I was in Leftover Salmon last week!

I was in Leftover Salmon last week!! I just got home a few days ago from an excellent tour with the OG polyethnic cajun slamgrass legends, filling in for my man Andy Thorn and lemme tell ya, it was fun!! But that should come as no surprise. What might surprise you is that Salmon was THE band (1 of 2 really) that got me into Bluegrass music 🤘 When I bought my first banjo the summer after high school, the only banjo related music that I knew was Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. That wave of inspiration led me to the banjo, and I was hooked right away. Soon after that I moved to Montana for the summer and someone I was working with gave me two CDs: Old and In the Way, and the Leftover Salmon classic, ‘Euphoria.’ I fell in love both! That was the beginning of my Salmon fandom. They were way ahead of their time and the raw creativity & bluegrass fire power was always on display. Fast forward to when I moved to Nashville about 7 years later and was living with Chris ‘Critter’ Eldridge getting ready to launch the Stringdusters. We met Drew Emmitt after a show of his in Nashville. He came over and hung out at our place and jammed late night (we were stoked!) Within a few days, Drew hit me up to see if I would be down to join the Drew Emmitt band while the Dusters was incubating. It was an easy yes and we had a great year on the road together, which eventually segued into the Emmitt Nershi band. This was 20 years ago! Once the Dusters got rolling, I suggested Thorn to the Salmon crew and he was/is the perfect fit. Fast-forward 20 years, and we are all a part of the same thriving, vibrant bluegrass community. It’s a beautiful thing! And then this past week I got to live out my Salmon dreams over five shows that I will never forget, filling in for Andy. Great hangs, great music, and a big one to check off the bucket list - a true full circle moment. Long live the mighty Leftover Salmon 🤘 They have been as influential as anyone in the Bluegrass explosion/evolution that we are seeing today. Loved having Jason Carter out with us too! And the LoS crew is top notch - thx Matty, Dan and Trent!! Long story short, I was in Leftover Salmon last week, and it was amazing!