Terminal Buds began in August 2021 as an improvisational recording experiment between Steven Bakker and Joel Boyles. The two previously played together in Early Aughts, which had gone quiet after Rob Kenagy, the third founding-member, moved to New York City in 2017.

By November 2021, Johnny Dehaan had joined the band, resulting in the Rainbow Tracks EP - a fully improvisational session recorded in Bakker's basement. (Release date TBD.)

Jonah Ogles, who had played with Bakker, Dehaan, and Kenagy in various musical projects, joined the band in January 2022 after returning to Michigan from New Mexico.

Rob Kenagy made his way back to West Michigan in September 2023, completing the five-piece lineup that exists today.

Terminal Buds have recorded nearly every session they’ve played since 2021. Their debut full-length Vol. 1 was recorded and mixed in Bakker's basement by the band and released in July 2025.

After Vol. 1, the band moved their sessions to Ogles' studio, Laketon Recordings in Muskegon, Michigan, where Vol. 2 was recorded with the same approach: tune up, start playing, and see where the spirit leads. 

Joel Boyles

guitar, drums