Formation and early years: 2014–2019 The origins of Goose trace back to
Berklee College of Music, where guitarist Rick Mitarotonda met drummer Ben Atkind in a class called "Fusion Ensemble Level 6." Atkind later recalled that Mitarotonda "was the quietest kid in class, but he was my favorite of the three guitarists by far." In January 2012, Mitarotonda invited Atkind to join a precursor band called Vasudo, along with Wilton, Connecticut natives Trevor Weeks on bass and Matt Campbell on keyboards and vocals. Vasudo remained active for approximately 18 months before dissolving when Mitarotonda left for Colorado. Goose was officially formed in 2014 when Mitarotonda returned from Colorado and reenrolled at Berklee, founding the band with Atkind and Weeks. The band took their name from an inside joke dating to Mitarotonda's time working at a taco shop in Colorado. In their early years, the band performed in Connecticut basements and local bars, gradually building their following. The band recorded their debut album
Moon Cabin in 2016 in a barn in northern New Hampshire, establishing their DIY approach early in their career. Multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach joined the band in 2017, followed by percussionist Jeff Arevalo in 2020, with Cotter Ellis joining the band in 2024.
Rise to prominence: 2019–2023 The band garnered praise for their performance at the 2019 edition of
The Peach Music Festival, which gained them popularity in the jam band scene and has been viewed over 420,000 times on YouTube/Facebook as of March 2023. In January 2020 the band played two well received late night performances at
Dead & Company's Playing in the Sand event in Mexico. The band's rise in popularity resulted in booking larger venues for their 2020 tour, such as the
Bowery Ballroom in New York City, but they canceled the tour after the
COVID-19 pandemic shut down live music performances worldwide. Following the pandemic, Goose booked a series of performances at larger venues in 2021 and 2022, such as
Radio City Music Hall in New York,
Red Rocks Amphitheatre in
Morrison, Colorado, and their first-ever arena concerts at the
Mohegan Sun Arena in their native Connecticut. On June 24 and 25, 2022, Goose played two shows at Radio City Music Hall. Goose and the Trey Anastasio Band performed together in an eight-date co-headlining tour in November 2022. Goose utilised nugs.net as the streaming platform, to distribute their recordings. Their first live streamed show was at
Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2018 and it was sold out before the pandemic. Since then, they have consistently been streaming. They took a different pathway instead of streaming on major labels and apps such as
Spotify and
Apple Music. In January 2023, Goose was the top billed special guest at
Dead & Company's Playing in the Sand festival in
Mexico, headlining on the main stage on the second night. During their January 15 performance, the band was joined by
Bob Weir for three songs at the end of the first set. Atkind and Arevalo went on to play with the
Rhythm Devils during "Drums" at Dead & Company's next shows. In July 2023, at Resonance Festival in Ohio, Goose was joined on stage during the second set by
Jake Cinninger and
Joel Cummins of
Umphrey's McGee to perform "Empress of Organos". That same month, at the
Newport Folk Festival, the band were joined on-stage by
Animal from
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem for their performance of "Animal". Anspach personally mixes the band's live performances for release shortly after the band finishes their concerts. They played a four hour and 2-minute concert.
Lineup changes: 2023–present On December 22, 2023, the band released a statement that founding member and original drummer Ben Atkind would be departing from the band. On February 5, 2024, the band announced that Cotter Ellis would be joining the band as the new drummer. On November 24, 2024, Goose played at
Madison Square Garden as part of the Soulshine relief concert, for major hurricanes
Helene and
Milton. They played with
Dave Matthews, performing the
Bruce Hornsby song "The Way It Is". On January 27, 2025, the band announced their upcoming fourth studio album,
Everything Must Go, and released its debut single, "Give It Time". The album was subsequently released on April 25, 2025. On February 3, 2025, the band posted announcement to social media that percussionist Jeff Arevalo was taking a hiatus from touring to prioritize his health. On March 23 that same year, the band announced that he had been permanently removed from the band due to "behavior in Jeff's personal life that does not align with the band's core values." On August 2025, the band released their fifth studio album,
Chain Yer Dragon. On April 7, 2026, the band announced their sixth studio album,
Big Modern, set to release on June 12. ==Musical style and influences==