The Salty Suites

Nobody knew it at the time, but The Salty Suites began in early June 2009 when Chelsea Williams, Chuck Hailes, & Scott Gates played together for the first time one magical night at Castoro Cellars in San Luis Obispo, CA. Gods colluded, stars aligned and somehow serendipitously we all found ourselves backstage at a John McEuen concert. Scott and Chuck were playing with Nathen McEuen, the opening act. While Chelsea was there as the opener for the opening act. As luck would have it, we all arrived way too early with far too little alcohol on hand. So, we did the only thing we could think of to pass the time. We jammed. We jammed so hard that the moon had to avert her (link hidden)e rest is sordid history.

The Salty Suites played our first official show together in a high security prison for the criminally insane. Thirteen years, four independently released albums, & a global pandemic later, we are happy to report that we have managed to remain a close-knit dysfunctional family of misfits. We have had the pleasure of performing countless shows at many incredible venues up and down the California coast, and have built a loyal following of adoring fans that we are proud to call friends.

Speaking of friends, our mamas always told us to make new friends and keep the old. We are pleased to report that Scott has been on tour with AJ Lee and Blue Summit. In his stead we have appointed a longtime friend of the band. The tremendously talented banjo player Mark Cassidy has agreed to join our ranks. Mark comes with a long list of accolades. Not the least of which is his leading role in The Hillbenders, whose recent engagements include playing with Keller Williams and touring the US performing their original act "Who Grass" (a chronological journey of The Who’s legendary catalog, highlighted by bluegrass instrumentation). The Salty Suites are excited to continue exploring our brand of acoustic music that includes heartfelt originals & select covers that try to make some sense of the human condition."