For about the first decade of their existence, the Mountain Goats were not an actual band; they were John Darnielle’s solo project. The plural-noun band name was a kind of in-joke; Darnielle would step onstage by himself and say, “Hi, we’re the Mountain Goats.” The Mountain Goats became an actual plural enterprise in the early ’00s, when bassist Peter Hughes joined up as the second full-time Mountain Goat. Since then, the band has expanded, adding drummer Jon Wurster and multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, alongside different contributors on tour and on record. Now, after more than 20 years, Peter Hughes is leaving the band.

Peter Hughes comes from the same Inland Empire lo-fi scene that originally nurtured the Mountain Goats, and he formerly played in the bands DiskothiQ and Nothing Painted Blue. Hughes became a Mountain Goats collaborator in the mid-’90s, and he joined full-time for the release of their classic 2002 album Tallahassee. Hughes has also released a couple of solo albums over the years.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw the Mountain Goats in Charlottesville, and Peter Hughes was not with the band. At the beginning of the set, John Darnielle explained that Hughes had tested positive for COVID-19, and the band scrambled to make up for his absence, with different people, including their roadie, playing bass on different songs. Now, the Mountain Goats have announced on Instagram that Hughes is leaving the band and that they’ll finish their current tour without him. Here’s what Darnielle wrote about it:

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.*

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.

We wish you joy, and that in all abundance, in all you do: long may you live and may each day bring greater pleasure than the last!

Love,

John Darnielle, Jon Wurster, and Matt Douglas

*The planned duo tour will proceed as scheduled as a trio featuring Matt Douglas and Jon Wurster

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