getinvolved.”
FRED the Festival will also mark a long-awaited return to the stage for Vasudo for the first time since the summer of 2013. Regarded as Goose’s musical predecessor, the roots/rock/reggae band features Rick Mitarotonda (Guitar, Vocals), Matt Campbell (Keys, Vocals), Peter Anspach (Keys, Vocals) Trevor Weekz (Bass), and Jeff Arevalo (Drums). Also returning from an extended hiatus for a Friday late-night set is ElephantProof, a four-piece jazz/funk/EDM project formed at Berklee College of Music by Ben Atkind (Drums), Sean Cronin (Guitar), Shon Gordon (Bass) and Chris Enright (Keys).
Ticket sales commence on Friday, June 4th at 10 AM ET with both day passes and weekend camping passes available. For more information, visit FredTheFestival.com
Goose recently released the third song from their eagerly awaited new album, SHENANIGANS NITE CLUB out tomorrow, Friday, June 4. The 10-minute odyssey the band is calling “Madhuvan” is a live show staple of late that the band shortened for the studio version. Though half as long here, the song still captures the travelogue aesthetic that has made it a fan favorite. Classically Goose in that its groove is as deep as its sense of melody is indelible, “Madhuvan” references the story of Dhruva and his quest for enlightenment, originally written in the Bhagavata Purana. The song is an exploratory journey, examining life’s most beautiful offerings and most dangerous pitfalls.
“The underlying idea is questioning what you’re pursuing and that, ultimately, true fulfillment often comes from something other than outer acquisition,” says guitarist/vocalist Rick Mitarotonda.
SHENANIGANS NITE CLUB is Goose’s second studio LP and first full-length collection in more than five years. It was heralded in March with the release of its first song, “Spirit of the Dark Horse.” In April, the band released “So Ready.” Hitting that sweet spot where rock met disco in the late 70s, the slinky funk pocket groove of “So Ready,” made indelible by its catchy wide lapel melody lines and liquified guitars, is available now at all DSPs and streaming services. An animated official music video that harkens back to the feverish Saturday nights of the dancing days of yesteryear is available for streaming via Goose’s YouTube channel.
LISTEN TO “SPIRIT OF THE DARK HORSE”
PRE-ORDER SHENANIGANS NITE CLUB
SHENANIGANS NITE CLUB follows the recent release of Goose’s remarkable cover of Vampire Weekend’s “2021 (January 5th, to be exact),” featured on Vampire Weekend’s new 40:42 EP and available now at all DSPs and streaming services. Personally commissioned by Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig – a longtime Goose fan – with the only directive to make it twenty minutes and twenty-one seconds long, the expansive track is accompanied by a full-length performance video, streaming now via YouTube. Relix magazine just published an interview between the band and Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig. Read it HERE.
WATCH GOOSE x VAMPIRE WEEKEND’S “2021 (JANUARY 5TH, TO BE EXACT)”
Hailed by Billboard for their “penchant for innovation and creativity during the pandemic,” Goose debuted some of the new SHENANIGANS NITE CLUB songs during a series of socially distant live dates beginning May 3 and 4 at Frederick, MD’s Showtime At The Drive-In and then hitting North Charleston, SC’s Riverfront Park (May 6) and Pelham, TN’s The Caverns Above Ground Amphitheater (May 8 and 9). All five dates completely sold out after unprecedented demand; limited tickets remain for shows at Silver Lake Drive in Perry, NY (June 15 and 16) and Legend Valley in Thornville, OH (June 18 and 19). For updates and complete details, please visit goosetheband.com/tour.
An ode to oft-forgotten vestiges of Goose’s musical journey, both personal and collective, SHENANIGANS NITE CLUB marks the apex of a rich history between friends of differing ages and experiences from the same small town in Connecticut, drawn together through a deep love of music and storytelling. Songs like the tectonic “Labyrinth” and the ruminative deep-dive, “SOS,” fluidly traverse genres with head-spinning hooks, technical fireworks, and the kind of rare chemistry only possible among truly close collaborators.
“While we’ve been touring, the record has been happening in the background,” says Mitarotonda. “It’s been quite the process. At times, it was difficult. The record is a companion to those growing pains.”
Goose made their remarkable debut with 2016’s Moon Cabin and quickly took flight, playing countless shows while steadily amassing a fervent nationwide following. Years of relentless touring culminated in a string of milestone festival performances during the summer of 2019, highlighted by a now-legendary performance at Scranton, PA’s annual Peach Fest (streaming in its entirety HERE). Further touring followed, including a completely sold-out fall headline run and hastily scheduled dates at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg in January 2020, both of which proved instant sell-outs.
2019 and 2020 also saw Goose return to the studio for a series of extraordinary single releases, collected on last year’s NIGHT LIGHTS EP (available HERE). The tracks – mastered by the first-ever female GRAMMY® Award winner for “Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical,” Emily Lazar (Sia, Clairo, Haim) – exhibit a fully unified live outfit eager to showcase and develop their studio voice.
Due in part to their trademark inclination for improvisation, Goose was able to creatively navigate the myriad challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. A succession of intimate virtual performances culminated with the unprecedented “Bingo Tour,” a two-week live streaming event featuring four unique concerts with setlists determined by the outcome of a live Bingo game. Held at a bucolic private property in Fairfield County, CT, the interactive performances were captured for posterity in the full-length concert film, Bingo Tour, joined by an exclusive 55-minute behind-the-scenes documentary and available to rent or download HERE.
Fall 2020 saw a welcome return to live performance with a slew of sold-out drive-in shows across the Northeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic regions. Propelled by seemingly unstoppable momentum, Goose wrapped up the year with their seventh annual Goosemas holiday benefit concert, streamed live from a rooftop in New York City’s Rockefeller Center to over 50K fans exclusively via Twitch’s new Relix Channel. The epic 3-hour performance – which raised over $45,000 for NIVA’s Save Our Stages and Conscious Alliance – can be viewed now at the official Goose YouTube channel HERE; a full-length audio recording is available via Bandcamp HERE.
“Our dream is to inspire people to step off the beaten path,” says Mitarotonda. “There are a lot of voices that tell you to play it safe. I think the coolest thing in the world is when someone breaks free and goes for whatever weird shit they dream of doing.”
Goose is Rick Mitarotonda (vocals, guitar), Peter Anspach (vocals, keys, guitar), Trevor Weekz (bass), Ben Atkind (drums), and Jeff Arevalo (vocals, percussion, drums).
