Andy Thorn of Leftover Salmon Releases Wildlife Photography Calendar

The 2025 12-Month Wall Calendar is available for purchase ahead of the 2024 Holidays.
$2 from each calendar purchased will go towards wildlife conservation.

PURCHASE “Boulder County Wildlife: by Andy Thorn” HERE

The Story of the Fox

Andy Thorn did not set out to be a wildlife photographer.  The banjo phenom is best known as a member of the pioneering polyethnic cajun slamgrass band Leftover Salmon.  Or, should we say, he was best known for that, until he started receiving unique and frequent visitations to his Boulder home.

It was during the pandemic of 2020 when Andy, who frequently played music on his deck outside his Boulder, CO foothills home, started recording and sharing some of the sessions.  With the help of his wife, Cecelia, Andy shared these backyard picks to remain connected musically to the public while live music had come to a halt.

During these sessions, Andy and Cecelia started to notice a different audience than the one intended – a neighborhood fox began stopping by to seemingly listen to the music.  In a heightened moment of creativity, Andy and Cecelia dubbed the fox “Foxy.”

Around that time, Festy GoNuts was also looking to connect to the public during the pandemic and developed our version of a variety show, “Festy From the Futon” (later changed to “Festy From Home”, when we upgraded the furniture in our living room!).  As some of our first guests on the internet show, Andy and Cecelia Thorn shared their stories of the fox encounters, and sang us a song they wrote as a duet for Foxy, “Got The Fox as Company.”  The duo performed for the first time as “The Thornbirds”.

Fox News

Then, suddenly, Andy and Foxy went viral.  While we wish we could take credit for that, it was a different video that blew up the internet.  Cecelia managed to capture a beautiful moment between Andy and Foxy, with Andy improvising an instrumental banjo tune (later to be dubbed “Aesop Mountain”), while Foxy attentively hangs on every note.

At a stressful time in America, and the world in general, a happy, positive and beautiful video clip was just what the public needed.  Andy Thorn quickly went from the jamgrass banjo player to the “fox guy.”

“I never expected to be known as ‘the fox guy’,” says Thorn.  “But it’s been an awesome way to introduce banjo music to a wider audience. It’s so cool getting messages from people around the world saying they never enjoyed banjo before seeing the video, and now they’re checking out more banjo players and bluegrass music.”

To date, that first fox video has received almost 6 MILLION views.  Andy and Foxy became an internet sensation around the world, even appearing on the Kelly Clarkson show.  People of all ages and musical inclinations (including my mother – mom’s LOVE Andy!) started following Andy on social media, as he released more fox videos, and almost daily recordings of his sunrise banjo sessions from the beautiful Colorado foothills location.

Andy then shared Fox Songs and Other Tales From the Pandemic, which included “Got The Fox As Company,” among other tunes created during this weird time in all our lives.

And in September 2022 Andy finally released “Aesop Mountain,” the instrumental tune that helped launch it all, as part of Songs of the Sunrise Fox, an instrumental album of beautiful banjo tunes.

Fox Photography

Throughout this incredible journey, Andy had his camera.

“I don’t have any kind of photography background,” he says.  “I’ve always respected it, but it wasn’t until we moved to the foothills above Boulder when I realized I needed to learn more about [photography].  With these amazing wildlife visitors right outside our door, I had to start documenting the magic.”

Document the magic he did.  With a wealth of beautiful images of animals in nature captured against the backdrop of the Boulder foothills,  Andy decided to share them with the public.  With the 2024 holiday season approaching, a wall calendar seemed the right platform to share the images with the world and allow others to enjoy them throughout the year.

Music and Nature

Andy will continue to play music on is deck and in his backyard, sharing those moments on his popular Instagram page (@_thornpipe_).   And there are certain to be more appearances from the fox and other wildlife.

Through his interactions with Foxy and others, Andy has come to see appreciate the harmony of nature, even contributing a “Ted Talk” on the subject.

“I love how music connects us to each other, including animals. It also connects us to the natural cycles all around us. That’s what makes acoustic music so beautiful. When a curious animal wanders over to listen, I’m reminded how we’re all just looking for harmony.”

PURCHASE “Boulder County Wildlife: by Andy Thorn” HERE

FOLLOW ANDY THORN:

YouTube:  www.youtube.com/@andythornmusic

Facebook: www.facebook.com/andythornmusic

Instagram: www.instagram.com/_thornpipe_

Website:  www.andythornmusic.com