Peter Hughes Leaves The Mountain Goats
After over two decades with the band, bassist Peter Hughes has left The Mountain Goats. The news was shared in a post on the band’s social media.
“There are dozens of songs about how the road is hard, and the more time you spend on the road, the less they sound like cliches than like a simple and sometimes stark description of your life. Sooner or later everybody spots the exit that has their name on it, and for Peter Hughes, my bandmate of either twenty-eight or twenty-two years depending on whether you mark the 1996 tour or the 2002 one as the start point, the time to leave the highway behind is now. He’s made the call, and all that’s left for us is to salute his legacy,” they wrote. “Peter’s contribution to our band and to my life can’t be overstated. The time, toil, and sweat he has devoted to making our band better, year in and year out, will always be an indispensable part of what “the Mountain Goats” meant from 2002-2024. Peter, the love Matt, Jon, Brandon and I have for you is forever, and my personal gratitude for your service not to my vision but what became our vision cannot be measured. I speak on behalf of audiences around the world when I say thank you, and that you will be dearly missed. To enumerate the memories we’ve made together would fill volumes. Your absence, it should go without saying, will be felt: Musically, personally. By us and by so many.”
Hughes first appeared on the Mountain Goats’ 2002 album Tallahassee and is on every release since including 2023’s Jenny from Thebes. He also released a solo album, Fangjo, in 2010.
The Mountain Goats will embark on a trio tour in the bassist’s absence. A replacement bass player has yet to be named.
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
