The Slip (band)
The Slip is a Boston-based avant-rock trio made up of Brad Barr (guitar, piano, vocals), Andrew Barr (drums), and Marc Friedman (bass). They started as a high school band at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, in 1989. After graduating, the three moved into more serious music making and, in 1996, dropped out of Berklee to release their debut, From the Gecko.
They built a following with constant touring in the Northeast and beyond. The Slip signed with Flying Frog Records and released Does in 2000. They continued touring and issued their first live album, Live Is My Jumby. Later, they signed with Rykodisc and released Angels Come on Time in 2002. In 2003 they put out two more live records, Alivelectric and Aliveacoustic, on their own 216 Records label.
From 2004, the band began focusing more on the Surprise Me Mr. Davis side project and on new Slip studio material. In 2005, the song Even Rats appeared in the video game Guitar Hero and was released online as a single in 2006. Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has cited The Slip as an influence. The group gained wider recognition through festival appearances at Bonnaroo, SXSW, Bumbershoot, and High Sierra in 2005 and 2006.
Their 2006 album Eisenhower, released on Bar/None Records, showed a move toward indie rock influences while still keeping their improvisational edge. The Slip made their national TV debut on Late Night with Conan O’Brien in February 2007, performing Children of December, and played Bonnaroo again that June.
Starting in late 2007, the trio stopped regular touring and began playing only occasional shows as The Slip. They pursued other projects, including touring with Sonya Kitchell in 2008 (the This Storm album involved Brad Barr, Andrew Barr, and Malcolm Burn). Brad, Andrew, and Marc also continued to work with Surprise Me Mr. Davis, and Brad and Andrew later formed The Barr Brothers in Montreal while Marc Friedman joined Marco Benevento’s trio and collaborated with other bands.
The Slip played a short East Coast tour in 2009 and returned to High Sierra in 2010. They performed sporadically in 2011 and 2012, including Japan in 2011 and shows in New York and Rhode Island. After 2012 the band paused again as the members pursued other projects.
In 2015 The Slip returned to the High Sierra Festival lineup. In 2021 they reunited for three sets at LOCKN’ Farm as part of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s festival, and soon announced their first proper tour since 2009. The seven-show run covered Burlington, Providence, Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and a finale at Levon Helm’s barn in Woodstock, New York. The band revisited early material, debuted new songs, and reflected on their evolving sound and a hopeful future.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:50 (CET).