# Rusted Root

**Rusted Root** is an American worldbeat rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formed in 1990, known for blending acoustic rock with percussion influences drawn from African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American music.<sup>[1](https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/music/2013-12-11/rusted-root-on-world-cafe)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rusted-root-mn0000221844/awards)</sup> The band broke through with its 1994 major-label album *When I Woke*, which went platinum and produced the hit "Send Me On My Way," a song that has outlived the band's commercial peak through decades of film, television, and advertising placements.<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://wtop.com/entertainment/2016/09/rusted-root-sends-us-on-way-to-amp-by-strathmore-in-bethesda/)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; formed 1990, though one contemporary account dates the founding to 1988<sup>[1](https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/music/2013-12-11/rusted-root-on-world-cafe)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup> |
| Breakthrough | *When I Woke* (1994, Mercury), platinum-selling; single "Send Me On My Way" reached No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://wtop.com/entertainment/2016/09/rusted-root-sends-us-on-way-to-amp-by-strathmore-in-bethesda/)</sup> |
| Catalog | Eight albums and more than three million records sold worldwide, from *Cruel Sun* (1992) to *The Movement* (2014)<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup> |
| Sound | Percussion-heavy acoustic rock fusing African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American influences with folk rock<sup>[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rusted-root-mn0000221844/awards)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/music/2013-12-11/rusted-root-on-world-cafe)</sup> |
| Screen placements | Films *Ice Age*, *Twister*, and *Matilda*; TV shows *New Girl*, *Ally McBeal*, *Charmed*, and *Chuck*; an Enterprise Rent-A-Car campaign<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup> |
| Touring peers | Santana, Dave Matthews Band, The Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead, Phish, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page's reunion tour, The Wailers, and Toad The Wet Sprocket (2016)<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup> |
| Status today | No upcoming concerts listed by major ticketing platforms; front man Michael Glabicki performs the band's catalog under the name Uprooted<sup>[6](https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ91713P0/rusted-root-events)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[7](https://www.michaelglabicki.com/uprooted)</sup> |

## Origins and early years

The band came together in [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) around the acoustic duo of vocalist-guitarists Michael Glabicki and Liz Berlin, who joined with drummer-percussionist Jim Donovan and guitarist-bassist Patrick Norman.<sup>[8](https://jambands.com/features/2000/10/15/rusted-root-leave-it-in-the-hands-of-the-music-because-the-music-knows-best/)</sup> A student newspaper account from 2002 lists the starting lineup as Glabicki, Jenn Wertz, Liz Berlin, Jim Donovan, Patrick Norman, and John Buynak, playing small venues of 100 to 200 people.<sup>[9](https://exhibits.archives.marist.edu/files/original/f3a9fa3182aae7e6d374bbbb351188a70d33fa2c.pdf)</sup> The Harvard Crimson dates the formation to 1988, after Glabicki, then still in high school, returned from a trip to South America; most other sources, including NPR's World Cafe and the MusicBrainz-based record compiled by BandSlate, give 1990.<sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[1](https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/music/2013-12-11/rusted-root-on-world-cafe)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[10](https://www.bandslate.com/band/rusted-root)</sup>

Glabicki's rhythmic direction had local roots: he heard African drumming through relatives and on Pittsburgh campuses, at the same time that [Peter Gabriel](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-gabriel) and [Paul Simon](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-simon) were introducing African rhythms to [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) pop.<sup>[11](https://dcist.com/story/12/05/03/dcist-preview-rusted-root-930-club/)</sup> "Around 18 I decided to start writing music and began thinking about forming a band," Glabicki told DCist. "I was thinking, first of all, 'What feels healing to me?,' but also my main goal was to come up with something unique."<sup>[11](https://dcist.com/story/12/05/03/dcist-preview-rusted-root-930-club/)</sup>

The debut album's release date varies across sources. The band's own biography states that Rusted Root released *Cruel Sun* independently in 1992;<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup> the Crimson and a Pittsburgh music history project place the self-release in 1990 on the band's own Touchy Pegg label.<sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[12](https://sites.google.com/view/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/rock/rusted-root)</sup> Glabicki told an interviewer that the album was recorded once, scrapped, and recorded again with a new producer.<sup>[13](https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/encore/ncgre000/00000064/00063870/00063870.pdf)</sup>

## Breakthrough: When I Woke

In 1994 the band signed with [Mercury Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/mercury-records) and released *When I Woke*, produced by Bill Botrell (known for work with [Tom Petty](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-petty) and [Sheryl Crow](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheryl-crow)).<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://jambands.com/features/2000/10/15/rusted-root-leave-it-in-the-hands-of-the-music-because-the-music-knows-best/)</sup> The album went platinum and spawned the Top 40 hit "Send Me On My Way," which charted on Billboard's Hot 100; a 2016 profile gives its peak as No. 72.<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://wtop.com/entertainment/2016/09/rusted-root-sends-us-on-way-to-amp-by-strathmore-in-bethesda/)</sup> The song was a reworked rendition of a track that had already appeared on *Cruel Sun*.<sup>[4](https://wtop.com/entertainment/2016/09/rusted-root-sends-us-on-way-to-amp-by-strathmore-in-bethesda/)</sup> Other standards from the album include "Ecstasy," "Martyr," and "Drum Trip."<sup>[8](https://jambands.com/features/2000/10/15/rusted-root-leave-it-in-the-hands-of-the-music-because-the-music-knows-best/)</sup>

