The beloved Kalamazoo bluegrass powerhouse kicked off the Ann Arbor Folk Festival on Friday with a fan-inspiring set that followed an opening salvo by guitar icon Junior Brown. The review and photos.
Lighting Up Hill Auditorium: Greensky Bluegrass on Friday night. (Photo/Anna Sink)
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In its first Ann Arbor performance in nearly 13 years and its first-ever appearance at Hill Auditorium, progressive bluegrass powerhouse Greensky Bluegrass made sure on Friday that the opening salvo of the 2026 Ann Arbor Folk Festival would be a night to long remember.
The Kalamazoo band with an international following that just marked its 25th anniversary went about “Fixin’ to Ruin” the 49th annual festival in a very good way, revving up a near-capacity crowd in the acoustically pleasing, historic concert hall with a 16-song set that covered a lot of bases and lit up Hill Auditorium with impressive, psychedelic lighting.
Along the way, the much-beloved band paid tribute to Jerry Garcia (“Drink Up and Go Home” in the encore) and even January’s wintry blast (“Worried About the Weather”).
Making Their Folk Festival Debut: Greensky Bluegrass (Photo/Andrew Rogers)
“Sure is good to be playing Greensky music in the state of Michigan,” Dobroist Anders Beck exclaimed at one point.
The opening night of the two-day festival began with a set by renowned, double-necked, guit-steel guitarist Junior Brown, whose rockabilly blues flowed effortlessly from the get-go as part of a four-piece band that included a standup bass.
The 73-year-old guitarist wasted little time in shredding metal-style on his signature double-neck guitar, yielding hearty applause throughout his set.
Of course, Greensky — playing this one-off concert in the midst of taking time away from touring — always attracts a crowd that stands, sings and presses up to the stage, so ushers struggled at times to keep folks from leaking into the aisles as they cheered the band, which kicked off the evening with several crowd favorites, including “Past My Prime,” “Monument” and “Burn Them.”
The Friday night set by the band — Beck, mandolinist Paul Hoffman, guitarist Dave Bruzza, bassist Mike Devol and banjoist Michael Arlen Bont — appealed to its Michigan fan base in many ways, with writer/fan Michael Elliot noting that “Greensky feels like that old hoodie that fits just right.”
The Ann Arbor Folk Festival continues tonight (Saturday) with more Michigan favorites, including Grand Rapids alt-rock/folk’s The Crane Wives and Ann Arbor’s Rabbitology, along with headliners Amos Lee and Dawes, with Jon Muq and emcee Ryan Montbleau also performing. Tickets, starting at $56.50, are still available online here.
PHOTO GALLERY: Greensky Bluegrass at Ann Arbor Folk Festival (Hill Auditorium)
Photos by Anna Sink
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