Goose

About Goose

Goose came together in Norwalk, Connecticut in 2014, which feels appropriately low-key for a band that spent years building their sound before most people noticed. Rick Mitarotonda handles guitar and vocals, Peter Anspach plays keys and guitar, Trevor Weekz is on bass, Ben Atkind drums, and Jeff Arevalo joined on percussion and vocals in 2017. They named themselves Goose because they needed a name and that one was available, which tracks.

The band spent their first few years doing what jam bands do: playing bars, breweries, and small venues around Connecticut and New York, slowly figuring out what they actually sounded like. They weren't trying to be Phish or the Dead, which was probably smart since everyone tries that. Instead they pulled from indie rock, folk, and electronic music, building these sprawling improvisational sections that could get genuinely weird without losing the thread. Their early EP "Moon Cabin" came out in 2016, but it was really just documentation of a band still finding itself.

Things started shifting around 2019 with the album "Shenanigans Nite Club." Tracks like "Hungersite" and "Hot Tea" showed they could write actual songs while still leaving room for the extended jams. "Arcadia" became a setlist staple, one of those songs that could go anywhere depending on the night. The jam band circuit started paying attention, which meant festivals, which meant more people accidentally discovering them.

Then 2020 happened. While touring stopped, Goose started doing these elaborate virtual shows that were more ambitious than most bands' in-person productions. They called it "Bingo Tour" and streamed from various locations, treating the medium like it actually mattered. When live music came back, they had momentum most bands lost during the shutdown.

"Dripfield" dropped in 2022 as their first proper studio album on a label, and it demonstrated they could translate what worked live into composed songs. "Hungersite" got a studio treatment. "Hot Tea" proved it could exist in under five minutes. The album made it clear they weren't just a live phenomenon, though the live shows remained the point.

By 2023 and 2024, they were playing Red Rocks, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall. The venues got bigger but the approach stayed consistent: take a song, see where it goes, trust that the audience will follow. Their 2024 release "Layla" continued refining their studio work, though asking Goose fans about studio albums is like asking Grateful Dead fans about "Built to Last."

Right now they're in that strange zone where they're big enough to headline major venues but still operating in the jam band ecosystem that runs parallel to mainstream music culture. They tour constantly, their fans trade recordings, and they keep pushing their improvisations into stranger territory. It's working.

Goose shows are patient, methodical affairs where the crowd settles in for the long game. People aren't moshing—they're watching. The band will stretch a song into something unrecognizable, and the audience just gets quieter, more focused. It's the kind of show where a 40-minute set feels like it moved fast.

Known for Madhuvan, Listing, Dripfield, Arcadia, Suss

See Goose Live