This year for New Year’s Eve, Gary and I went to check out Leftover Salmon at a new venue in Florida called the Tigre Island Room in Fernandina Beach. This is located just north of Jacksonville and is proving to be a good room for bluegrass and jam bands. They just opened up in summer of 2025 so I look forward to seeing what this venue brings to the area. If you’ve never been to Fernandina Beach, FL, it’s a small island beach town that has great vibes and easy beach access close to the venue. Leftover Salmon played two nights at this venue and while we only went to the second night, I do not have a set list for the first. The band had a set list for tonight, but it went well off script in a good way after midnight. For a band entering their 36th year, Leftover Salmon is really firing on all cylinders and you want to see this band live if they come near your area.
For those unfamiliar with Leftover Salmon, the band is a standard bearer in the current jam band and growing jam grass scene. They’re one of the only bands I know of that starts with bluegrass and expands to rock, funk, reggae and anything you can think of that would fall under the jam band sound. They currently have eleven studio records and their most recent release was the 2025 album “Let’s Party About It” which is an amazing record. The band consists of original members Vince Herman and Drew Emmitt who share vocals and songwriting on different tracks. Vince also plays acoustic and washboard while Drew plays mandolin and electric guitar. The band is rounded out by Greg Garrison on bass, Andy Thorn on banjo, Jay Starling on keys, dobro and steel guitar and finally Alwyn Robinson on drums. You might remember that Alwyn recently sat in on drums for Billy Strings during his Halloween show this year. I love how multiple members of this band play multiple instruments and it only adds to the versatility of the sound they are able to create.
The band came on stage at about 9:15 or so and the show started with a fun number from their 2012 album Aquatic Hitchhiker titled “Gulf of Mexico”. They then kicked into party mode with “Mama Boulet” from the 1997 record Euphoria. You could tell this was going to be a night for a party when they kicked into their recent hit “Let’s Party About It” which is the title cut from their latest release. The band then got to one of my favorite cuts called “Show Me Something Higher” off the 2018 record Something Higher. They went back into bluegrass mode with “Riding On The L&N” which is a fun ride live. The first set also included more cuts from their recent album with “Good Dog” and “Twisted Pine”. The band finished up the first set with a long jam that became blurry at points and it was hard to pick out what song was what, but that’s the fun of these kinds of bands.
After a thirty minute intermission the band came back with “Whispering Waters” from their 2004 self-titled album. They also did “High Country” from their 2014 album of the same name. A highlight of the second set before the clock hit midnight was a ripping version of the instrumental “Salmon Scales” off their latest album. They also did “All Night Ride” from their album 25 from 2015. At midnight, we got a champagne toast and the venue dropped an inflated animal from the balcony. I’m blanking on what they actually called it. The band played “Auld Lang Syne” and from there ripped into a long set of funk and rock and roll covers. I don’t even know if I remember all they included in this jam but they started it with a roaring version of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” and went through a lot of big classic rock and funk numbers. They also did a great version of their seminal cover of the Conway Twitty song “Boogie Grass Band” that is the perfect introduction to the band and their sound. Following that, they touched on “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors, “She’s A Brick House” by The Commodores, “Big River” by Johnny Cash and more. It was a great ending to a long night and you should definitely check this set out when it is uploaded to Nugs.net. The band did come back for an encore of John Hartford’s “Joseph’s Dream” to end the night.
I highly recommend checking out bluegrass jam band legends Leftover Salmon live when you get a chance. There is still no other band out there like this and I love how they start with bluegrass and include it in a mix of everything you can think of from rock n roll to funk to reggae. I also think you should check out one of north Florida’s newest venues in the Tigre Island Room. I will be back for more shows at this venue. Definitely get tickets for shows there early because it is a very small room that sells out bigger shows far in advance.
Check out Leftover Salmon at https://www.leftoversalmon.com/
Check out Tigre Island Room at https://tigreislandroom.com/
Look for audio of this show to be uploaded soon on https://www.nugs.net
