The Kalamazoo-bred, progressive bluegrass dynamo unleashed the first of two straight northern Michigan shows at Interlochen on Friday, after revving up Detroit on Thursday. Photos, recap at Local Spins.
Two-Night Stint at Interlochen: Greensky Bluegrass on stage Friday night. (Photo/Michael Elliot)
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Leave it to the trailblazing Greensky Bluegrass to once again do something that’s rarely or never been done.
So, the progressive bluegrass heroes from Kalamazoo who made multiple nights at State Theatre in their hometown a tradition, brought a keyboard player (Holly Bowling) into their acoustic fold as a “sixth band member” for numerous shows, and staged their 2023 Camp Greensky Music Festival in Iceland, of all places, weren’t satisfied with a one-night stand at Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Instead, the band with an ultra-devoted following (even serving as a mentor to young fan and eventual bluegrass superstar Billy Strings back in the day) decide to turn its Interlochen appearance into a two-day festival of sorts, complete with legions of hippie-hued “Greensky freaks” and the group’s usual psychedelic-tinged charm.
The Crowd Went Wild: When May Erlewine joined the band on stage. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Day 1 of their northern Michigan tour stop — which came after a Thursday show at The Fillmore Detroit — boasted a catalog-spanning set list that ranged from 2014’s “A Letter to Seymour” that kicked off the night along with “In Control” and “Can’t Stop Now” (recently released as a single) to “Worried About the Weather” (though it didn’t rain until well after the show).
Things continued to ramp up with “Freeborn Man” and “Bone Digger,” with the band bringing up the Michigan songbird herself, May Erlewine, for performances of “Beauty and Pain” and the politically incisive “That’s My Home,” closing out the set with a stellar version of 2011’s “Don’t Lie.”
The band – mandolinist Paul Hoffman, banjoist Michael Arlen Bont, guitarist Dave Bruzza, Dobroist Anders Beck and bassist Mike Devol — finished up the night during the encore with “Atlantic City.”
“The vibe was amazing,” said fan Michael Elliot.
Indeed, fans enthusiastically sang along to Greensky’s older songs, with trippy jamming on classics such as “Worried About the Weather” that earned robust applause and reactions from the faithful.
Many of the diehard, home-state fans had traveled to Interlochen from Thursday’s Detroit show, set for a three-day Greensky romp that continues at Interlochen tonight (some tickets, $38-$69, still availble online here) — and again on Halloween, when the band celebrates release of its 25th anniversary album, “XXV,” with an Oct. 31 concert at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo. Tickets available online here.
PHOTO GALLERY: Greensky Bluegrass at Interlochen
Photos by Anna Sink
The scene at Iinterlochen’s Kresge Audiotirum. (Photos/Anna Sink)
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