According to AllMusic, the band's members play multiple instruments and blend [Grateful Dead](https://www.edgepedia.org/grateful-dead)-style jam rock with percussion drawn from African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American traditions; the site calls *When I Woke* "an agreeable collection of post-hippie folk/rock" that takes cues from the Grateful Dead, Phish, and Paul Simon's *Graceland* period.<sup>[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rusted-root-mn0000221844/awards)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[14](https://www.allmusic.com/album/when-i-woke-mw0000117856)</sup> The band built a grassroots following through live performance and support of groups including [Planned Parenthood](https://www.edgepedia.org/planned-parenthood), Greenpeace, and [Amnesty International](https://www.edgepedia.org/amnesty-international).<sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup>

## Later albums and lineup changes

The follow-up *Remember* appeared in 1996, well received by critics but without hits, and the self-titled *Rusted Root* followed in 1998.<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://dcist.com/story/12/05/03/dcist-preview-rusted-root-930-club/)</sup> In mid-1996 the band released the *Evil Ways* EP, a compilation of live tracks together with its contributions to the films *Twister* and *Home for the Holidays*.<sup>[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rusted-root-mn0000221844/awards)</sup> A 1998 student review described the band as having "used to be the kings of the hippie-tribal-jam scene, headlining the H.O.R.D.E." festival, while judging the new self-titled album flat against the band's early-1990s form.<sup>[15](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/15068/udr_125_20.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)</sup>

**Hiatus and return.** By 2000, after touring with singer-songwriter Jewel, the band was on the verge of breaking up; a benefit concert in Pittsburgh that summer led the members to give the band another try.<sup>[8](https://jambands.com/features/2000/10/15/rusted-root-leave-it-in-the-hands-of-the-music-because-the-music-knows-best/)</sup> During the intervening hiatus most members had pursued other musical ventures, with Liz Berlin, Glabicki, and Jenn Wertz recording solo and others joining different bands.<sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup> The reunion produced *Welcome to My Party*, released April 9, 2002, and Liz Berlin described the band as shifting from its "democratic" origins to a focus on Glabicki's songwriting vision.<sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup>

Lineup turnover continued. By 2012 only three original members remained: Glabicki, vocalist Liz Berlin, and bassist Patrick Norman, joined by two guitarists, one doubling on banjo, and a drummer.<sup>[11](https://dcist.com/story/12/05/03/dcist-preview-rusted-root-930-club/)</sup> A 2017 profile listed the touring band as Glabicki; Liz Berlin on vocals and percussion, described as the only other original member; Zil on drums; Dirk Miller on guitar, penny whistle, and vocals; and Bobby Schneck Jr. on bass and vocals.<sup>[16](https://www.centralmaine.com/2017/10/12/lucky-clark-on-music-rusted-root/)</sup>

The later catalog runs through the double album *Rusted Root Live* (2004), released on the band's own Touchy Pegg label after the 2003 re-release of a re-mastered *Cruel Sun*; *Stereo Rodeo* (2009); and *The Movement* (2014), which the band's biography calls its most recent studio album.<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup> In the springs of 2014 and 2015 the band toured with [The Wailers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-wailers), which Glabicki called an honor.<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup>

## Sound and live reputation

The band's signature is layered, percussion-driven rhythm. A 2002 Boston concert review described a stage piled with African talking drums, maracas, a penny whistle, Tibetan finger cymbals, a mandolin, a Cajun washboard, and a djembe, with band members rotating instruments through the night and drummer Jim Donovan leading a percussion improvisation of more than ten minutes.<sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup> Glabicki has described the concerts as ritualistic, saying that as he walks off stage he can see that "a part of their energy has been opened up and let loose."<sup>[11](https://dcist.com/story/12/05/03/dcist-preview-rusted-root-930-club/)</sup>

Within the 1990s jam-band scene the band occupied an ambiguous position. Commentators have described Rusted Root as "jamband adjacent," a song-oriented group that played the [H.O.R.D.E.](https://www.edgepedia.org/h-o-r-d-e) festival and opened for the Grateful Dead and Phish without being an improvising band in the usual sense.<sup>[5](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)</sup> A 2005 review of the *Live* album placed the band at the tail end of the second-generation jamband boom and called it, at heart, a song-oriented outfit.<sup>[17](https://jambands.com/reviews/cds/2005/03/05/live-rusted-root/)</sup>

