Happy Birthday John Popper: Blues Traveler Welcomes Warren Haynes At 2015 Peach Music Festival

Today, Blues Traveler frontman and harmonica wiz John Popper turns 51. Popper continues to lead Traveler more than 30 years after the band’s formation in Princeton, New Jersey. In celebration, watch fan-shot footage of Blues Traveler performing the beautiful “The Mountains Win Again” with longtime collaborator Warren Haynes at the 2015 Peach Music Festival.

While the harmonica virtuoso was born in Ohio, he soon moved to the Northeast and settled in Princeton. Popper formed Blues Traveler in 1987 with drummer Brendan Hill, bassist Bobby Sheehan and guitarist Chad Kinchla. The band soon moved to New York City and enlisted David Graham (Bill Graham’s son) as their manager. Blues Traveler, who gained a large following based on the strength of their live shows, started the H.O.R.D.E. Tour in 1992 with Phish, Col. Bruce Hampton & ARU, Widespread Panic, the Spin Doctors and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones. Traveler would continue to headline H.O.R.D.E. through its last outing in 1998.

Popper and Traveler crossed over into the mainstream after scoring hits with “Run-Around” and “Hook” off their 1994 album Four. The album also featured “The Mountains Win Again,” a gorgeous ballad written by Bobby Sheehan. Sadly, Bobby died after an accidental overdose in 1999. John Popper dedicated the version of “The Mountains Win Again” performed with Warren Haynes on August 14, 2015 to Sheehan.

Watch Blues Traveler and Warren Haynes team for “The Mountains Win Again” thanks to btragal:

Here’s another angle captured by Cosmic Songwriter: