Music for all tastes during Babb gathering

A diverse lineup of musicians takes the stage for the Second Annual Babb Fest music festival on Aug. 6 in Babb.

Feature acts are Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon and Rob Wasserman of Ratdog.

Rounding out the festival bill are Miller Creek, Bigfork rock band Pedacter Project, Missoula bluegrass group Broken Valley Road Show, the funky Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove, bluegrass-rock Portland band Buds of May and Missoula dance band Swyl.

Herman is lead vocalist and guitarist for Leftover Salmon of Boulder, Colo. Leftover Salmon combines progessive bluegrass with Cajun music and a quirky comic style that has audiences around the country packing their shows.

Leftover Salmon has released two albums of their spontaneous, imaginative music, and have performed at dozens of music festivals, including the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, American Music Festival, Merle Watson Festival, Midtown Music Festival, and recently traveled with the H.O.R.D.E. Tour.

Wasserman is one of the most in-demand bassists of the last two decades, as demonstrated by stints with Lou Reed, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello. His longtime creative partnership with Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir have yielded a trove of fertile sounds.

Trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Wasserman developed a style of upright bass playing that he likens to cello more than standard bass methodology. He's put that ability to the test in a variety of contexts over the years, most notably on a series of three albums - "Solo," "Duets" and "Trios."

That trilogy began with the 1983 release of "Solo." Although already widely respected as a player - collaborating with artists as varied as Stephane Grappelli and Rickie Lee Jones - Wasserman exceeded expectations of what a solo bass album could deliver, garnering acclaim in a number of venues, including Downbeat, which voted his debut Jazz Album of the Year and voted him Bassist and Composer of the Year.

On the Grammy-winning "Duets," (named vocal album of the year by Billboard) Wasserman's collaborators included Aaron Neville, Lou Reed, Bobby McFerrin and others.

Wasserman's 1993 release was "Trios," an album dubbed "dazzling" by Rolling Stone and granted a rare five-star rating by Downbeat. It included Jerry Garcia, Edie Brickell, Bruce Hornsby, Branford Marsalis, Neil Young and Bob Weir.

The latest addition to the Rob Wasserman catalog, "Space Island" (Atlantic Records) broke new barriers for him as he teamed up with master mixer/producer Dave Aron (Snoop Dogg, Prince) to create a bass groove record with a hip hop rhythm.

Wasserman and longtime partner Bob Weir assembled Ratdog after touring as a successful duo for 10 years. Arista Records released "Weir/Wasserman Live," a collection of the duo's hottest live performances and followed that with Ratdog's debut studio recording "Evening Moods."

Tickets for the festival are $30 at the gate. Free camping is available.

Babb is located eight miles north of St. Mary on Montana 8, east of Glacier National Park.

For more information, call 249-2903.