On Sunday, April 26, the long-running Boulder-based ensemble Leftover Salmon achieved a significant career milestone, making their official debut at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Known for their signature “polyethnic Cajun slamgrass”—a vibrant fusion of bluegrass, rock, country, and Zydeco—the band delivered a spirited 90-minute set at the Fair Grounds that resonated deeply with the festival’s storied atmosphere.
Ahead of the performance, founding member Vince Herman took a moment to reflect on the journey that led the group to this prestigious stage. In a poignant message to fans, Herman expressed the weight of the moment, describing the booking as the “realization of a really big dream for me and my salmon boys.”
Herman’s connection to New Orleans runs deep, stretching back over four decades. “I first saw you in 1982 with some friends on a road trip to Mardi Gras,” he recalled. “We slept in a van and busked as the underwear band. I’ve been coming back ever since for Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Christmas, and playing shows. It’s really shaped who I am and what American music is. We owe so much to this city.”
The guitarist also took the opportunity to honor the memory of the band’s late lighting designer, Joe Cahill, noting the emotional complexity of returning to a city that has been the site of both profound joy and personal loss. “I’ve witnessed so much beauty here but also experienced tragedy with the loss of our friend Joe Cahill,” Herman wrote. “It’s a city that somehow keeps rising from the ashes of tragedy to find beauty in life.”
Reflecting on the festival itself, Herman did not hold back his admiration: “Today marks the realization of a really big dream for me and my salmon boys. We’re playing Jazz Fest! The greatest music event on earth in my eyes. From the gospel tent joy, the amazing food, the cultural exhibits, the art everywhere and the really big acts, it’s unparalleled.”
He concluded his preamble with a nod to the band’s longevity and a tribute to the city that inspired them. “It’s only taken 36 years as a band to realize this dream! I’ll be thinking so much of the times we’ve had over the years both good and bad and how it’s brought us to this point. Thank you New Orleans. May you keep rising and showing us what it means to live big.”
To cap off his reflections, Herman shared a song he co-wrote with Bill Payne of Little Feat, titled “New Orleans Cries When She Sings,” as a final salute to the Crescent City.