Loose Ties

LOOSE TIES

  • From Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
  • Formed in 1985 by Phil Round (guitar/bass), Ben Winship (mandolin) and Ted Wells (banjo). They previously performed together in a Vermont-based group called The Homegrown Revue.
  • Avid skiers, they moved to Jackson Hole to work in ski resorts.
  • 1986, won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival band championship.
  • 1987, won second in the Kentucky Fried Chicken “Best New Bluegrass Bands” contest in Louisville. First place was won by Alison Krauss and Union Station.
  • 1988, recorded a classic Christmas album called Yule Ties (Snake River).
  • 1991, released “Up & Down the Highway” album (Snake River).
  • 1994, released “Tangled Roots” album (Blue Planet).
  • Name origin: “We are loosely tied to traditional bluegrass.”
  • Original guitarist Joel Kaserman is from Australia. Rex Flinner (brother of Matt Flinner) also played guitar.
  • Banjo player Ted Wells has the distinction of being the first and only graduate of St. Lawrence University with a banjo degree.
  • 1994, John Lowell (Kane’s River) joined the band to play guitar.
  • September, 1996, played last concert.
  • Mandolinist Ben Winship went on to work with the Judith Edelman Band and Kane’s River.
  • 2008, the band reunited for a sold out show at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts.
  • 2009, founding member Phil Round formed the Snake River Band.