‘A sanctuary of fun’: Leftover Salmon to have fun unity, therapeutic via music at WinterWonderGrass

Leftover Salmon has spent greater than three many years constructing a sound that’s not simply outlined. With its mix of bluegrass, Cajun rhythms, old-time traditions, rock vitality and deep experimentation, it displays an ethos of musical curiosity and fusion.

As the band prepares to return to Steamboat’s WinterWonderGrass, founding member Vince Herman stated the efficiency is a component of a bigger story about group, custom and the social energy of music.

WinterWonderGrass can be held within the Knoll parking zone of Steamboat Resort from Feb. 27  via March 1. 

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For Herman and Leftover Salmon, the competition has morphed right into a literal and figurative cease alongside a path formed by songs, friendships and shared moments.

Herman traces his understanding of music’s energy to a second in his youth at a people competition close to his hometown, when he watched strangers collect underneath a tree and play collectively.

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“When I realized they might not know each other but that they could do that, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what I want to learn,” he stated. “If I learn these songs and this repertoire, I can go to a whole bunch of different places, meet people and play these things and have something to do together.”

That was the start of an concept inside Herman’s thoughts that music is a shared language and drive for therapeutic, a guiding drive that also shapes how he views the function of a band on stage and within the hearts and minds of their followers at present. 

After attending faculty in West Virginia, he devoted himself to bluegrass and old-time music earlier than shifting to Colorado to discover a extra progressive music scene. Soon after, he linked with mandolin participant Drew Emmitt. A number of years later, Herman fashioned the Salmon Heads, a jug band that fused Cajun, calypso and different kinds.

That fusion served as a check case for his means to mix genres, a expertise that will quickly outline his musical path.

On New Year’s Eve 1990, some members couldn’t make a gig. To fill the gaps, Herman invited musicians from one other band to sit down in. That present grew to become the primary efficiency of Leftover Salmon, and in addition served as step one on a path now coming into its thirty sixth yr.

“We could have thought of a better name had we known,” Herman stated with amusing.

From the start, the band embraced a large musical vary that developed into what Herman describes as “polyethnic Cajun slamgrass,” which captures the group’s willingness to mix influences whereas casting conventional definitions and conventions apart.

Those early reveals in Colorado, particularly in ski cities, led to audiences responding with what Herman referred to as a “rowdy” vitality. What shocked him was the reception that got here with older fiddle tunes and string band materials, which started to kind a connection between the band and its followers that carried from one efficiency to the following.

“It was a bluegrass band with drums, so it lent itself to playing more in rock ‘n’ roll bars,” he stated. “But we found that the bluegrass worked really well. That’s kind of what we were interested in playing anyway.”

Herman identified that through the years band members have come and gone. He additionally stated a few of these losses hit exhausting and led to a good deeper connection because the band continued its evolution. Through all of it, Herman and Emmitt remained and have continued to offer an eternal dedication to staying musically curious.

“We’re all over the place with Cajun, bluegrass, old time, polka and all that stuff,” Herman stated. “That hasn’t changed.”

The band at present consists of Herman and Emmitt along with Greg Garrison, Andy Thorn, Alwyn Robinson and Jay Starling.

The band’s bluegrass is pushed by a respect for the style’s traditions whereas additionally pushing its boundaries. Herman stated the group loves the sound of conventional devices, but additionally enjoys working with the interpretation of a variety of fabric that ranges from conventional tunes to covers of classics.

At this yr’s WinterWonderGrass, the band is planning a particular “Will It Grass” set that includes songs that aren’t usually related to bluegrass, however can be reimagined via it.

Herman stated that the group’s WWG efficiency may also embrace songs from their current album.

Bluegrass itself is experiencing a surge in recognition, which Herman stated is fueled partially by youthful artists drawing giant audiences. He just lately attended reveals by Billy Strings in Asheville, North Carolina, the place he noticed venues crammed with followers embracing each conventional songs and new interpretations.

“It’s a special moment,” he stated. “The well that music comes from is so deep and so old that I don’t think anything could be done to harm it or to make it disappear.”

He views the present bluegrass growth as a optimistic drive that’s bringing extra younger musicians into the combination whereas strengthening the group, a side he believes will maintain the style lengthy after tendencies fade.

That sense of group, Herman stated, is central to the band’s philosophy and to the competition scene. He defined that bluegrass differs from many genres due to its inherently social nature, which has taken the type of casual jams in parking heaps and late-night classes in resort lobbies throughout previous WinterWonderGrass festivals.

“It is community music,” he stated. “That thing that I learned under the tree all those years ago is still the driving force of our music community.”

Herman stated festivals like WinterWonderGrass present an area the place that spirit endures and grows. Leftover Salmon has performed the occasion beforehand, and Herman recollects many after-hours jams and spontaneous gatherings that spotlight the participatory nature of the competition and, by extension, bluegrass itself.

He shared that one current sluggish jam, which featured about 60 individuals, introduced him again to the childhood second that served as his conduit into bluegrass. He stated that connection reveals how the custom continues to attach generations whereas additionally reminding him of why he fell in love with music within the first place.

Steamboat Springs additionally holds a particular place within the band’s historical past and, in accordance with Herman, within the bluegrass scene. 

Herman stated Leftover Salmon has been taking part in in Steamboat since 1990. In that point, the band has watched the group evolve whereas sustaining a robust tradition centered on reside music that welcomes each locals and guests.

“Going out and seeing music in Steamboat is definitely part of what makes the town tick,” he stated. “It takes a community to produce music and it’s the thing that brings us together.”

As it approaches this yr’s WWG, Leftover Salmon is hoping to create a significant expertise that’s not a pregenerated formulation however is as an alternative based mostly in authenticity fueled by the help of a following that spans generations.

“We just get to do what we want and be ourselves and that’s how it ends up working out,” Herman stated. “We’ve been afforded the luxury of being able to be exactly who we are while we play.”

That authenticity has allowed the band to stay resilient in opposition to forces that may trigger some musicians and teams to fade away. Herman stated selecting music as a profession not often makes “practical sense,” however for him and the members of Leftover Salmon, the pull of the songs and the connections they create have saved them going.

He stated that returning to the band’s materials after a hiatus was like stepping again right into a heat coat and was a reminder of the consolation and familiarity the music supplies — not only for the band however for audiences who’ve grown alongside them.

Herman identified that as social and political tensions rise, he believes reside music provides a uncommon however much-needed alternative for individuals to really feel a shared sense of one thing particular.

“To get a chance to go into that place where we can feel fully human and feel our humanity with other people, that’s healing,” he stated.

As Leftover Salmon heads again to WinterWonderGrass, Herman stays grateful for the possibility to maintain taking part in and connecting with audiences in locations which have grow to be acquainted stops alongside the way in which.

“We’ve had some great times in Steamboat over the years,” he stated. “Having a sanctuary of fun is a valuable thing to do for us.”

For extra data on WinterWonderGrass in Steamboat, go to WinterWonderGrass.com.