No Depression set up the "studio" at the 37th annual MerleFest for a dozen sessions with legends and legends-in-the-making. The festival was founded in 1988 in memory of Doc Watson’s son Merle, and features “traditional plus” music, meaning a broad range of styles from the sweet falsetto harmonies of East L.A. to the high lonesome sounds of the Appalachian Mountains. Bluegrass-rooted jam legends Leftover Salmon visited us in our temporary pop-up studio at Window World Hall to share two songs from their brand new album Let's Party About It, and the title track from their 2021 album Brand New Good Old Days.
The new record was just released last week (May 9 on Compass Records), and features special guests Del McCoury (vocals), Sam Bush (fiddle, mandolin), Jason Carter (fiddle), Jeff Coffin (saxophone). LoS started their ND session with "Twisted Pine" from the new record, with Jason Carter digging into the opening fiddle riff and Drew Emmitt taking lead vocal duties. Next up was "Redbird" also from the new record, and finally, "Brand New Good Old Days." This session gave us even more reason to celebrate Salmon's 35th anniversary as a band. The secret to their longevity? "Make sure only one person at a time quits! Oftentimes I wanted to quit, but it wasn't my turn," says co-founder Vince Herman, through a smile and a chuckle. Please enjoy this performance, and stay tuned for more No Depression x MerleFest '25 sessions in the pipeline.
Special thanks to everybody who made this series happen: MerleFest director Wes Whitson and his team of aces including artist relations manager Lindsay Craven, production managers Jim and Katherine, Carrie and Lauren for keeping us fat and happy, Danielle and the Victory Lap family for bringing us together in the first place, and of course to the team at Window World for making it all possible!
Setlist:
“Twisted Pine”
“Redbird”
“Brand New Good Old Days”
Personnel:
Vince Herman - Vocals, guitar
Drew Emmitt - Vocals, mandolin
Greg Garrison - Bass
Alwyn Robinson - Drums
Jay Starling - Dobro, vocals
Jason Carter - Fiddle
Mike Robinson - Banjo
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