Article Contributed by June Reedy
Published on November 15, 2025
Leftovers stacked high and maybe even a blanket of snow on the Rockies await as the Thanksgiving tradition of Leftover Salmon’s two-night run at the historic Boulder Theater approaches. Jason Carter and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, two of the most respected fiddlers on the planet, will be on hand all weekend as Silas Herman & the Tone Unit open the show on Friday, 11/28. The Eli Emmitt Band takes the Saturday, 11/29 slot.
It’s the kind of bill where lineup and lineage blur together – a bona fide musical family holiday.
Guitarist Jack Cloonan of Silas Herman & the Tone Unit caught up with us during a very Nashville-style afternoon. He’s staying with Vince Herman, helping with household chores like painting the deck, and had just been whisked from lunch into an unexpected business meeting.
JJ: Let’s talk turkey, or as Uncle Vinny Herman would say, “twisting up a turkey roll.”
JC: Gobble gobble! Staying here in Nashville has been cool. I snowballed some gigs here. It’s how I always hoped it would be.
JJ: Tell us a little about yourself. Where are you from? Where are you now?
JC: I’m from the South Side of Chicago -Beverly, Mount Greenwood, Evergreen Park area. I’ve lived in Colorado for 15 years, and right now I’m traveling, playing music, and seeing what America has got.
JJ: All this traveling affects your musical style – the stuff we love seeing on stage. Can you tell us more about the Tone Unit?
JC: Silas Herman founded the band about a year ago—he’s on mandolin. We’ve got Matt Cantor on bass, Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose on banjo, Carson McHaney on fiddle, and I’m lucky enough to be on guitar. It’s so fun. We’ve had a lot of good gigs, and the coolest one yet is coming up at the Boulder Theatre on Thanksgiving weekend.
Silas Herman – founder, mandolin
Matt Cantor – bass
Sam Armstrong-Zickefoose – banjo
Carson McHaney – fiddle
Jack Cloonan – guitar
JJ: With Silas being Vince Herman’s son, you guys obviously know the umbrella of Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass. For you personally, do you lean into jam-band improvisation or more traditional bluegrass?
JC: I’m not thinking about genre as much as staying in time with where the band is headed. We’ve all been diving into mashgrass—a subgenre of bluegrass. Dan Tyminski is one of the forerunners of that sound. We’re putting those elements in while staying true to our jamgrass roots. I also grew up playing Irish music on the South Side of Chicago, so Celtic influence is definitely in there. We blend it all together, like Salmon does.
JJ: With Eli Emmitt Band on 11/29—Drew Emmitt’s son—this whole thing feels like a blooming family affair. Do you all get together and have bingo nights? Bowling? Uno?
JC: It is such a family affair. We should do that.
JJ: Those of us who replace biological family with this big ol’ musical family love to see it. What do you guys have cooking for us?
JC: It’s important—but I can’t give away the secrets! The chefs have been prepping. These guys are psychedelic chefs of countless Thanksgivings past, so it’ll be whatever they’re feeling in the moment. They have an ingredient list you can count on. I’m kind of the sous chef. I’m the prep guy. I’ll let them do the cooking.
JJ: Got any good leftovers recipes?
JC: Leftovers are good just as they are! I’m not a recipe man—I’m a consumer. I’ll sing for my supper. I’m here to eat!
JJ: One last question: What’s up with Mayor McCheese?!
JC: I’m not legally allowed to disclose that.
JJ: C’mon Jack!!
JC: He might be in a camper in Lyons, Colorado. He might not. He’s like a groundhog—he’ll pop his head up one of these days.
Colorado knows how to do post-holiday shows: warm midsize listening rooms, fresh snow outside, and a crowd full of chosen family. With Silas Herman & the Tone Unit on Friday and Eli Emmitt Band on Saturday, it’s set to be a hearth full of Salmon in the heart. With so much of the extended musical family living nearby, there’s no telling who might show up.
The mayor shows up when the mayor shows up.
For those of us who have found chosen family in music, for those who return every year to the same snow-dusted block on Pearl Street, and for anyone who believes jamgrass is as much home as it is a soundscape – this weekend is for you.
