Red Tail Hawk is a soulful groove-rock band from Newburyport, Massachusetts, formed in 2011. The band blends roots-rock grit, vintage funk groove, R&B-inspired hooks, raw vocals and sax-driven melodies, with high-energy performances that have earned them distinction across New England. Frontman Ben Zanfagna is a fluent vocalist and sax player whose songwriting and arrangements draw on raw experience, blues, jazz, and soul, but are never bound by conventional norms.
RTH has opened for national acts such as G. Love and The Brew, and played the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston with Ruby Rose Fox. They've played major music festivals in the region and sold-out shows at The Stone Church in Newmarket, NH, and The Press Room in Portsmouth, NH.
Red Tail Hawk released a self-titled EP in 2011, followed by Magnetic Malaise in late 2014 and the singles “Zoo” and “Blot” in late 2015. The full-length album Night Soup arrived in June 2016, the single “Trees” in late 2018, and an incendiary remix/remaster of “Bilderberg” in July 2019. Strokes (2020) was medicine for everyone’s spirit, and King Kong (2021) brought new sounds for the band. Since then, Red Tail Hawk has released the Make Your Own Medicine EP (2023), the singles “Tend Your Fire” and “Rub-a-Dub” (2024), and “The Battle Cry of Freedom” (2025).
Vocals, Guitar, Sax / Ben Zanfagna
Bass / Mike Gruen
Lead Guitar / Eric Turner
Drums / Reed Dieffenbach
Drums, Vocals / Pete Whitehead
Where it all began: the Red Tail Hawk family tree →
