Banjo virtuoso Andy Thorn chats with KGNU’s Brian Eyster about his upcoming Leftover Salmon shows over Thanksgiving weekend, his journey from North Carolina to Colorado’s music scene, and the unique traditions he’s built with the band. Andy shares insights on his love for Clawhammer banjo, his new Clawhammer album, and the creative process behind his original tunes. He also talks about the unforgettable experiences of jamming with friends in Boulder, the legacy of Leftover Salmon, and his exciting live performances with Vince Herman at Mountain Sun Pub. Listen in for a mix of personal stories, music, and good vibes from one of Colorado’s finest musicians (11-8-2025).
Brian Eyster: This Saturday morning, I’m super thrilled to welcome Andy Thorn to the KGNU Boulder studio. Happy Saturday, Andy.
Andy Thorn: Happy Saturday. Good to be down in Boulder. Made the trek down the hill, left the house today. Gonna have a fun Boulder day.
Brian Eyster: Absolutely. It’s so nice you got your whole family here exploring the KGNU studio. Just love the whole vibe. It’s great.
Andy Thorn: Oh yeah. Bringing a 4-year-old to a radio station may have been questionable, but…
Brian Eyster: No, no, no. We’ll have hands-on faders here shortly. Perfect. Yeah, this all works well. So, we’re here. You’ve got your banjo in your hand. A beautiful instrument, by the way. We’ll talk about it a little bit later. And we’re here to talk about Leftover Salmon. You have a couple shows coming up Thanksgiving weekend. This is what, like 10 years of doing it?
Andy Thorn: It’s gotta be 10 years. This is definitely one of my favorite traditions that we do every year, especially because it means I get to stay home for Thanksgiving. It’s just a really nice time to be in Boulder and get a bunch of friends together for a fun throwdown at the theater.
Brian Eyster: Awesome. And this year, those friends include Ron Ronnie and Rob McCurry?
Andy Thorn: Ronnie and Rob McCurry. Playing with them is so insanely fun. We’re gonna be doing a bunch of banjo twin stuff. Drew and Ronnie have been playing together for years, they’ll be doing crazy mandolin stuff. And then we have two of the best fiddle players in the world, Jason Carter and Bronwyn Keith Hines. They’ll be doing twin fiddles and all sorts of crazy stuff.
Brian Eyster: That’s both nights?
Andy Thorn: Both nights, yep. Those four guests will be there.
Brian Eyster: And then you have different “salmon eggs” opening each night?
Andy Thorn: Yeah, we’ve got Silas Herman opening one of the nights with his Tone Unit band. That’s Vince’s son. His band’s incredible. And then Eli Emmett is going to open another night. He’s from Durango, and his band is more of a soul band.
Brian Eyster: So, Eli is Drew’s son?
Andy Thorn: Yep, Drew’s son Eli. They call them the “salmon eggs.”
Brian Eyster: Love it. What a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving with Leftover Salmon. Such a great, iconic Colorado band. We’re psyched to have you here in the studio. I’m really psyched to hear this beautiful instrument you’ve got in your hands. Want to pick a tune for us?
Andy Thorn: Sure. This is my Stone banjo from Pennsylvania. I just put out a new Clawhammer album. It’s kind of like the sunrise videos I do on my internet pages. Here’s one I wrote for Herbie, our new 6-month-old baby. It’s called “Herbie’s Bounce.”
Plays tune
Brian Eyster: Beautiful, Andy Thorn playing live here in the KGNU Boulder studio. That was a beautiful tune. Love it. Love hearing you play Clawhammer.
Andy Thorn: I really enjoy doing Clawhammer. It’s something that came out of the pandemic—just doing videos on the hillside all the time. Clawhammer sort of fits the natural vibe up there a little bit more sometimes.
Brian Eyster: Totally. If it’s blizzarding out, I want to play three-finger banjo and play some hard-driving bluegrass. But for a peaceful sunrise, Clawhammer seems to fit better.
Andy Thorn: Exactly.
Brian Eyster: Did you start out three-finger or Clawhammer? What was your banjo origin story?
