Goose’s New York run continued over the weekend, with their second consecutive concert at Madison Square Garden on Saturday and a last-minute underplay at the 5,500-person Central Park SummerStage on Sunday. Musically, Saturday’s performance picked up where the meat of Friday’s second set left off, with frequent collaborator Stuart Bogie augmenting the band on woodwinds.
Bogie, who has been a regular presence at most of Goose’s recent New York shows and other big gigs, took the stage with the group at the start of their first set for the BIG MODERN! cut “MEDIA” and remained for “Hot Tea.” He briefly faded into the wings while Goose performed “Rockdale,” but returned as the quartet launched from “Wysteria Lane” into Radiohead’s “Burn The Witch.” A guest-free version of “Slow Ready” closed the first set.
The Connecticut-bred group’s second set kicked off with “Arrow,” which segued into a cover of Fat Freddy’s Drop’s “Fish In The Sea” that once again found Bogie back in the fold. From there, Goose shifted their focus once again to the new release BIG MODERN!, offering that album’s title-cut and then moving into a seamless sequence that included the live debuts of some more selections from the LP, “Good Times // End Times” and “(((postplace))).” Finally, the returned to the end of “Big Modern!” to close the set. (They also debuted a pair of tracks from the record on Friday as well.) One final number from BIG MODERN!, “SALT,” served as the night’s standalone encore.
Sadly, Saturday’s festivities were overshadowed by a tragic incident that occurred during the show, shortly before 10 pm. According to the New York Post, Paul Kueker, a married, 51-year-old father of two from Niantic, Conn., fell 150 feet to his death from the elevated Chase Bridge to 100-level-seats section of the venue. He was reportedly attending the show with his wife.
The members of Goose commented on the incident via social media after Saturday’s performance, explaining, “We are deeply saddened and heartbroken to learn of the tragic event that occurred at tonight’s show. We extend our deepest sympathy to everyone affected. Thank you to the emergency personnel and venue staff who stepped in with care and support.”
They went on to add in a second post, “We are all reeling following the events that occurred at last night’s show. Getting off stage to learn that news was devastating for us and our crew, and we cannot imagine how some of you left the show feeling last night. We want to make all our fans and friends aware of some resources available to them. 9-8-8: Crisis and support hotline that connects callers to counselors anywhere in the country, 24/7, by call, text, or chat. NAMI NYC 212-684-3264 offers free local support, and the national NAMI HelpLine (1-800-950-6264) can connect you to an affiliate anywhere in the country if you need help outside NYC. Additionally, this week we are working to host community gatherings with licensed therapists and grief counselors present, offering support with guided breathwork, space to share, and smaller breakout circles. More details will be shared this week on time and date of sessions. We are working with Western Sun Foundation to establish a fund to provide support and resources to our fans. More information will be available in the coming days about what those resources look like and how you can access those funds. Today’s show in Central Park will go on as planned. We considered whether or not we were going to play and came to the decision that the best thing we can do right now is bring our community together, lean on one another and offer a space for healing. So let’s be kind to each other tonight and remember our friend. Doors are open showtime is 6 pm The show is being streamed on nugs.net and all proceeds will benefit Western Sun Foundation’s fan support fund.”
Goose keyboardist/guitarist Peter Anspach discussed the tragedy directly at the start of Sunday’s Central Park show, offering a series of heartfelt remarks: “Just want to take a moment to address some of the tragic events that happened at last night’s show and extend our deepest condolences to Paul, his family, his friends and everyone who was affected by what happened. In moments like this, you realize life is so fragile and we’re so lucky to have an incredible community here around us. Everybody, if you’re struggling with something, please don’t be afraid to reach out to somebody in your life or send us a message. Please. We got to help each other out. That’s why we’re here. People are meant to talk and be with people.” The band then offered a short moment of silence
Goose will kick off a two-night run at Charleston, SC’s Firefly Distillery tomorrow.
Here’s a look at Saturday and Sunday’s setlists via El Goose.net
Saturday, June 20, 2026 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Set 1: MEDIA[1], Hot Tea[1], Rockdale, Wysteria Lane[1] > Burn The Witch[2], Slow Ready
Set 2: Arrow[3] > Fish In The Sea[4], Big Modern! > Good Times // End Times[5] > (((postplace)))[5] -> Big Modern!
Encore: SALT
[1] With Stuart Bogie on woodwinds.
[2] Radiohead. With Stuart Bogie on woodwinds.
[3] Unfinished.
[4] Fat Freddy’s Drop. With Stuart Bogie on woodwinds.
[5] FTP.
Sunday, June 21, 2026, Central Park SummerStage, New York, NY
Set 1: This Old Sea, Same Old Shenanigans, Your Direction, Dustin Hoffman, Yeti
Set 2: Hungersite > Dripfield[1] > Jed Stone, Sinnerman[2], Madhuvan
Encore: Give It Time
[1] Unfinished.
[2] Nina Simone.
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