“It was like paddling out into the ocean on a longboard, and a beautiful wave comes along,” the musician and songwriter Steve Poltz says, unable to contain the joy in his voice. “And you stand up and that wave is just so gentle.”
Steve isn’t talking about surfing, though he knows his way around a wave, but rather a special moment that took place at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival in Lyons in August, when he waded out into the audience to serenade everyone with his rendition of the Grateful Dead’s “Ripple.”
“It was like riding a wave, everybody started circling around. I didn’t know there would be that many people. And it got bigger and bigger, but it was really organic.”
That the unplanned moment happened on the 30th anniversary of the Dead’s legendary co-founder Jerry Garcia’s death made it all the more poignant.
“That made it magical, I think it was just kind of meant to be,” adding, “It was the highlight of my life, and everything else has gone downhill ever since.”
And while he delivered that final observation in jest, it’s on-brand for Steve, who’s on a long, strange trip of his own. The Canadian-born troubadour rose through the ranks of San Diego’s underground music scene with cult favorites The Rugburns before experiencing the heights of a platinum selling songwriter as he grew into his own as a songwriter’s songwriter and live concert legend in his own right.
Swallow Hill Music is proud to welcome Steve Poltz back with a concert on Friday, December 5. Tickets are on sale now.
TICKETS: Steve Poltz at Swallow Hill Music on December 5
If you’ve never seen Steve live in concert you’re in for something truly unique, as no single show is like another.
“I’m part hippy-dippy, part punk,” he admits. “I’ve never ever written a setlist in my life.” It’s not until he walks out on stage and sizes up the energy of the room that he knows which songs from his warehouse-like catalog that he’s going to perform.
“There’s a whole blank page when the show starts,” he says. “I don’t even know what I’m opening with. Sometimes I think I do (know what to open with) and I’ll just abort the mission and do something different. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, it’s just that there’s so much to choose from.”
“I do know that there’s an arc to it every time,” he says of his concerts. “There’s going to be some quiet, some fast, a lot of laughs, a lot of spontaneous stuff – I might make up a song on the spot – but it’s gonna end with that feeling of community, like we’re all in this together.”
While his Swallow Hill stop comes amidst a larger winter tour, Steve is also looking forward to 2026. “I will definitely have a new record in 2026. And it is called JoyRide. That’s from my own head. I’m super excited about it,” he shares with a laugh.
He also remains a coveted collaborator for other songwriters, and he’s rightfully celebrated for co-writing with artists like Jewel, Billy Strings, Nicki Bluhm, Andy Frasco, and Vince Herman.
“And Jim Lauderdale!” he adds. “We’ve written the most out of anybody.”
When asked why he’s a sought after songwriting partner, he chuckles about his one big hit song – the 1996 single “You Were Meant for Me” with Jewel – so he wonders if folks think he can do it again.
In all seriousness, though, he says “Well, I’m willing to be a complete idiot and be vulnerable, I’ll say the most dumb things so it’s not intimidating to write with me.”
“And then we always laugh a lot, so they’re gonna get a good laugh out of it, and we always finish the song. I’m a good finisher!”
Vulnerability, laughter, and sticking the landing, that also sounds on brand for Steve. We can’t wait to see what he’s got up his sleeve for Swallow Hill on December 5, and no doubt neither can he.