Mike Devol from the Kalamazoo bluegrass heroes celebrating their 25th anniversary talks about the new record, Billy Strings and more. Plus, this week’s Michigan Music Showcase podcast with new tracks from Caitlin Cusack, Lady Ace Boogie, Jack Droppers and more.
‘Committed to Giving It Their All’: Greensky Bluegrass has done that in regaling fans for 25 years. (Photo/Steve Baran)
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When members of Greensky Bluegrass realized they were approaching a career “milestone” – the bluegrass band’s 25th anniversary – they wanted to create something more than memorable, more than just a typical retrospective.
“It kind of started semi-jokingly as kind of a greatest hits,” said bassist Mike Devol. “(But) we didn’t want it to seem so much like a retrospective or a look back. I mean, it is a look back, but we wanted to take some songs that we had previously recorded or record some songs that we never did, and add guests to them.”
What emerged from sessions last year at 2200 Studios Sausalito, formerly the legendary Record Plant, was “XXV” – a reinvention of some classics by the Kalamazoo jamgrass band featuring guest stars such as Billy Strings, Lindsay Lou and Holly Bowling, along with previously unrecorded compositions.
The New Album: ‘XXV’
“Some of it was really clear to us. Billy Strings is out playing ‘Reverend’ a lot in his shows and we have a longstanding relationship with him and it makes total sense. Lindsay Lou has collaborated on ‘In Control’ with us a lot of time as we’ve toured with her over the years, and her voice is part of that song for us in a lot of ways now,” Devol noted.
“Other things we wanted to just record are things that we play live and have never recorded before. There’s a fair amount of that in Greensky lore – these songs that have never made it to an album, but are part of our live show.
“For us, it was just an opportunity to sort of open up some of the stuff we’ve recorded in our past and sort of breathed new life into it.”
That Greensky lore began in Kalamazoo exactly 25 years ago to the day, with Devol, mandolinist Paul Hoffman, banjoist Michael Bont, guitarist Dave Bruzza and Dobroist Anders Beck marking the anniversary this weekend in a number of different ways.
The new 13-track collection officially gets released today (Oct. 31), the same day that the band kicks off a two-day Halloween weekend homecoming at Kalamazoo’s Wings Event Center. (Concert tickets available online here.)
In addition, the band announced earlier this week that it will make a special appearance at noon Saturday (Nov. 1) at their old stomping ground: Bell’s Brewery Eccentric Café. Group members will host a “listening party” for “XXV” and sign records for fans at Bell’s as part of the special event from noon to 2 p.m.
(Scroll down to listen to the Devol interview and aforementioned tracks featuring Billy Strings and Lindsay Lou as part of this week’s Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase. And check out Part 1 of our story about Greensky’s 25th anniversary here, with details about the two-night homestand.)
APPLAUDING BILLY STRINGS’ RISE AND CULTIVATING THEIR OWN DEVOTED FOLLOWING
The band’s connection to Billy Strings – mentored in part as a teenager by Greensky Bluegrass – has defined both artists’ careers in a way. From his humble beginnings in Ionia County when he would occasionally join Greensky on stage, Billy Strings has become an arena-packing global superstar.
“What Billy has done is insane and well deserved,” said Devol, who first met William Apostol, aka, Billy Strings, as a teen. “I remember seeing him and I’m like, ‘Man, boy, this guy, this kid can really pick and really sing.’ I think he liked what we were up to and he wanted to figure out how to be in the jam world of it all – just his asking us questions about this and that and stuff.
“I kind of always saw that Billy was a really special talent and to be honest, I kind of always thought that he would surpass us in some way, whatever that means. I never thought it would be hard to imagine that he had succeeded as much as he has now.
Another Two-Night Stand: Greensky also played two shows at Interlochen earlier this year. (Photo/Steve Baran)
“It is crazy how Billy fits into all these boxes in such a big powerful way. He’s got the jamgrass thing, he’s nailing it, it’s awesome, but in the traditional world, he is nailing it and is awesome. And then he also is appealing to this punk rock and this indie thing.”
Devol noted that everyone from Deadheads to folk stars such as Joan Baez have become huge fans, and yet Billy remains “sweet and humble and kind.”
“He’s one of the greatest guitar players I’ve ever seen and I think that his singing is at least as good. He’s a really double-edge sword,” Devol added.
“He’s got a great band, he’s young, he’s cool. I never would have anticipated that one day I would be sitting at the library here in Santa Cruz with my son and open the Rolling Stone ‘Hot Issue’ and have there be a two-page spread of Billy Strings next to Megan Thee Stallion. I think a lot of people view him as sort of a savior.”
Of course, Greensky Bluegrass has come a long way since its humble beginnings, too, touring internationally, recording landmark albums and cultivating a diehard following that’s led to a successful 25-year career.
“We were committed to giving it our all and seeing what happens,” Devol said. “As our career changed, our needs changed and our growth changed, and you’re just along for the ride. As it continues, you just sort of keep going.”
This week’s Michigan Music Showcase features two tracks from the new Greensky Bluegrass album, “Reverend” and “Old Barns,” as well as debuting songs from several other Michigan artists: Coley Kennedy, Mellow Thief, The Rebel Eves, Lady Ace Boogie (with RE-Plxy), Caitlin Cusack, Izzy Reign, Empress Eyes (with 16 Psych) and Jack Droppers & The Beset Intentions. Listen to the show below.
PODCAST: Local Spins Michigan Music Showcase (Oct. 31, 2025)
Applauding 25 Years: Fans will be in full force at Wings Event Center this weekend. (Photo/Steve Baran)
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