Buffalo Kin wows Liberty Theatre audience in Condon debut

The Gilliam County Cultural Trust held a special event in collaboration with the Condon Arts Council on Saturday, November 4. More than 100 people came out to see Buffalo Kin play the Liberty Theatre, along with Tony Furtado and Stephanie Schneiderman.

Buffalo Kin is a two-person band made up of Fossil's Seth Brewster and his partner Kate Eisenhooth. The couple helped to arrange for renowned Americana performer Tony Furtado and his wife Stephanie Schneiderman to join them for a very special evening.

Also in attendance was Bart Budwig, a sound engineer and musician who lives at the OK Theater in Enterprise, Oregon. Budwig made sure that the sound in the theatre was in tip top shape.

In 2022, Budwig recorded Buffalo Kin's first album, "Wild Open Country." In the days prior to the show in Condon, Budwig was producing the band's second album – recorded in the old Hoover House in Fossil, Oregon where Seth Brewster resides.

Buffalo Kin played several songs off of the unreleased second album to an adoring audience in Condon.

The Condon Arts Council, who purchased the Liberty Theatre in 2022, had long wanted to have a concert in the aging theatre. Having Buffalo Kin perform had been on the bucket list for the organization.

Prior to Buffalo Kin taking the stage, the Condon Arts Council thanked key partners who are helping to restore the theatre, which was built in 1922. Gilliam County Judge Elizabeth Farrar Campbell, engineer Jeff Schott of Pillar Consulting Group, and K'Lynn Lane of the Ford Family Foundation were recognized for their contributions.

More than 100 people were in attendance, including a dozen international students from the Mitchell School. Fossil resident Kendall Derby drove a bus with the kids to the concert. Several people from Wheeler County made the trip, along with a larger crowd of people from Condon.

With tacos being served by Gaby's Tacos, it was a great night all around. The Condon Arts Council is preparing for winter activities and the large renovation project at the Liberty Theatre. Even with a leaking roof, the atmosphere was sensational and there are discussions of more live music events to come.

During the encore, Buffalo Kin joined Tony Furtado and Stephanie Schneiderman to sing the Woody Guthrie song "I Ain't Got no Home." As they finished, Furtado said to the crowd "Once you've played Condon, everywhere else is just a place."