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H.O.R.D.E. More: The Later Years (Allman Brothers Band, Black Crowes, Wilco, Ziggy Marley, Neil Young…)

Ziggy Marley It was our first experience with the rock and roll lifestyle. For me it was like seeing a different culture. Black Crowes. Blues Traveler. Most of what I remember is already gone up in smoke.

Nigel James I’d walk into Traveler’s dressing room after they finished and there would be musicians from both stages sitting around strumming. It was just really cool.

Jay Bennett The most important thing I learned and the most fun thing for me was learning how to open up and jam with people backstage and musically to be not shy. I think that actually fueled the next Wilco record, me being musically not shy.

In 1997, with Blues Traveler off in Europe for all but three HORDE dates, Neil Young topped the bill.

Dave Frey Neil loved the acoustic stage. From the moment he saw it he said, “I want to play that stage every day, can I open it? A few minutes after doors open I’m going to go out there and play.” So every day he was out there playing acoustic sometimes for 30 people sometimes 300.

Trey Allen Neil Young is a part owner of all owner of Lionel Trains and each day he would set up a tent. That was his baby and he would be there every day before opening doors and there even would be issues where we couldn’t open the doors because Neil wasn’t through working on his tent.

Dave Frey In Chicago there was this storm in and all the power went out. So we drove two tour buses by the stage and hooked up the monitor system to the generators of the tour buses. Then Neil came out in four or five inches of water and played “Like a Hurricane” for half an hour. Everybody just stood there with the rain coming down sideways, screaming at the top of their lungs.

HORDE offered many inspired performances on the workshop stage, where on August 3rd, 1997 at the World Ampihteatre in Tinley Park, IL, Moprhine was joined by Les Claypool, John Medeski and John Popper. There were many more moments like that…

Warren Haynes I remember one year when we did a few side stage things where we’d invite a few musicians and jam. It was myself, Allen Woody, Popper, Leroi from the Dave Matthews Band and Jaimoe from the Allman Brothers. One time we said, “Okay, today’s theme is Bitches Brew, everybody just think Bitches Brew and let’s jam. And then another time in Saratoga me and Woody and Matt [Abts] Ben Harper and Chris Barron did an impromptu jam.

Taj Mahal Natalie Merchant would hook up with the horn players from Lenny Kravitz, the didgeridoo players from Yothu Yindi, Meshell Ngdeocello and the Thunder Cloud singers from the Chippewa people. I remember Meshell came up and she was kind of laying low key in the background and I was like, “Hey girl you ain’t back there to be looking at our butts, throw down, make a move.” She started whooping it up back there and it took off like rocket ships. It was just wonderful to see that diverse amount of people having music as their central language.