Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia’s musical legacy is woven deep into the fabric of bluegrass. Since opening in Owensboro in March 2024, the Jerry Garcia: A Bluegrass Journey exhibit has earned national recognition from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and beyond. Now, as the exhibition hits its halfway mark, one of its original performers is coming back to pay tribute once again.
Leftover Salmon, the boundary-pushing jamgrass pioneers, has the distinction of helping kick off the exhibit’s debut at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, and they couldn’t be more excited to be returning for Jerry Garcia: A Bluegrass Journey Weekend on March 22.
The exhibit explores Garcia’s early years as a banjo player, his deep connection to bluegrass music, and the influence it had on him throughout his legendary career.
That’s why it only makes sense that Leftover Salmon, heavily influenced by the music and culture of Garcia and the Grateful Dead, was top of mind when the Hall of Fame began planning the exhibit.
“They’re such a versatile band, easily transitioning from extended bluegrass jams to the traditional sounds that Garcia was playing in his early bluegrass and folk days,” said Carly Smith, curator at the Hall of Fame. “At the core of Leftover Salmon is a foundation built on strong bluegrass roots, yet they’ve created their own sound, becoming a fan favorite for Deadheads and bluegrass fans alike.”
For guitarist, vocalist, and co-founder Vince Herman, this exhibit is more than just a tribute — it’s a full-circle moment. Typically mellow with a folksy tone of speech, Herman got visibly excited when he talked about his involvement in the Garcia exhibit.
“We’re so glad the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum is giving Jerry Garcia’s legacy the respect and respect it deserves,” Herman told Owensboro Living. “Jerry Garcia and the music and culture of the Grateful Dead is very near and dear to our hearts. This exhibit shows how bluegrass music influenced Jerry and traces his connection with legendary players like David Nelson, David Grisman, and Eric Thompson, who played with Jerry in some of his folk and bluegrass bands. He took that jam culture into the music with The Dead. So to see these guys who were around in the beginning of Jerry’s musical journey featured in the Bluegrass Hall of Fame is a full-circle moment.”
Building the Exhibit, One Story at a Time
That explains why Herman jumped at the chance to be involved with the exhibit.
A few years ago, Leftover Salmon was playing in the Hall of Fame’s Woodward Theatre and walked through the museum before their show.
“They showed us an empty room and explained they were planning on a Jerry Garcia exhibit, and right away I told (exhibit creative director) Cliff Seltzer ‘let’s help make this happen.’ It’s been exciting to see how it all came together,” Herman said.
Seltzer, Herman, and a growing team of others got the Garcia family’s approval and started accepting instruments and other memorabilia from Jerry’s musical journey.
Herman even served as interviewer for many of the video oral histories captured for the exhibit. Some interviews were recorded in his Nashville home, while others took him to California.
Josh Morrison, for example, reminisced in his interview about recovering from a stroke and having to relearn his instrument, which Jerry had to do as well. Billy Strings gushed about Jerry’s influence on his music. Ronnie McCoury shared a story about selling a banjo to Jerry and then losing track of it over time, only to realize that exact banjo showed back up as one of the items on loan for the exhibit.
The Jamgrass Connection
Herman credits Garcia’s ‘70s bluegrass band Old & In the Way, along with Bowling Green native Sam Bush’s band Newgrass Revival, for cross-pollinating the bluegrass and jamband scenes.
“That’s when people with a lot of hair (meaning rock n’ roll and folk fans) started listening to bluegrass more, because a lot of Grateful Dead fans started following Garcia’s other bluegrass projects,” Herman said. “Old & In The Way put out the highest-selling bluegrass album in that time period. You can still see their effects in jambands at festivals today. But those original jam bands and a lot of us still out here doing it today have the same bluegrass roots, and they all trace back to Bill Monroe.”
Tracing Herman’s roots is quite easy. He learned piano as a boy in Pittsburgh, took guitar lessons in third grade, then got into bluegrass in college in West Virginia. One of his defining moments was attending the Smoky City Folk Festival in Pittsburgh in the late ‘70s when he came across a group of dozens of musicians gathered for an impromptu jam session.
“It occurred to me that these people might not know each other and they could have come from all over the country,” he said. “That’s when I discovered the social aspect of these festivals where people travel, and you just take out your fiddle or banjo and play together. It’s a vibe much like ROMP, which is why we love playing those festivals. I’m still reeling in it after all these years.”
Leftover Salmon: What’s with the funny name?
Their quirky band name is the result of a New Year’s Eve show in 1989, when Herman’s band The Salmon Heads were to be joined by Drew Emmit’s Left Hand String Band. They merged their names and called themselves Leftover Salmon for the night.
Clearly, the name stuck. And so did the music — more than 30 years and 15 albums later, Leftover Salmon is still going strong.
The band’s bio describes them as a forward-thinking, progressive bluegrass band who is unafraid to stir in any number of highly combustible styles into their ever-evolving sound.
Fans know them for music, humor, and fun.
Now respected as elder statesmen of the festival scene, Leftover Salmon serves as a crucial link in keeping alive the traditional music of the past while at the same time pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly, unique style.
Their 1999 release “Nashville Sessions” is considered a classic, featuring an All-Star lineup of musicians including Waylon Jennings, Earl Scruggs, Taj Mahal, Lucinda Williams, and many more.
All that to say: when Herman speaks about the evolution of bluegrass, he knows what he’s talking about.
“Bluegrass keeps evolving and that’s what keeps it fresh,” he said. “But because the roots go back to the original founders, new generations can blow it up. Strip it down. Take it in a new direction. And then start again. The well is deep and that fountain will just keep on flowing.”
Whether it’s Leftover Salmon’s many appearances at ROMP, or their upcoming performance at the Garcia celebration, Herman couldn’t be more appreciative of the local support.
“We love Owensboro. This area is so rich in bluegrass culture,” Herman said. “I think it’s great that the Museum is teaching this music to a new generation of younger students. It’s great to expose them and let them go and see how they evolve and where they take it next. I personally want to thank Carly Smith and the museum staff for putting this exhibit together and the whole City of Owensboro for promoting it and supporting it. It’s encouraging to see so many folks valuing it.” OL
