BUFFALOFITZ

BIOGRAPHY

Buffalofitz is a vibrant, eclectic acoustic duo from Oklahoma featuring the combined energies of Fitz Jennings and Buffalo Rogers, two very different men with a shared love of rooted music and storytelling. Their music is an ever-evolving mixture of traditional blues, ballads and gospel songs, combined with surprising originals and impeccably chosen covers. They fit comfortably in any crowd and with any audience, whether playing gospel in a church on Sunday morning, entertaining kids in a library, or cutting through a loud bar crowd.

Buffalofitz is on the Oklahoma Arts Council’s Touring Artist Roster and the Mid American Arts Alliance Touring Roster, both NEA affiliates, making grant money available to nonprofit groups and municipalities for a Buffalofitz performance.

PROGRAMS

• Performance Formats – duo
• Public Performances – all ages – family, youth, and adult

Since the band's inception in 2005, the two have performed hundreds of shows at all kinds of venues. Clubs, bars, churches, county fairs, folk festivals, street corners, house concerts, coffee houses, kid's shows, libraries, schools, parties, weddings and funerals have all hosted Buffalofitz.

Youth & Family Shows - Kids of all ages love the foot-stomping energy and interactive nature of a Buffalofitz family show.  Throughout dozens of libraries and festivals each year, the band has the honor of teaching thousands of children the value, strength and fun of our collective musical heritage. Buffalofitz strives to keep time-honored songs and poems alive in the hearts and minds of today’s generation. Children at a Buffalofitz show are encouraged to participate in our traditional songs like "Goodnight Irene" and Woody's "This Land,” nostalgic songs that all parents and teachers can appreciate as they remember their own childhood music education.

Past Performances

Buffalofitz has entertained kids and families throughout Oklahoma and the Midwest.  The duo has twice headlined the wildly popular YippieYiYo Show in Oklahoma City, performed at the Norman Music Festival’s Kid Rocker Stage, The Metro Children’s Music Festival, and toured many libraries, camps, and schools.

AWARDS:

2006 Woody Guthrie Award from the Oklahoma Gazette for Best Folk Band.

Reviews

Buffalofitz’s magnetic shows owe much to dichotomy between Fitz and Buffalo, both consummate showmen, each in his own way. As one observer put it:

“Fitz Jennings and Buffalo Rogers routinely fill every last cubic inch of available airspace with their acoustic sound.  The two compliment each other perfectly and improbably. Buffalo is a large, cantankerous hillbilly, given to wisecracking outbursts and lapses in tact, while Fitz is a slim, bespectacled soul, originally from Portland, OR, who is equally engaging and humorous, but speaks in literary, almost pedantic tones. Their mutual annoyance results in spontaneous stage banter that is almost as entertaining as the music itself” - Asher Sandberg-Lewis, Artist and Filmmaker

" Buffalo Fitz gets the crowd with them the instant they walk on the stage. The crowd gets them the second they start playing. And everyone, from age 0-100, is smiling to the very end." -Kari Hirst Starkey- Producer, Director of the Yippee Yi Yo Show

“After an 8-day tour of the Metropolitan Library System in Oklahoma City, we can tell you that Buffalo Fitz is among the most exciting new talent to come out of Oklahoma. This is great entertainment for the whole family. Don't miss them!” -Dana Morrow, Director of Programming and Outreach, Metropolitan Library System.

"The energy of youth meets the traditions of folk. Bob Dylan met Hank Williams, and they had a hyperactive kid."-- The Oklahoman

"Buffalofitz share a unique gift of passion, wit and entertainability. They've increased the intrigue of the Oklahoma music scene and widened its scope in the rich custom of Woody Guthrie."-- Art Beat

"The combination of skilled musicianship, thoughtful song writing, and voices that complement the history of American music is pretty rare."-- NonZine