Colorado bluegrass fans get spoiled more and more as the years roll on. It seems each year they are able to bear witness to the best playing within the genre, collaborations between some of the biggest names in bluegrass becoming tradition. This year, that collaborative spirit kicked off the season early with a Memorial Day show featuring Leftover Salmon trading sets with Kitchen Dwellers at Red Rocks.
It’s been three decades and counting for the legendary Leftover Salmon, who shared the bill Monday at the iconic venue with still budding yet equally as legendary Kitchen Dwellers. With many from both bands considering Colorado either a first or second home, the dichotomy between some older and some newer faces in the bluegrass genre made for a truly momentous show. With Monday’s stormy forecast all but dissipated, the juxtaposition between Leftover Salmon’s raging slam-grass and the Kitchen Dwellers’ profound psych-grass couldn’t have been more timely or more beautiful.
The show started early and fans experienced the afternoon turn into evening during the course of the show, light rain falling occasionally but all in all it was a beautiful night on the Rocks. The show was an intriguing take on co-headlining. The bands chose to alternate after each of their two sets rather than one band playing multiple sets then ceding their time to the other. It made for a cohesive night, a vibe of everyone involved getting their time to shine.
Following an amazing opening set from Denver natives and one of the best bluegrass bands still finding their way, Clay Street Unit, Kitchen Dwellers were up first and wasted no time in showcasing their nearly ten-year catalogue of originals, including “Wind Bitten” and “Drowning (…Again),” which was followed by a new song by guitarist Max Davies entitled “Letterbound.” There was also no time wasted before some of the long-rumored special guests began appearing with the band bringing out mandolinist Silas Herman for “Daybreak” and legendary Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne alongside the High Country Horns — Drew Sayers, Gabe Mervine and Scott Flynn — for “Gypsy” and “Stand At Ease.”
Next it was Leftover Salmon’s turn for a set, which saw a number of guest performances — from fiddler Jason Carter — who remained on stage most of the night, regardless which band was on — to the rock-folk goddess Nicki Bluhm. All the while, Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman did what they do best as vocalists, creating a riotous balancing act of showmanship.
Throughout the set they passed the baton between themselves for originals like “Breakin’ Thru” and “High Country,” and covers like Emmitt-Nershi Band’s “New Country Blues” and Taj Mahal’s “Lovin’ in My Baby’s Eyes.” The sensational Laurie Lewis joined the group to lead on her own “Hills of My Home” and was then joined on vocals by the sensational AJ Lee for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Fishin’ in The Dark.”
With what could have been an entire show already checked off for the night, Red Rocks was still abuzz with the excitement and stamina of that diehard bluegrass crowd. Just around sunset, the Kitchen Dwellers kicked off their second set, which proved to be a genre-bending amalgamation of talent and musicianship. Carter tried his hand with his second band of the evening, sitting in on the entirety of this set, which included Kitchen Dwellers’ originals “Woods Lake,” “Drop Tine,” “Cabin Pressure,” “Unwind” and the title track off of their latest studio album, “Seven Devils.” Banjoist Torrin Daniels then took his usual lead on an impressive rendition of the Doobie Brother’s “Black Water,” which saw the return of Payne to the stage, as well as Leftover Salmon’s Alwyn Robinson on drums.
The last but certainly not least of the show’s multiple sets came with Leftover Salmon’s second, closing out the evening and the holiday weekend with many awesome moments. More of the band’s extensive repertoire came with the likes of “Gulf of Mexico” and “River’s Risin’,” and a raucous cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Deal” falling somewhere in the middle. With Payne back on deck and Bluhm having returned to the microphone, it was only natural that fans were treated to Little Feat’s beloved “Willin’.”
As Leftover Salmon (and friends) continued to host their onstage party, those friends begun to multiply as the evening’s many players joined together for a three-part encore. With the rain having miraculously held off and the long weekend coming to an end, the crowd bore witness to an all-hands-on-deck encore of Mississippi Sheiks’ “Sitting on Top of the World,” Little Feat’s “Spanish Moon,” and John Hartford’s “Up on the Hill Where We Do the Boogie.” It was a beautiful showcase of all the talent in that hallowed venue and the perfect way to end the night.