Bloglander

Each day this week, we’re previewing bands playing at this weekend’s inaugural Birds on a Wire festival in Pullman. Look for our full story — featuring Rocky Votolato, Justin Townes Earle and Joe Pug — on Thursday.

We made a grandiose claim in our 2009 Local Music Issue about Pullman band, Buffalo Death Beam: we called them "the best-kept secret on the Palouse." For being that good, you'd think we might have said more about them. We haven't, so we will now: 

It's no wonder that Stereopathic chose Buffalo Death Beam — a seven-piece folk outfit hatched on the WSU campus — to shepherd in the first night of their newborn festival. They're one year young, but their sound is confident, bold and driven. Male and female vocals combine to make a perfectly imperfect chorus — fiddle, guitar and mandolin do-si-do'ing behind them. It's the kind of music you have on your CD player as you fly through the yellow-green Palouse hills. They're an honest, country-fried symphony — one that shouldn't stay a secret any longer.

Buffalo Death Beam plays The Belltower on Friday, March 26 from midnight to 1 am, and on Saturday, March 27 from 1 - 2 am. Birds on a Wire runs Friday evening and all day Saturday. Tickets are $35 in advance, $45 day-of. For more info go here.