Buffalo Traffic Jam at the Crystal Ballroom

If you have not yet filled your early December calendar, there is a folk show worth penciling in. Buffalo Traffic Jam is bringing their Americana sound to the McMenamins Crystal Ballroom on Sunday, December 6, as part of the 'December to Remember' series presented by 94/7FM. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the music starts at 8:00 pm, so it is the kind of evening that lets you settle in before the headliner takes the stage.

The band came out of Bozeman, Montana, where members Frankie Cassidy and Nathan Ross first crossed paths as students at Montana State University. Their path to a Portland stage has been a steady climb: a self-titled debut EP, followed by the singles 'Rescue Me' and 'Forgot Your Roots', the latter of which gave them their first real online momentum and led to their first record deal with Arista Records. 2025 was a busy year for them, with two more singles, 'Strangers Now' and 'Milestone', a pair of festival debuts at Under the Big Sky and Redwest Fest, and a tour opening for country singer-songwriter Dylan Gossett. Their latest release, the EP 'Take Me Home', came out on October 24, 2025, and has since passed 8 million streams across digital platforms.

Knowing the room helps when you buy tickets. The show is all ages and general admission standing room only, which is the default for the Crystal Ballroom's main floor. There are limited mezzanine seats available for those 21 and over, though a couple of rows have obstructed views — Row A seats 14 through 17 and Row B seats 14 through 18 — so it is worth keeping that in mind if you are picking a specific spot. Accessible seating for mobility disabilities is available subject to availability. Tickets run between $35 and $46, and it is worth noting that all sales are final, with no refunds or name changes at Will Call, so printing your tickets at home is the recommended move. If you run into postal code restrictions during checkout, you can opt for Will Call or contact ETIX support at 1-800-514-3849.

The Crystal Ballroom, at 1332 W Burnside, is an easy venue to build a night around, and Buffalo Traffic Jam is only one stop in a run of 'December to Remember' shows. The series also brings Dirty Heads on Thursday, December 3; Cannons on Monday, December 7; Young the Giant on Sunday, December 13; and almost monday on Wednesday, December 16. Every show in the run follows the same schedule — doors at 6:30 pm, show at 8:00 pm, all ages — and tickets for all of them go through Etix and Cascade Tickets. If you are already planning to catch one of the other dates, adding a Sunday night folk show to the mix is an easy way to round out the month.