Leftover Salmon will bring their legendary Colorado jamgrass sound to the beautiful Riverfront Amphitheater in Alton, Illinois on Friday, Aug 9th. The concert will also feature supporting acts The Five & Dimers (the Riverfront Times reigning “Best Traditional Country Band in St. Louis”), as well as Jam Like Ham (winners of the 5th Annual BIG GIG Local Music Show).
Gates open at 5:00, and the show is from 6:00-11:00pm. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 day of show – available now online at www.DowntownAlton.com, or in person at the AltonVisitorsCenter (200 Piasa Street) and the Big Muddy Pub (204 State Street). Children 12 & under will be admitted free, blankets and lawn chairs are welcome, food and beverage will be available on site – no coolers please.
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Looking back over the past 25 years of rootsy, string-based music, the impact of Leftover Salmon is impossible to deny. Formed in Boulder at the end of 1989, the Colorado slamgrass pioneers were one of the first bluegrass bands to add drums and tour rock & roll bars, helping Salmon become a pillar of the jam band scene and unwitting architects of the jam grass genre.
Though the lineup would change through the years, the foundation of Leftover Salmon was built on the relationship between co-founders Drew Emmitt (vocals, guitar, fiddle, mandolin), Vince Herman (vocals, guitar, washboard) and Mark Vann (electric banjo). Following a decade of constant growth and constant touring, on March 4, 2002, Mark Vann lost his battle with cancer. Vann insisted that the band carry on and Salmon did so for several years leading up to an indefinite hiatus in 2005.
If Leftover Salmon had never played another note after leaving the stage in 2005, the legacy would have been secure; the members’ names etched in the books of history. But today, more than two decades after Salmon first took shape, the band has a new album, Aquatic Hitchhiker, due May 22 on LoS Records, a new banjo phenom named Andy Thorn, and a new lease on an old agreement. Leftover Salmon is officially back.
The 29-year-old Thorn grew up a Salmon fan in North Carolina and says the band helped him realize “this is what I want to do with my life.” Ironically, it’s his presence in the group that has given Leftover Salmon new life. “Andy’s a real young guy with a lot of great energy who plays in a way that definitely relates to Mark’s [Vann] playing and he’s a lot of fun to be around, it’s led to a real revival that just clicks on some hard to describe level” says Herman. “We’ve played with some great banjo players over the past few years, and not to say anything about them being less than great musicians, but there’s just something intangible about playing with Andy that kind of makes Drew and I look at each other and grin. This is what we’ve been missing as far as that feeling between Drew, Mark and I that used to be there.”
Produced by Los Lobos’ Steve Berlin, Aquatic Hitchhiker is Leftover Salmon’s first record in eight years and first ever of all original material. “Steve [Berlin] understood where this album needed to go and how we all needed to work together as a band to make it happen” explains Emmitt. Set for release on May 22, the recording process solidified the new Salmon, cauterizing old wounds and allowing fresh ideas to grow over past scars.
“The time is right for this band to come back on a lot of levels” says Emmitt. “It’s taken us a little while, but I think we’re finally there.”
Today, Leftover Salmon is: Vince Herman (vocals, acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin); Drew Emmitt (vocals, mandolin, acoustic and electric guitar, mandola, fiddle); Andy Thorn (vocals, acoustic and electric banjo, National guitar); Greg Garrison (vocals, acoustic and electric bass, acoustic guitar); Jose Martinez (drums, percussion). Find more information and music at www.LeftoverSalmon.com
Listen to The Five and Dimers and you’ll hear a loosely structured, non synthetic country sound that is quickly evolving as their own. The approach of this six piece Americana group is simple: play good songs. They are not interested in playing today’s hits, but creating songs with close friends that will stand the test of time. The lyrics are thought provoking and the music is intelligently arranged with an occasional sonic surprise thrown in for good measure.
The band was formed in 2008 through a common love of roots music and desire to create and share locally grown original music. They released their debut album "Quarter of a Tank" in late 2011, and have opened for nationally touring acts such as the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Montgomery Gentry, James McMurtry and Anders Osborne.
The Five and Dimers are made up of Matt Taul (vocals, rhythm guitar), Jay Hollinger (lead guitar), Adam Peipert (banjo, back-up vocals), John Masinelli (bass, back-up vocals), Matt McGibany (fiddle) and Jeff Walker (drums, percussion). Visit www.thefiveanddimers.com for music and video.
The members of Jam Like Ham are proud to have made friendships with one another as students and recent graduates of MarquetteCatholicHigh School in Alton, IL. Each member contributes a wide variety of ideas, so no two songs sound the same. The band’s music is in?uenced by artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Animals As Leaders, and Say Anything. Each member is a multi-instrumentalist, and the band brings excitement to any venue it plays with its repertoire of songs ranging from energetic punk rock to slow acoustic style jams. Jam Like Ham demonstrated the most crowd support at the July Block Party in Downtown Alton in order to earn the opening slot for the concert at the amphitheater.
Band members include: Luke Reft (guitar, bass, vocals), Joel Reft (bass, guitar), Jake Reft (drums), Luke Vest (guitar, keyboard, vocals), Max Vest (synthesizer), and David Wilton (bass, guitar, keyboard)
For more information, please visit the Events page of www.DowntownAlton.com or contact Sara McGibany at: sara@altonmainstreet.org or 618-463-1016.
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