Looking back over the past 25 years of rootsy, string-based music, the impact of Leftover Salmon is impossible to deny. Formed in Boulder at the end of 1989, the Colorado slamgrass pioneers took their form of aggressive bluegrass to rock and roll bars at a time when it wasn’t so common, helping Salmon become a pillar of the jam band scene and unwitting architects of the jamgrass genre.

Though the lineup would change through the years, the foundation of Leftover Salmon remained strongly rooted in the relationship between co-founders Emmitt, Herman, and banjoist, Mark Vann, proceeding through a decade of constant growth and nonstop touring. In 2002, Vann lost his battle with cancer. He was only 39 years old. Herman issued in memoriam: "Mark lived life to its fullest and he would insist that we do so as well." And so they have. In 2012 NPR’s Mountain Stage heralded the group as “one of the most beloved acts on America’s summer-festival circuit.”

High Country, the band’s latest album, slips seamlessly in and out of character, disposition and style offering the full palette of Leftover Salmon’s aesthetic, from lightening-powered pick n’ grin to thoughtful blues balladry and all in between. The record’s a classic, if we’ve ever heard one. Today, Leftover Salmon is: Vince Herman (vocals, acoustic guitar, washboard); Drew Emmitt (vocals, acoustic and electric mandolin, electric guitar, fiddle); Andy Thorn (vocals, acoustic and electric banjo); Greg Garrison (vocals, acoustic and electric bass); Alwyn Robinson (drums); Bill Payne (vocals, keyboards), co-founder of the celebrated hybrid country rock outfit, Little Feat.