Leftover Salmon

Pioneers of jamgrass from Colorado, Leftover Salmon built a substantial touring career that positioned them as a key stabilizing force in the jam band world through their string-driven fusion of bluegrass, rock, Cajun, and further American roots traditions. Commercial momentum peaked for the group during the late 1990s via two major-label releases on Hollywood Records, after which they entered an extended hiatus throughout the following decade. Activity resumed with festival appearances in the late 2000s, leading to studio returns that included Aquatic Hitchhiker in 2012 and Something Higher in 2018. Early in the subsequent decade the band revisited the bluegrass foundation of their formative period on Brand New Good Old Days, issued in 2021, and the 2023 covers collection Grass Roots.

The ensemble originated in 1989 in Boulder, where a merger of the Salmon Heads and the Left Hand String Band produced the initial configuration. That chemistry established the enduring collaboration among founders Vince Herman, Drew Emmitt, and Mark Vann. Intensive road work combined with two independent mid-1990s recordings secured an invitation to the high-profile H.O.R.D.E. Festival and a contract with the Disney-owned Hollywood Records. The 1997 album Euphoria and its 1999 successor The Nashville Sessions placed many signature songs into the touring repertoire while expanding a devoted nationwide audience around the band’s expansive sound. Banjoist Mark Vann succumbed to throat cancer in 2002 at age 39. Successive substitutes attempted to occupy his role during the ensuing two years until the group declared a hiatus at the close of 2004. A provisional 2007 reunion circuit of multiple festivals marked their stage return, followed by intermittent performances for the remainder of the decade amid various side projects pursued by the members.

Banjoist Andy Thorn’s arrival in 2010 inaugurated a fresh chapter, prompting more consistent touring. Aquatic Hitchhiker appeared in 2012 as the first studio album since 2004. High Country followed two years later. The 2015 double-album live anthology 25 commemorated the 25th anniversary. In partnership with longtime collaborator Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, the band delivered Something Higher in 2018. A live double album documenting their 2019 Dark Star Jubilee performance closed the decade.

For the next studio project the musicians adopted a back-to-basics approach that deepened engagement with their bluegrass origins. Brand New Good Old Days, released in 2021, functioned primarily as an acoustic recording anchored by bluegrass while retaining the progressive excursions that define Leftover Salmon. The same revival emphasis shaped 2023’s Grass Roots, a contemplative covers set featuring material by David Bromberg, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and additional formative influences.