Blues Traveler tapped Leftover Salmon and Jackie Greene for their annual 4th of July celebration at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and the three acts offered a collaborative run of sets throughout the evening, including an opening performance from Greene and his band that saw his friend Bob Weir join the group on stage for some tunes.
Greene and Weir also reprised their a cappella version of “The Star Spangled Banner,” which they sang during the NBA playoffs earlier this year. During Greene’s set, Weir emerged to help out on the Grateful Dead classic “Sugaree” as well as “Standing on Shakey Ground.” Greene also got into the collaborative spirit during both Leftover Salmon and Blues Traveler’s sets, joining the former group for “Nobody’s” Fault But Mine” (along with The McCrary Sisters, Regina and Beverly) and the latter for “Carolina Blues.”
Leftover Salmon, who were introduced by former Pittsburgh Steelers football coach Bill Cowher and Captain Keith Colburn of Deadliest Catch fame, also welcomed out vocalists Willa Emmitt (daughter of the band’s Drew Emmitt) and Victoria Reed to add their voices to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter’s “China Doll”—which was offered as a tribute to late mandolinist and Yonder Mountain String Band founder Jeff Austin, who passed away last week—along with Silas Herman (son of Vince Herman), who joined on keyboards during the Grateful Dead’s “U.S. Blues” (with vocalist Shannon Sanders) and on mandolin for the set-closing “Down in the Hollow.”
Along with their “Carolina Blues” collaboration with Greene, host band Blues Traveler ran through some of their fan-favorites like “Run Around,” “The Mountains Win Again” (featuring Leftover Salmon’s Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman) and “Hook,” plus Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” Radiohead’s “Creep” and an encore cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.”
Below, check out Blues Traveler and Leftover Salmon’s setlists, along with fan-shot video of many of the night’s collaborations.