Greensky Bluegrass
Encyclopedia
Greensky Bluegrass is a five-piece American bluegrass band. The band was founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in the year 2000 and has toured consistently throughout the past decade, playing many of the nation's finest clubs, music halls and festivals.
In the early summer of 2006 the band were winners of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Band Competition, earning them a spot on the main stage of the 2007 festival. Soon thereafter they released their second studio album, Tuesday Letter. This project, produced by Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth
, has proven a milestone in the quartet's growth as musicians and increasing exposure to a national community.
In November 2007 the band released its first live recording Live At Bell's
, documenting two shows at Bell's Brewery in their hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Just over a month later Greensky Bluegrass added Anders Beck of Wayword Sons to the line up, replacing Al Bates on dobro. His playing is adding great depth to their existing material and opening many doors to new songs. In August 2008 the band released their third studio recording Five Interstates, also produced by Railroad Earth
violinist Tim Carbone.
A live series, All Access was released in 2010 with volumes 1 & 2, featuring live performances in their entirety. Volume 3 is expected in early 2012.
Their fourth, and most critically acclaimed album, Handguns, made its debut on Billboard's Bluegrass Charts at #3 in October 2011, and has spent the subsequent 5 weeks on the chart.
Live performance is central to Greensky Bluegrass’ presence in today’s eclectic acoustic scene. Touring extensively since 2005, Greensky has developed great versatility in the performance arena, earning audiences nationwide. The mixing of original compositions with traditional bluegrass numbers gives the band a broad spectrum in which to display their technical chops, vocal abilities, and lyrical insight. A spirit of improvisation remains evident in live shows, which contributes to an ever-growing population of returning fans and show traders.
On-stage collaborations have paired the boys with Railroad Earth
, The Hackensaw Boys
, Bill Kreutzman & Papa Mali
, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge
, and Steppin’ In It. The band has also shared bills with influential acts including Ralph Stanley
, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Quartet, Yonder Mountain String Band
, Sam Bush Band, New Monsoon
, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
, Keller Williams
, Hot Buttered Rum
, Vince Herman
, The Mammals
, Jeremiah Birnbaum
and The Ramblers, The Avett Brothers
, Darrell Scott
, King Wilkie
, David Grisman Quintet
and more.
From left to right:
Career
Formed in the fall of 2000 by Michael Arlen Bont (banjo), Dave Bruzza (guitar), and Paul Hoffman (mandolin), Greensky has undergone a musical evolution as unique as the music it has produced. As newcomers to the bluegrass scene, the three sought to define themselves within the framework of their bluegrass favorites while establishing a voice of their own, drawing upon an array of influences and varied musical backgrounds. This voice first became evident in their May 2004 release of Less than Supper, recorded with bassist Chris Carr and dobro player Al Bates. Both Bates and Carr left the band shortly thereafter, and in the fall of the same year, Greensky Bluegrass welcomed bassist Michael Devol.In the early summer of 2006 the band were winners of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Telluride Bluegrass Festival is held annually in Telluride, Colorado by . Although traditionally the festival focuses on bluegrass music, it often features music from a variety of genres. In 1974, its first year, it attracted 1000 participants. Currently the festival's attendance is capped at 10,000...
Band Competition, earning them a spot on the main stage of the 2007 festival. Soon thereafter they released their second studio album, Tuesday Letter. This project, produced by Tim Carbone of Railroad Earth
Railroad Earth
Railroad Earth is a roots and Americana-based newgrass band from Stillwater, New Jersey. Their name was borrowed from the Jack Kerouac short story "October in the Railroad Earth," to which the band also has a song by the same name...
, has proven a milestone in the quartet's growth as musicians and increasing exposure to a national community.
In November 2007 the band released its first live recording Live At Bell's
Live At Bell's
Live At Bell's is the third release from the winners of the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition, Greensky Bluegrass. Recorded in the summer of 2007 at their home base of Bell's Brewery, this album is the first...
, documenting two shows at Bell's Brewery in their hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Just over a month later Greensky Bluegrass added Anders Beck of Wayword Sons to the line up, replacing Al Bates on dobro. His playing is adding great depth to their existing material and opening many doors to new songs. In August 2008 the band released their third studio recording Five Interstates, also produced by Railroad Earth
Railroad Earth
Railroad Earth is a roots and Americana-based newgrass band from Stillwater, New Jersey. Their name was borrowed from the Jack Kerouac short story "October in the Railroad Earth," to which the band also has a song by the same name...
violinist Tim Carbone.
