Progressive Bluegrass Pioneers LEFTOVER SALMON Release New Album 'Grass Roots'

LEFTOVER SALMON 
FULL-LENGTH ALBUM
GRASS ROOTS 
OUT TODAY VIA COMPASS RECORDS

FEATURING SPECIAL GUESTS BILLY STRINGS, OLIVER WOOD & DAROL ANGER

Above: ‘Grass Roots’ Album Artwork by Caleb Mulholland

NASHVILLE, TN (May 19, 2023) — Few bands have as enduring a legacy in the acoustic/newgrass/jam band scene as Colorado-based Leftover Salmon. Out today, May 19, they continue to expand on their legacy with the release of their new full-length album, Grass Roots (Compass Records), which arrives to early acclaim. Carrying the torch passed down by the progressive bluegrass pioneers, The Seldom Scene and Newgrass Revival, Leftover Salmon is a true architect of the contemporary jam grass scene, inspiring the careers of a generation of artists including Billy Strings, Greensky Bluegrass and Yonder Mountain String Band. 

Drawing from the songs and tunes that The Salmon Heads and The Left Hand String Band played when they first converged in a Telluride Bluegrass Festival campground, ultimately merging to form Leftover Salmon. Over the course of their 30+ year run, the band has explored a variety of ‘grass hybrids, creating their own musical culture and earning legions of fans in the process. 

GRASS ROOTS ARRIVES TO EARLY ACCLAIM:

“Iconic newgrass Colorado-based acoustic jamband Leftover Salmon have been torchbearers for a new generation of contemporary stars since they took on the flame from New Grass Revival and The Seldom Scene”
– Jambands, March 24, 2023

“By bringing in a mix of contemporaries, inspirations, and those the band has inspired to play along, Leftover Salmon shows just how much influence it has had on the modern jamgrass environment.”
– Michael Broerman, Live For Live Music, March 25, 2023

“Pleasingly eclectic and far-reaching… The album [Grass Roots] includes contributions from notable guest artists and covers a swath of stylistic ground.”
– Nicholas Hutchinson, Westword, May 16, 2023

“The band often epitomize and stretch beyond the thriving “newgrass” and “jamgrass” movements they’ve come to represent. By the time they had made recent albums like 2018’s Something Higher and last year’s Brand New Good Old Days, Leftover Salmon had crafted a form of progressive bluegrass that steered so far into other areas that it verged on adult contemporary: sleek, catchy and able to absorb aspects of country, funk, jazz and pop.”
– Saby Reyes-Kulkarni, Holler, May 16, 2023

“Leftover Salmon prove once again to be an extremely talented band, both instrumentally and vocally … with this album [Grass Roots] they evoke these musical memories with heart-felt purpose and genuine reverence.”
– Alan Cackett, Alan Cackett Blog, May 17, 2023

“Grass Roots represents a unique entry in Leftover Salmon’s discography as it stands as the first LP in the band’s thirty-plus year history to consist entirely of covers. The end result is a brilliantly curated and cohesive tracklist that manages to pay homage to its myriad composers, an impressive array including the likes of Bob Dylan, David Bromberg, and The Grateful Dead, with Salmon’s unique polyrhythmic progressive bluegrass sound, a feat which breathes new life into each of Grass Roots’ ten entries.”
– Dave Goodwich, Glide, May 18, 2023

“For the uninitiated it is easy to get lost in the antics of Salmon and lose sight of how utterly important a band they are in the history of roots music. They are the bridge from the roots of bluegrass to rock, from the traditional to the modern…. Through their continued influence, Salmon has ensured that bluegrass music is in good hands as it heads into the future and Grass Roots is the latest reminder of that.”
– Tim Newby, Bluegrass Unlimited, (June 2023 issue)

Above: Leftover Salmon; credit: Tobin Voggesser

Collaborating with jam scene icons Billy Strings, Oliver Wood, and Darol Anger on the new album, and with the recent addition of Jay Starling on resophonic guitar, lap steel and keys to the band’s official lineup, Leftover Salmon has all the instrumental firepower needed to deliver hard driving versions of bluegrass standards and grassed-up versions of songs from Bob Dylan, David Bromberg, and The Grateful Dead. And as co-founder, guitarist and lead singer, Vince Herman says, “when you think of an album title as good as that, that hasn’t been used in our genre, you pretty much have to make the record.”

Grass Roots asserts Leftover Salmon’s place at the crossroads of bluegrass, newgrass and jam band, and the importance of their shared musical vision which has helped to broaden the audience for all traditionally-rooted music. The album’s 10 tracks capture the energy and fun of the band, which is central to every Leftover Salmon show. But even more importantly, Grass Roots shines a light on the bluegrass heart which beats strongly at the core of Leftover Salmon’s music. And it’s an ear-opening pleasure.

Tracklisting for Grass Roots:
“Country Blues”
“Blue Railroad Train”
“Riding On The L&N”
“Simple Twist Of Fate”
“California Cottonfields”
“Fire And Brimstone”
“Black Peter”
“The New Lee Highway Blues”
“Nashville Skyline Rag”
“Fireline”

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