Andy Thorn: I definitely started out three-finger, had no interest in Clawhammer. Grew up in North Carolina with the Scruggs and Don Renos, all the great guys from there. But I saw the Kruger Brothers in college, and I was totally amazed by their Clawhammer style. I just had to learn it. It wasn’t easy to learn, but once you get the right hand bounce down, it’s pretty easy to pick up.
Brian Eyster: And are you in crazy Clawhammer tunings?
Andy Thorn: I’m in Double C, which I recommend. It’s the easiest one to make things up or figure out a tune.
Brian Eyster: Cool, cool. So, you came out to Colorado and found your way into what, the Durango scene with Broke Mountain Bluegrass?
Andy Thorn: Yeah, I met Anders Beck and Travis Book on a ski trip out to Durango. We had a friend working at Purgatory, and I met those guys in the music store. They convinced us to come back that summer and try to form a band. All I wanted to do was get out of North Carolina and do cool stuff out west, so I was in.
Brian Eyster: And that led to winning band contests?
Andy Thorn: Yeah, we won RockyGrass, and that’s how I kind of got my name out in Colorado. A few years later, I moved out to join the Emmett-Nursey Band and became really good friends with Drew and Vince. Then they picked up Leftover Salmon again, and now it’s been 15 years. It’s crazy.
Brian Eyster: Congratulations. That’s amazing. Longest tenure of any member of Leftover Salmon. How long was Mark with the band?
Andy Thorn: I’m not sure. I would guess he had a longer tenure, but I don’t know. It’d be interesting to find that out.
Brian Eyster: Yeah, such an interesting story with that band—how Drew and Vince met at that campfire jam in Town Park, Telluride…
Andy Thorn: Yeah, all this cool Colorado history, all this Boulder history. Now I’m the only one who still lives in Boulder, which is funny. But it’s great because everybody in Boulder loves Leftover Salmon. Well, half the people now probably have no idea what that is, but it’s fun to be in the band and live in Boulder.
Brian Eyster: Were you part of the crew skiing at Eldora and then hanging out at Vince’s place?
Andy Thorn: Absolutely. When I first moved here, we’d ski at Eldora, come down to Vince’s, and Silas was just getting out of high school—maybe even middle school back then. All his buddies would be over, we’d play video games and jam, sometimes crash in the basement. Did a lot of picking. It was a great time.
Brian Eyster: And now you get to have Silas and all the eggs at the Boulder Theater for Thanksgiving weekend.
Andy Thorn: Yeah, it’s gonna be fun.
Brian Eyster: So, the headstock of your banjo—there’s a fox on it. That whole story is how a lot of people might know you beyond Leftover Salmon, right?
Andy Thorn: Yeah, during the pandemic, everyone was doing anything just goofing off online. This fox was over every day, so I made a video of me playing banjo to it, and it went viral. Then someone really liked it and made me this banjo with the fox inlay on top.
Brian Eyster: Wow, that’s amazing.
Andy Thorn: Yeah, it’s one of the best things about putting banjo videos on Instagram—someone might send you free stuff!
Brian Eyster: Incredible.
Andy Thorn: I also have a new banjo by Chuck Ogsbury. It’s made up in Gold Hill, Colorado. I hope to debut it at the Boulder Theater.
Brian Eyster: Cool. So, tonight you’re playing with Vince at Mountain Sun, right?
Andy Thorn: Yeah, we’ll be down at Mountain Sun tonight at 9:00 PM. It’s gonna be a packed, fun night. We did something like this over the summer before Red Rocks, and it was a blast. Vince doesn’t live in town anymore, but he’ll be there tonight, so we’re excited.
Brian Eyster: 9:00 PM, folks—get there early. Should be an amazing night. Want to hear another tune?
Andy Thorn: Sure. Here’s one off a few albums back called “High Country.”
Plays tune
Brian Eyster: That was awesome. Do you get to play that with Leftover Salmon?
Andy Thorn: Yeah, we do. Totally different version, though. More of a hard-driving bluegrass feel with three-part harmonies.
Brian Eyster: Love it when tunes are adaptable like that. So, do you write a lot of lyrics, too?
Andy Thorn: Yes, I do.
Brian Eyster: Awesome. That’s not always something banjo players delve into.
Andy Thorn: We do our best!
Brian Eyster: Well, I really appreciate you stopping by here at the KGNU studio. Again, the Leftover Salmon shows are Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend at the Boulder Theater.
