A FUNNY THING HAPPENED to Goose over the past two years. Following the release of their second album, 2021’s Shenanigan’s Nite Club, the Connecticut-based quintet transitioned from underground darlings to something close to mainstream stars, headlining major venues like Red Rocks and Radio City Music Hall while appearing on network shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.
Since their formation in 2014, Goose have described themselves as an “indie-groove” outfit, but to their loyal — and rapidly growing — legion of fans, the group’s inventive mix of folk, jazz, trance and progressive rock has placed them firmly in the lineage of premier jam bands like Umphrey’s McGee and Phish.
So which is it? Are Goose a jam band, or are they something else? Guitarist-singer and founding member Rick Mitarotonda is of two minds. “I don’t try to hold any idea that we’re not a jam band,” he says. “We are most certainly a jam band. We improvise a whole lot, so yeah, we’re a jam band. On the other hand, I don’t feel qualified to render an
