Goose in New Orleans

About Goose

Goose is a four-piece jam band from Ithaca, New York that's built a devoted following by doing the thing jam bands do best: playing together long enough to stop thinking about it. Rick Mitarotonda's guitar work tends toward spacey, intricate passages, while Peter Anspach's vocals have this lived-in quality that doesn't oversell anything. The band traffics in extended improvisations that don't feel pretentious, mostly because they sound like they're having too much fun to worry about seeming cool. Tracks like "Madhuvan" and "Listing" showcase their ability to build from something almost contemplative into something with actual weight. What separates them from a thousand other bands working this lane is a sense of restraint—they know when to let space breathe. Since their emergence in the mid-2010s, they've become the kind of band whose tour schedule people plan around, which tells you something about the consistency of their shows.

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

Goose + New Orleans

Goose touched down at Preservation Hall in April 2025, a fitting spot for a band that trades in the kind of loose, improvisational energy that New Orleans has always understood. They kept it tight that night—just three songs, but they counted. 'Arcadia' opened things up, followed by 'Turned Clouds' and 'Hot Tea,' the latter a deep cut that shows where their head's at these days. Playing a venue this storied says something about how far they've come since their early days, and how much respect they've earned in rooms that don't usually book jam bands.

Goose in New Orleans News

• After Goose: Flying Mojito Bros and The Breaks Set for New Orleans Late Nights Jambands · Feb 25, 2026
• Goose New Orleans Late-Nights: Flying Mojito Bros, The Breaks Ft. Stanton Moore, Robert Walter, Eddie Roberts Live For Live Music · Feb 24, 2026
• Goose Announces 2026 Headline Tour Dates TicketNews · Nov 12, 2025
• The Disco Biscuits & Goose Members Team Up For New Orleans Show JamBase · Apr 25, 2025
• Goose Debut “Your Direction” in Jazz Fest Headline Set, Release ‘Everything Must Go’ and Join Newport Folk Festival Lineup Relix · Apr 25, 2025

Live Music in New Orleans

New Orleans doesn't separate jazz from rock from funk the way other cities do. It never has. Goose operates in that same fluid space—improvisational but groove-first, structured enough to feel like songs but loose enough to breathe. The city's musicians have always understood that distinction doesn't matter. What matters is whether you can lock in, build something together, and keep people listening. That's the language Goose speaks, and it's the one New Orleans speaks too.

New Orleans road trip to see Goose?

Stay in the Marigny neighborhood—closer to the actual music scene than the French Quarter, with better restaurants and genuine character. Dinner at Bacchanal Butcher on Dauphine Street for their house-made charcuterie and wine list. Spend an afternoon at the Preservation Hall Foundation or catch live jazz on Frenchmen Street, which will give you the musical context for understanding why New Orleans crowds demand what they do. Walk through the Backstreet Cultural Museum to see the real history of the city's brass bands and Mardi Gras culture.