48th Ann Arbor Folk Festival
Saturday, January 25th
at Hill Auditorium
Tickets
Member and Student Pre-Sale: October 21-25
Public Sale: Nov 1
Any music fan who grew up in the ‘90s, before the rise of streaming platforms, will tell you that when a record store clerk made a music recommendation, you took it seriously. Often well-studied music nerds, these unsung tastemakers had their finger on the pulse of lesser-known, excellent bands. So it speaks volumes that many of Toad the Wet Sprocket’s earliest champions were record store clerks who put the Santa Barbara quartet’s early albums into unsuspecting listeners’ hands, convincing them to overlook their unusual band name and give them a shot.
And that’s all it took. Lead singer Glen Phillips’ heartfelt, introspective lyrics expressed in his deep, buttery croon backed by the earnest instrumentation, catchy melodies and vocal harmonies of guitarist Todd Nichols, bassist Dean Dinning and drummer Randy Guss had fans hooked from the outset.
Toad’s third full-length album, Fear, went platinum after its 1991 release and spawned hits “All I Want” and “Walk on the Ocean,” both of which made it to the top 20 of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. And let’s not forget all the quintessential ‘90s shows and movies that featured Toad songs including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Empire Records, and the platinum-selling Friends soundtrack (“Good Intentions”).
Toad released Dulcinea in 1994, giving the band its second platinum album in a row. Recorded almost entirely live in a studio in the woods in Marin County in a room lit by hundreds of candles, the album features fan favorites “Fall Down” and “Windmills.”
The band took a break in the late ‘90s, and the members left to pursue solo projects. They reunited in 2006, maintaining the original lineup for the next 15 years until drummer Randy Guss departed in 2020 due to health concerns. After reuniting, the band released New Constellation in 2013. Critics praised it for being an evolution for the band while still maintaining their signature sound and songcraft.
With a remastered “greatest hits” collection, All You Want, released in 2023, and Dulcinea’s 30th anniversary celebration in full swing, Toad will tour with old friends Barenaked Ladies and Gin Blossoms throughout 2024 and are working on material for a new album.
Even with everything that’s changed over the last few decades, one of the band’s main drivers has remained the same since they first started performing together in high school: bringing people together to experience music as a binding force and to help them feel like they belong.