Watch This Musician Play Banjo in His Yard for His No. 1 Fan: a Friendly Fox
The COVID-19 pandemic forced this banjo player to serenade a different, foxier audience. Meet Andy Thorn, a longtime songwriter living in Colorado—his home base where he entertains for a smaller, furrier audience.
Thorn and his fellow Leftover Salmon bandmates have been touring for over a decade, but once the pandemic hit, he—like many of us—suddenly found himself stuck at home. But then he welcomed some additional company as Foxy literally walked into his life last fall outside his home in the Boulder foothills.
In an interview with The Kelly Clarkson Show, Thorn said he was playing banjo on his deck when he noticed the fox wander over and then stay to listen to the folksy tunes. Both Thorn and his wife thought the furry guy seemed to be really "loving the music."
On another day, Thorn tells Clarkson, he was sitting on a large rock in his yard when the fox came up and sat down next to him.
"He just stared at me while I played the banjo," Thorn says.
Thorn's wife luckily captured the incredible moment on video and posted it to YouTube in November. Instantly a hit, the video has so far amassed a whopping 3.7 million views.
(But don't take this as encouragement to approach and interact with wild animals. Thorn and Foxy's relationship is quite rare, and the rest of us probably don't play the banjo well enough anyway.)
Since then, Thorn's solo career has kept its biggest fan wanting more. In fact, Foxy, as Thorn has fittingly named his buddy, has become a source of song writing inspiration—serving as the premise for this song that's actually written from Foxy's perspective.
It's no secret the pair spends a good amount of time together (just visit Thorn's Instagram account). Foxy even gives Thorn some feedback—sometimes alerting Thorn of a well-deserved encore and other times the fox's departure speaks for itself.
All in all, the adorable duet has become quite the sensation and fans can't get enough of these two living in harmony. According to Thorn's website, he recently recorded "Fox Songs and Other Tales From the Pandemic" in his home studio.
"So the album isn't so much about the sorrows of the pandemic as it is the antidote. The world slowed down, but life didn't," his site says. "'Fox Songs' is a story about what can happen—and what comes to life—when you pause."