By Kate Bartlett
Fuzzy & The Rustbelts is an Americana band rooted in the music styling of folk, country, and rock & roll. On October 4, a trimmed down version of the band, the Fuzzy & The Rustbelts Trio, will be playing at the Ellicottville Distillery 9th Anniversary Party featuring vocals, acoustic guitar, upright bass and piano.
Fuzzy & The Rustbelts formed in late 2018 as a passion project. Fuzzy sourced several musicians from his local church to record their first album, That Sweet Song (2019). Throughout 2019, the group went on to gain local and regional attention. They were invited to play the Outlaw Music Festival with Willie Nelson and later went on to win the 106.5 WYRK Toyota Taste of Country Riser Competition that December.
As the pandemic set in, just like many other bands, Fuzzy & The Rustbelts made an effort to stay relevant. They continued to be involved with online and radio performances. The rise of podcasts and blog reviews helped the group stay afloat during that time as well. In the fall of 2020, Fuzzy & The Rustbelts were able to take advantage of a friend’s recording studio in Batavia, New York and recorded a three song EP called, Harvester Sessions (2021). This led to a massive uptick in online traffic after their song Perfect had caught the ear of Nashville DJ and Apple Music host, Ty Bentli.
Coming out of the pandemic, Fuzzy & The Rustbelts went through a minor lineup change adding to the band’s overall musicality. They continued to perform at many of Buffalo’s top clubs and opened for notable acts such as Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Rodney Atkins, Alison Krauss, Gary LeVox and Bonnie Raitt. In January of 2023, Fuzzy called it quits and disbanded the group. He went on to record a six song EP called, Stories & Ballads (2023) and continued performing solo acoustic shows at local festivals and breweries throughout the year. However, it wouldn’t last long.
Fuzzy found new focus and inspiration and wrote what would later be the band’s second full-length album. Another lineup change took place and over the winter and spring of 2024, Fuzzy & The Rustbelts recorded their latest album, Out West (2024). The band returned to the Buffalo Music Scene full of energy, kicking off their first major show back on scene at Borderland Music Festival and later playing a sold-out album release show at The Caz. Since its release, Out West, has been applauded and received critical acclaim from media outlets locally, nationally, and abroad.
Fuzzy & The Rustbelts write original music within the Americana genre. Fuzzy draws inspiration from a multitude of places focusing on love, loss, faith and resilience. Live performances typically consist of all original music featuring 3 or 4 cover songs that complement and fill out the set.
Last summer the Fuzzy & The Rustbelts Duo played Ellicottville Distillery’s Chilled and Distilled Music Festival. Next Saturday, October 4, Fuzzy & The Rustbelts Trio is making an appearance at The Distillery’s 9th Anniversary Party (see cover story) featuring Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Upright Bass, and Piano. An interesting tie into the Ellicottville area – Fuzzy bought his first Gibson Acoustic Guitar from a man in the Tops Grocery Store parking lot. He has since sold that guitar, however that guitar was the seed money for other Gibson guitars over the years.
Throughout the years, the band has played notable Western New York stages including Darien Lake, Seneca Niagara Casino, Borderland Music Festival, Music is Art Festival, UB Center for the Arts, Sportsmen’s Tavern, Babeville, Buffalo Iron Works, The Cave, and many more. The Duo and Trio performances are often found at Buffalo area breweries and bars such as Hamburg Brewing Co, First Line Brewing Co, Black Smoke, and more.
This summer, the band released a series of live recordings, most recently releasing Lost in You (Live), which was recorded live at The Caz last spring. The full band will be back in Buffalo on Friday, October 10th appearing on the Sportsmen’s Tavern stage with special guest Noah Lee & The Stetsons.
For more information, full band schedule and tickets visit www.fuzzyandtherustbelts.com and follow on social media.