Silas Herman Interview: Tone Unit, Touring, Fatherhood, and Family

Silas Herman can be seen this weekend (April 9 & 10) at Globe Hall, alongside his father, Vince Herman, in a special duo show, along with other special guests. (TICKETS/INFO)  Silas and Vince will also be at the upcoming BajaWonderGrass Festival, and Silas Herman & the Tone Unit will be on tour all summer. 

Silas Herman is a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter from Nederland, Colorado, with a lifetime immersed in the music scene.

Festy GoNuts has seen Silas Herman grow up.  From the kid running around backstage at Leftover Salmon shows to the young man pickin’ in the woods at festivals around the country, we’ve watched him grow and mature as an artist and a man.

Now, Silas is embarking on a new musical journey – truly striking out on his own, with an immensely talented band – The Tone Unit – and a slew of new music to bring into the world.

With a raw talent as great as Silas holds – he can shred the mandolin and electric guitar as good as (or better than) anyone – this seemed like an inevitability.  But for a time, Silas’s path wasn’t exactly paved in stone.  At one point, he even seemed to step away from a commitment to performing live – to the chagrin of his many fans – and shifted focus to music behind the scenes.

In 2024, Silas was called upon to fill in for Shawn Swain as mandolin player for Kitchen Dwellers for several months while Swain took a medical leave.

Silas took the spotlight and didn’t let go, announcing the creation of his own band, Silas Herman & The Tone Unit, and a new dedication to creating and performing.

We asked Silas about this journey.

“I’ve always been fascinated with sound. I never really stopped creating or performing music, but just wanted to broaden my horizon.  I’ve always loved playing music and was on the road playing shows around the country pretty consistently since I was 16. I’ve always seen being a sound engineer as a way to be even more deeply involved with music and to take things into my own hands. Getting an acoustic instrument to sound right live can be pretty difficult, and a lot of engineers just don’t have as much experience mixing a bluegrass band as they do a rock band, so having some audio chops can really make a difference on a daily basis when you are on tour in a different room with a different sound guy every night.”

Herman continues, “I’m also engineering, mixing and mastering my first set of songs I’m about to release right now. The reality for me has been that the music business is pretty difficult. I’m extremely grateful to have the amazing connections and community I do but building a career as a performing musician has never been easy, especially in terms of finances. Being an audio engineer has taken some of that pressure off my music career while giving me a way to still be deeply involved with creating and delivering music to people’s ears.”

To add to the pressure of a music career, Silas has just recently become a father.  His son will certainly grow up in a world of music, and the opportunities for exploring that world will certainly be prevalent.

“The idea of playing music with my son definitely warms my heart,” Silas says.  “He’s already been surrounded by live music his whole life. He will always have an instrument around the house to play if he wants to. I want him to follow his passion, whatever that may be.”

This is a world familiar to Silas, who grew up around the music business.  His father is Vince Herman, the co-founder and frontman of Leftover Salmon. Silas has joked from stages like the Boulder Theater that he has come a long way since being the little kid taking naps in the green room, and this immersion in “the scene” has surely shaped his musical journey.

“There is a lot more to it than just playing music,” Silas says of the music business.  “Talent does not equal success. In the age of social media, it’s less about what you actually do and more about ‘who you are’. Follow counts and streaming numbers have become what makes you successful. I honestly don’t care for those things a whole lot and I’m sure my career has suffered because of it but that’s just not why I play music. I do it because I have no other choice. It’s my dharma. My duty. My cosmic path.”

That cosmic path has brought him to a serendipitous moment coming up this weekend, where he will share the stage with his father, Vince Herman, for two intimate nights at Globe Hall in Denver.

We asked if this felt like a “full-circle” moment.

“It sure does, and we are so excited for the shows. Over the last year or two, I’ve written more songs than I have my entire life leading up to it, so I do feel like I’ve been finding my musical identity more than ever. My dad also released his debut solo record a couple of years ago, full of songs he wrote. We are going to be playing mostly originals and songs that I grew up playing. It’s going to be a very full-circle moment.”

The opportunities are limitless for this young talent. Silas will be releasing new music, hitting the road with Silas Herman & The Tone Unit, and surely popping up on stage with artists at festivals and shows around the country.

Silas concludes, “Big things are on the horizon for The Tone Unit! We have new songs, videos, and lots more tour dates dropping soon. We have also all been writing a bunch of songs. We recently signed on with Liz Kenny at New Frontier Touring and have plans to take this show on the road. Hope to see you out there!”

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Catch Silas and Vince Herman at Globe Hall in Denver on April 9 and 10, and at BajaWonderGrass in El Sargento, MX, April 23-25, 2026.

Silas Herman & The Tone Unit Tour Info 

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