Railroad Earth, Yonder Mountain String Band & Leftover Salmon Go ‘High On A Mountain’ In Vail

Railroad Earth, Yonder Mountain String Band and Leftover Salmon wrapped their joint summer tour in Colorado this past weekend with shows in Denver on Friday, Dillon on Saturday and Vail on Sunday. The jamgrass titans made good on promises of collaborations at each stop and ended the run by loading the stage for Olla Belle Reed’s “High On A Mountain” at the tour closer under a full moon at Vail’s Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater.

Yonder Mountain got the call to kick off the evening at 5:30 in Vail. The members of the quintet traded off frontman duties with mandolinist Nick Piccininni leading the way on “Pretty Daughter,” bassist Ben Kaufmann fronting “Complicated,” guitarist Adam Aijala in the spotlight on “Another Day” and banjo player Dave Johnston singing “You’re No Good.” Fiddler Coleman Smith tore it up throughout the hour-long set.

Leftover Salmon took the stage second at The Amp. The Colorado-birthed ensemble launched their set with the beloved “Gulf Of Mexico.” Drew Emmitt then belted out “New Country Blues” before Vince Herman helmed “In A House, In A Home.” Later it was Andy Thorn who led his bandmates through Wham’s “Freedom 90.”

The collaborative action began with RRE’s Tim Carbone and Emmitt providing double fiddle action on “Bend In The River.” Next came a Herman-sung “Simple Twist Of Fate” and “High Country,” both of which featured Carbone. Tim stuck around for Leftover Salmon’s “Down In The Hollow” closer.

Railroad Earth punctuated the show at The Amp. The group chose “Hard Livin'” to open and then paired “Walk Beside Me” and “Seven Story Mountain.” The career-spanning set continued with “Happy Song,” “The Great Divide” and “It’s So Good.” A geographically-appropriate “Colorado” followed before LoS drummer Alwyn Robinson helped RRE cover the Grateful Dead classic “The Wheel” to end the frame.

When Railroad Earth returned to the stage they were accompanied by Robinson and Aijala, Johnston and Piccininni for fan-favorite “Long Way To Go.” Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman came out to join the fray on the “High On A Mountain” finale.

Listen to Railroad Earth’s set including the guest-filled encore below:

Audience Recording (Taped by Gerry Gladu)

Railroad Earth Setlist (via RRE FB)

Set: Hard Livin’, Walk Beside Me > Seven Story Mountain, Happy Song, The Great Divide, It’s So Good > Colorado, The Wheel*

Encore: Long Way To Go+, High on a Mountain^

• * – with Alwyn Robinson on drums
• + – with Alwyn Robinson on drums, Adam Aijala on guitar, Dave Johnston on banjo and Nick Piccininni on mandolin
• ^ – with Alwyn Robinson on drums, Adam Aijala on guitar, Dave Johnston on banjo, Nick Piccininni on mandolin, Drew Emmitt on mandolin and Vince Herman on guitar

Railroad Earth launches their fall tour with the band’s annual host appearance at the Hillberry: The Harvest Moon festival in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Yonder Mountain resumes their summer tour tonight, August 21 in Maquoketa, Iowa and Leftover Salmon is off to Denmark to play this weekend’s Tonder Festival.