## Screen and advertising life of "Send Me On My Way"

The band's music has appeared in the films *Ice Age*, *Twister*, and *Matilda*, on television shows including *New Girl*, *Ally McBeal*, *Charmed*, and *Chuck*, and in an [Enterprise Rent-A-Car](https://www.edgepedia.org/enterprise-rent-a-car) campaign.<sup>[3](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)</sup> The DCist profile noted that "Send Me On My Way" and its "mama-di-say, mama-di-ahhh" refrain remained regularly heard on radio and in television commercials nearly two decades after release.<sup>[11](https://dcist.com/story/12/05/03/dcist-preview-rusted-root-930-club/)</sup> This afterlife has made the song the band's most durable public footprint, familiar to many listeners who know nothing else of the catalog.<sup>[11](https://dcist.com/story/12/05/03/dcist-preview-rusted-root-930-club/)</sup>

## Recent activity

Major ticketing platforms currently list no upcoming Rusted Root concerts.<sup>[6](https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ91713P0/rusted-root-events)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[18](https://www.ticketmaster.com/rusted-root-tickets/artist/767003?tt_scene=anchor_view)</sup> Glabicki continues to perform Rusted Root's catalog with newly arranged versions under the moniker Uprooted, alongside new music.<sup>[7](https://www.michaelglabicki.com/uprooted)</sup> In March 2026, Glabicki and longtime guitarist Dirk Miller delivered a stripped-down duo set under the Rusted Root name at Garcia's Chicago, revisiting classic material alongside new songs; no further dates have been announced.<sup>[19](https://touralert.io/artist/rusted-root)</sup> A Bandsintown listing for a 2026 Uprooted festival appearance advertises a performance of *When I Woke* in its entirety, marking the album's anniversary.<sup>[20](https://www.bandsintown.com/e/1039375613-uprooted-feat.-michael-glabicki-of-rusted-root-at-harwinton-fairgrounds)</sup>

## References

1. [Rusted Root On World Cafe, Boise State Public Radio (NPR)](https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/music/2013-12-11/rusted-root-on-world-cafe)
2. [Rusted Root — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rusted-root-mn0000221844/awards)
3. [Rusted Root — About (official band biography)](https://www.rustedroot.com/about)
4. [Rusted Root 'sends us on our way' to AMP in North Bethesda, WTOP News](https://wtop.com/entertainment/2016/09/rusted-root-sends-us-on-way-to-amp-by-strathmore-in-bethesda/)
5. [Welcome to Rusted Root's Global Party, The Harvard Crimson](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2002/4/19/welcome-to-rusted-roots-global-party/)
6. [Rusted Root — 2026 Tour Dates & Concert Schedule, Live Nation](https://www.livenation.com/artist/K8vZ91713P0/rusted-root-events)
7. [Michael Glabicki — Uprooted (official site)](https://www.michaelglabicki.com/uprooted)
8. [Rusted Root: Leave It in the Hands of the Music Because the Music Knows Best, Jambands.com](https://jambands.com/features/2000/10/15/rusted-root-leave-it-in-the-hands-of-the-music-because-the-music-knows-best/)
9. [Rusted Root set to rock out Marist, The Circle (Marist College), September 26, 2002](https://exhibits.archives.marist.edu/files/original/f3a9fa3182aae7e6d374bbbb351188a70d33fa2c.pdf)
10. [Rusted Root — Pittsburgh, BandSlate](https://www.bandslate.com/band/rusted-root)
11. [DCist Preview: Rusted Root @ 9:30 Club, DCist](https://dcist.com/story/12/05/03/dcist-preview-rusted-root-930-club/)
12. [Pittsburgh Music History — Rusted Root](https://sites.google.com/view/pittsburghmusichistory/pittsburgh-music-story/rock/rusted-root)
13. [Rusted Root performance article, East Carolina University digital collections](https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/encore/ncgre000/00000064/00063870/00063870.pdf)
14. [Rusted Root: When I Woke — Review, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/when-i-woke-mw0000117856)
15. [The Review (University of Delaware), November 17, 1998](https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/15068/udr_125_20.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
16. [Lucky Clark On Music: Rusted Root, CentralMaine.com](https://www.centralmaine.com/2017/10/12/lucky-clark-on-music-rusted-root/)
17. [Live — Rusted Root (review), Jambands.com](https://jambands.com/reviews/cds/2005/03/05/live-rusted-root/)
18. [Rusted Root Tickets, Ticketmaster](https://www.ticketmaster.com/rusted-root-tickets/artist/767003?tt_scene=anchor_view)
19. [Is Rusted Root Touring in 2026? Reunion Rumors & News, TourAlert](https://touralert.io/artist/rusted-root)
20. [Uprooted feat. Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root, Harwinton Fairgrounds, Bandsintown](https://www.bandsintown.com/e/1039375613-uprooted-feat.-michael-glabicki-of-rusted-root-at-harwinton-fairgrounds)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Rock bands*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*

License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license