Railroad Earth pulled into the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles at a historically difficult moment for America’s second-largest city.
During the week prior to the band landing in California, wildfires ripped through tens of thousands of acres (and more than 10,000 structures) in L.A. County, leveling entire communities in its path. According to AccuWeather, the destruction wrought by the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, along with other smaller fires in the region, is likely to go down as the second-biggest natural disaster in U.S. history, behind only the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
That heavy toll spurred both a slew of major concert cancellations in the area—including The Weeknd’s live debut of his new album at the Rose Bowl on January 25th—and a bevy of fire relief fundraisers, most notably FireAid, a mega-benefit on January 30th at both the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome that’s slated to feature Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Green Day, and a special collaboration between Dave Matthews and John Mayer, among many others.
For all that Angelenos have lived through, and all the resilience they’ve shown along the way, they could certainly use at least a moment of release and refuge from the toll of 2025’s first full week. From that perspective, Railroad Earth’s arrival looked to be a welcomed respite. And for those who turned out to the Teragram Ballroom just outside of downtown L.A., the band’s two-set performance more than delivered.
The hoots and hollers were more boisterous than usual. The “Hobos” mostly hung on the sides of the room, where they spun with a spirited combination of joy and relief. That group included a mother dancing with her toddler pressed against her chest and a stroller in tow. Even the “Hobo Queen”—who, according to signage in the crowd, had been displaced by the fires—was not only welcoming tequila shots, but enjoying every last sip.
Together, fans of all stripes and shapes enjoyed a performance that properly promoted Railroad Earth’s latest release, 2022’s All for the Song, while paying homage to the rest of their extensive catalog of Grateful Dead-esque Americana.
As far as new material is concerned, the first set featured a run of “All for the Song” into “Goat” that then begat “My Favorite Spot” en route to “Reuben’s Train”. During the second set, the down home “Blues Highway” kicked off a stretch into “Mighty River” and “Long Walk Home”. “Slippin’ Away” set the stage for a closer of the beloved “Elko”, during which attendees tossed playing cards with every utterance of, “I need a card.”
Those songs weren’t the band’s only L.A. debuts of the night. The show also marked Railroad Earth’s first in the City of Angels since Dave Speranza took over for Andrew Altman on bass. The Brooklyn-based musician more than held his own while alternating between acoustic standup bass and electric bass guitar.
The rest of the New Jersey-based group—led by singer-guitarist Todd Sheaffer, Tim Carbone on violin and guitar, John Skehan on mandolin and bouzouki, and drummer Carey Harmon—kept the good times rolling from track to track, with fan favorites like “Dandelion Wine”, “Bird in the House”, and “Day on the Sand” making the cut. “Give That Boy a Hand” squeaked in as the night’s encore.
Railroad Earth also took moments to acknowledge the extraordinary circumstances of the week that preceded this stint. During the second set, Todd addressed the fires—and the city’s fight through them—before diving into “Rain Dance”, which he noted had been requested by quite a few supporters in exceedingly dry Southern California. Before the band stepped off stage for good, Tim took time to encourage the crowd to “hang tough.”
“We’re gonna get through this,” he added.
The city has a long road ahead of it. Scores of residents remain displaced. For those who want and are able to rebuild, it will likely be years before they can settle into their homes again. Those who choose to find permanent housing elsewhere in L.A. are wading into an already strained market.
Music won’t make any of these efforts faster or less excruciating on its own. What shows like those put on by Railroad Earth can do, though, is give weary Angelenos a bit of a reprieve, an opportunity to let go and recharge before returning to the tough times ahead.
As for Railroad Earth, they will take their bluegrass bonanza through Northern California this weekend en route to winter tour dates in Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah from now until early March. Find a full list of upcoming shows and ticketing details here.
Setlist: Railroad Earth | Teragram Ballroom | Los Angeles, CA | 1/16/25
Set 1: Dandelion Wine, Bird in the House > Monkey, Day on the Sand, All for the Song > Goat, My Favorite Spot, Reuben’s Train, Storms
Set 2: Hard Livin’, Drag Him Down > Adding My Voice, Blues Highway > Mighty River > Long Walk Home, Rain Dance, Slippin’ Away, Elko
Encore: Give That Boy a Hand
