I could have been a Dead Head, but I chose college instead. Even so, in my later years, I took a music idolatry detour and toured the land, became a follower [Hobo] of this band. It didn't take long for us to become friends. 

At their live outdoor festivals we "rode the rail"- the term for the most coveted spot at the very front of the performing arts stage.

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https://youtu.be/bS9G83K-bFY?si=MempleOIp4nn_ylh

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We first saw their live venue in Charlotte NC in 2012, after seeing them on a PBS interview and presentation in a Florida hotel room while waiting to catch our flight back to North Carolina, after attending my youngest brother's wedding in Key West. They announced they would be playing Raleigh, Charlotte and then Grandfather Mountain near Boone. We caught the last 2 shows, then bought our rv after that and on September 30, 2012, we were on our way to their October Festival "The Halloween Hangtown Ball" in Placerville, California where the famous "Goldrush" all began. It also began a period of a closer friendship with the band and the highlight of that was celebrating New Year's Eve with them by special invitation, to their after-party in Asheville NC. RRE, and some of the Hobos, including us, all stayed and celebrated at The A-Loft in Asheville after the most incredible performance we ever saw them play-

Railroad Earth famously played New Year's Eve in Asheville, NC, to ring in 2014. The band performed a three-night run at The Orange Peel from December 29–31, 2013. Key details of that run:Venue: The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC.Date: December 31, 2013 (ending in the 2014 countdown).Theme: The shows featured a backdrop of Grandfather Mountain and included performances of new tunes from their album Last of the Outlaws 
While they have played other dates in Asheville, this 2013-2014 run is the highlighted New Year's Eve performance in the area. 

Railroad Earth took their name from the Jack Kerouac prose poem/short story "October in the Railroad Earth". The band, formed in 2001, felt the title fit their freewheeling, Americana style, and they also recorded a song of the same name to solidify the connection. Key Details About the Name:Literary Influence: The name is a nod to the "Beat" generation writer Jack Kerouac, specifically his stream-of-consciousness writing about his time in San Francisco.Band Connection: Lead vocalist Todd Sheaffer wrote a song titled "Railroad Earth," which appeared on their album The Black Bear Sessions.Vibe: The name was chosen to evoke a sense of rusticity and American imagery, including "steam engines, mountains, and... laborers," reflecting their acoustic-based, jam-influenced sou
The band often notes that the name reflects their improvisational, "rambling" nature. It was one of their main strengths in their live performances and none of their songs are performed exactly the same way each time they are performed, always giving them a renewed fresh and energetic quality. They also have a unique way of transitioning their musical repertoire of songs from one song into the next song. They are amazing.

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So, those were great times. And we felt so young even though we weren't. All the younger peeps loved us. Many would tell us they wished their parents were like us. We danced our heads off and went to all their venues all over the United States. We traveled and lived in our roomy rv and members of the band would come and hang out with us. We had VIP and we were frequently invited to the green room and after parties. Many we declined because, well, we were wore out from dancing and these parties start late and are usually all nighters. But we had grandbabies  about to be born and eventually had to hang up those dancing shoes and plant the rv on our eldest son's farmland, where we let his new 2nd now ex-wife's homeless vet brother live for free.