Just like that Leftover Salmon has reached yet another milestone with three and half decades as a touring band. As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve all the way back in 1990, Leftover Salmon was born and history was made. Their legacy will be the legitimization of jamgrass and the building of a platform that allowed for the likes of Yonder, Greensky and Billy. After almost forty years on the road Leftover Salmon and in particular Drew and Vince have become the elder statesmen of the scene. Despite their many years performing they show no signs of slowing down and their live performances are still jaw-droppingly good. The addition of Jay Starling, a multi-instrumentalist and all around ringer has again reinvigorated their sound much like Andy Thorn did when he joined the group in 2010.

The show was an “Evening With” performance which suited the crowd just fine, who had no need for an opener. Two sets and the truth was all they required. There was a palpable energy as the room slowly reached capacity. Live Painter Scramble Campbell made his first trek to paint at Washington’s. His art has adorned posters and merch since the early days of Leftover Salmon. Scramble is always a welcomed addition and you can find him most summer nights painting at Red Rocks.

Just after 8 PM the lights dimmed and Salmon took the stage. Fresh on the heels of the release of their latest album Let’s Party About It, this band came ready to rock with plenty of new material starting with the opener “Big Wheel.” Drew brandished the electric on a boogie-tastic “Get ‘Er Rollin.” Vince took us on an esoteric journey with “Walkin Shoes” that featured a dirty bass solo from Dr. Greg Garrison. We were treated to a pair of new tunes starting with the “Twisted Pine” which features Del McCoury on the record.  Andy took a second to introduce “Salmon Scales” as a banjo tune he had the title for long before anything else. The classic “Bend in the River” was a highlight before they stretched out on “Evermore.” They kept the aquatic theme going with “River Takes Me” Jay took the mic and the spotlight on the Boone Creek cover of “One Way Track” (For those that don’t know Boone Creek is a short-lived super group that featured Jerry Douglas and Ricky Skaggs). “Good Dog,” an ode to a canine friend, featured Vince and his washboard while the rest of the band used it as another chance to go deep and dig in. They wrapped up a monumental first set of music with a ripping rendition of “Better.”

The strings were smoking on the hot potato opener “Keep Driving.” “Breaking Thru” made an appearance much the delight of the crowd. They went into the title track of Let’s Party About It before another new one, the bluesy Drew tune, “Gettin It Done.” They went back twenty-five years to revive “Dangerman.” “Something Higher” has become a great anchor song for any set and it worked as an amazing pivot point for the show. They went into a spacey “Aquatic Hitchhiker” that gave way to a beautiful instrumental version of The Grateful Dead’s “Playin In The Band” before returning where they began. They were just back from a run in Alaska and after hearing the news of Bob Weir’s passing they played a whole set of Dead tunes at The Sitzmark. So this was their way of again paying tribute to Bobby. Alwyn got jazzy on their political rant “House of Card” before a quick “New Country Blues.” LoS wrapped up the show with their anthemic “High Country.”

They took their time with the “Pasta on the Mountain” encore before calling it a night. This band just never disappoints. Their music has continued to evolve and they’ve never stopped recording new music. At this point they might need another box set for the vinyl heads out there to catch up. The new album is a blend of everything that came before but with a nod to both the traditional and the future. We’ve come a long way since this Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass unit first hit the scene but the message has always been the same—”Let’s party about it while we listen to some stellar music.” I hope for all our sakes that party continues to roll for years to come.

Washington’s – Fort Collins, Colorado – 1.13.26

Set I: Big Wheel, Get ‘Er Rollin, Walkin Shoes, Twisted Pine, Salmon Scales, Bend in the River, Evermore, River Takes Me, One Way Track, Good Dog, Better

Set II: Keep Driving, Breaking Thru, Let’s Party About It, Gettin It Done, Dangerman, Something Higher, Aquatic Hitchhiker>Playin In The Band Jam> Aquatic Hitchhiker, House of Cards, New Country Blues, High Country

Encore: Pasta on the Mountain

LIVE RECORDING  by Eric Wilkens: https://archive.org/details/los2026-01-13.m62.flac24