“We certainly miss Wetlands Preserve. I mean, the legendary eco-friendly concert hall, that was our place!” declares New Potato Caboose drummer John Trupp as he considers the band’s relationship with the storied Tribeca venue. Indeed, NPC was the initial band to headline the club, on February 18, 1989.
The very first Wetlands strip ad in the Village Voice pledged that the group’s "San Francisco psychedelic sounds will set your feet on fire!” New Potato Caboose was from the DC area but at that point in time, a few years before the term jamband entered the common parlance, Wetlands’ founder Larry Bloch was highlighting the band’s spiritual lineage.
Rykodisc released the group’s debut album, Promising Traveler, that same year, one of the first studio records from bands in the Wetlands scene. The album showcased the group’s vocal harmonies, rootsy songcraft and musical interplay.
New Potato Caboose continued to build momentum, sharing stages with Blues Traveler, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Band and many other peers. By the mid-90s the band members began moving on to other endeavors but occasionally reconnected for gigs.
Then, in 2022, the group reconvened at Dave Matthews’ studio in Charlottesville, VA. John Alagia produced the sessions at Haunted Hollow, which yielded It Ain’t A Thing, a warm and winning statement from the group.
This weekend NPC will take to the road for three shows. The group will appear at the Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, PA on Friday, July 24, at Hub City Vinyl in Hagerstown, MD on Saturday, July 25 and finally at Brooklyn Bowl on July 26. These will mark New Potato Caboose’s first gigs in two of these markets after a long interval. “We haven’t been in Philly or New York City for a while,” Trupp affirms. “We’re really looking forward to it. We just have so many wonderful memories. Great towns. Great times.”
