Joe Russo’s Almost Dead guitarist Tom Hamilton joined Railroad Earth for a weekend run starting in the band’s native New Jersey at Asbury Lanes and culminating with a pair of New York shows at Brooklyn Bowl and The Capitol Theatre.
Hamilton opened all three shows with his own band and sat in with Railroad Earth on a few songs each night. After wrapping the weekend at the The Cap on Saturday, he praised Railroad Earth on social media for striking a rare balance between songcraft and improvisation:
Well, that’s a wrap for this run with Railroad Earth!! Man, what a fucking GREAT band! It’s always been my goal to play a two-way game as an artist. Be good at your instrument, living in the moment, and improvising but counter balancing all of that with writing the best songs possible filled with truth and intent. Railroad Earth defty accomplishes this nightly and always leaves me inspired and pumped to keep working at both sides of the craft. Thank you for that, as well as having the band out with you and me up to jam. Cant wait to do it again!!
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Saturday also saw Railroad Earth joined by Michael Bellar on keys. The band closed out the weekend with “Box of Rain”, a signature song of late Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, who performed on the same Capitol Theatre stage over 100 times.
Check out a collection of photos and videos from Railroad Earth and Tom Hamilton’s weekend run, and click below to view photo galleries via photographer Ken Spielman. Scroll down to view the full setlists. Saturday’s show at The Capitol Theatre is available to stream via nugs. Not a nugs subscriber yet? Sign up for a seven-day free trial here. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Hamilton will return to the stage with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead next month for a three-night stand at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas with Bradford Marsalis coinciding with Dead & Company at Sphere. Railroad Earth has more Northeast shows in April and other headline shows and festival appearances throughout the summer, including tour dates with Yonder Mountain String Band and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country. Find a full list of upcoming shows on Hamilton and Railroad Earth‘s websites.
Railroad Earth — The Capitol Theatre — Port Chester, NY — 3/22/25 — Preview
Railroad Earth – “Potter’s Field” > “Lonecroft Farewell” – 3/20/25
[Video: MattyP]
Railroad Earth With Tom Hamilton – “Adding My Voice” – 3/22/25
[Video: MattyP]
Railroad Earth – “Box Of Rain” (Grateful Dead) – 3/22/25
[Video: Rayna]
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Setlist: Railroad Earth | Asbury Lanes | Asbury Park, NJ | 3/20/25
Set One: The Good Life, Lordy, Lordy, Old Dangerfield, Happy Song, Came Up Smilin’, Potter’s Field > Lonecroft Farewell, The Jupiter & the 119 > Where Songs Begin
Set Two: It’s So Good, Goat, Drag Him Down, My Favorite Spot, Day on the Sand, Old Man and the Land, Right in Tune > 1759 > Fisherman’s Blues > Chasin’ a Rainbow
Encore: The Great Divide
Setlist: Railroad Earth | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 3/21/25
Set One: Walk Beside Me, Monkey, Just So You Know, Black Elk Speaks, Crossing the Gap, Runnin’ Wild > Head
Set Two: Seven Story Mountain, Been Down This Road, Dandelion Wine, Stillwater Getaway > Like A Buddha* > Warhead Boogie*
Encore: Peace on Earth
*with Tom Hamilton on guitar.
Setlist: Railroad Earth | Capitol Theatre | Port Chester, NY | 3/22/25
Set One: Bird in a House, Bread & Water, Hunting Song > Mourning Flies > Slippin’ Away > The Forecast > Mighty River > Showers of Rain
Set Two: Long Way To Go > Grandfather Mountain, Any Road, Addin’ My Voice*^, Saddle of the Sun^, Cold Water^, Farewell to Isinglass >^ Captain Nowhere, Hard Livin’, Elko
Encore: Box of Rain
*with Tom Hamilton on guitar
^with Michael Bellar on keys.
