Farewell tour for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band comes to Calgary

The Nitty Gritty Band will stop in Calgary on its farewell tour. Ian While talks with Ross Holmes about his time with the group.

After 60 years, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has decided to stop touring.

“That doesn’t mean that they’ll stop performing or the occasional gig that comes in that’s too good to say no to, but as far as general touring, that’s a long haul, six decades travelling around on tour buses,” Dirt Band fiddle and mandolin player Ross Holmes told CTV News.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band: All the Good Years – The Farewell Tour will stop in Calgary at the Jubilee Auditorium on May 9.

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At 40, Holmes is the newcomer to the group, having joined in 2018.

A veteran performer with Mumford and Sons and Bruce Hornsby, Holmes’ transition to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band came quite naturally, living a couple of doors down from Jaime Hanna, son of NGDB co-founder Jeff Hanna.

Holmes said being a great sideman on the road comes down more to personality than talent.

“The majority of your time on the road is spent being humans with the people that you’re travelling with and so the most important thing I’ve found is just being a great hang, being a good friend, being there when things feel triumphant and victorious and standing with your road family when things are tough,” Holmes said.