A live series, All Access was released in 2010 with volumes 1 & 2, featuring live performances in their entirety. Volume 3 is expected in early 2012.
Their fourth, and most critically acclaimed album, Handguns, made its debut on Billboard's Bluegrass Charts at #3 in October 2011, and has spent the subsequent 5 weeks on the chart.
Live performance is central to Greensky Bluegrass’ presence in today’s eclectic acoustic scene. Touring extensively since 2005, Greensky has developed great versatility in the performance arena, earning audiences nationwide. The mixing of original compositions with traditional bluegrass numbers gives the band a broad spectrum in which to display their technical chops, vocal abilities, and lyrical insight. A spirit of improvisation remains evident in live shows, which contributes to an ever-growing population of returning fans and show traders.
On-stage collaborations have paired the boys with Railroad Earth
Railroad Earth
Railroad Earth is a roots and Americana-based newgrass band from Stillwater, New Jersey. Their name was borrowed from the Jack Kerouac short story "October in the Railroad Earth," to which the band also has a song by the same name...
, The Hackensaw Boys
The Hackensaw Boys
The Hackensaw Boys are an Americana band from Charlottesville, Virginia inspired by punk, bluegrass, and old-time music. They formed as a quartet consisting of Tom Peloso, David Sickmen, Rob Bullington, and Robbie St. Ours in the fall of 1999...
, Bill Kreutzman & Papa Mali
Papa Mali
Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne is an American slide guitarist, singer, and songwriter who grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, and is based in Austin, Texas....
, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge
Natural Bridge
Natural bridge or Natural Bridge can refer to several things:*Natural arch, a land formation sometimes referred to as a natural bridge*Natural Bridge, Alabama*Natural Bridge, New York...
, and Steppin’ In It. The band has also shared bills with influential acts including Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Ralph Stanley , also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley, is an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing.-Biography:...
, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Quartet, Yonder Mountain String Band
Yonder Mountain String Band
The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Jeff Austin, Ben Kaufmann, and Adam Aijala, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings to date.- History :The band's history stretches back to...
, Sam Bush Band, New Monsoon
New Monsoon
New Monsoon is at its core a rock jam band that is based in the San Francisco, CA area that was founded in 1998 by Penn State classmates Bo Carper and Jeff Miller.-History:...
, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is a primarily instrumental group from the United States, that draws equally on bluegrass, fusion and jazz, sometimes dubbed "blu-bop". The band formed in 1988, initially to perform once on the PBS series Lonesome Pine Specials. The Flecktones have toured extensively...
, Keller Williams
Keller Williams
Keller Williams is an American musician from Fredericksburg, Virginia, who began performing in the early 1990s. He is also known by the names K-Dub or just Keller, when performing. Williams' music combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, and...
, Hot Buttered Rum
Hot Buttered Rum (band)
Hot Buttered Rum is an American five-piece progressive bluegrass act based in the San Francisco Bay Area....
, Vince Herman
Vince Herman
Vince Herman is a guitarist and singer best known for being one of the founding members of Leftover Salmon. Leftover Salmon started in 1989 as somewhat of a melding of the Left Hand String Band and the Salmonheads, and became more and more popular over the sixteen years that followed...
, The Mammals
The Mammals
The Mammals are a contemporary folk rock band based in the Hudson Valley, area of New York, in the United States.Current band members are Michael J. Merenda, Jr., Chris Merenda, Ruth Ungar, Jacob Silver and Tao Rodríguez-Seeger.- Band history :...
, Jeremiah Birnbaum
Jeremiah Birnbaum
Jeremiah Birnbaum is a singer/songwriter falling mostly in the Americana vein; in press his music has also been described as a combination of folk, blues, country, and compared to such artists as Sheryl Crow, Mark Kozelek, John Mayer, Johnny Cash, Jim Croce and Van Morrison...
and The Ramblers, The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers
The Avett Brothers is a folk rock band from Mount Pleasant, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett and Seth Avett, who play the banjo and guitar respectively, and Bob Crawford who plays the stand-up bass. Joe Kwon, cello, and Jacob Edwards, drums, are touring members of...
, Darrell Scott
Darrell Scott
James Darrell Scott known as Darrell Scott , the son of musician Wayne Scott with whom he has collaborated, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana. He was playing professionally by his teens in Southern California, later living in...
, King Wilkie
King Wilkie
King Wilkie is an American music group formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2002 by Reid Burgess and Ted Pitney. While their early sound was commonly filed under bluegrass, the group has continually defied expectations, drawing from other influences, such as folk and Americana music...
, David Grisman Quintet
David Grisman Quintet
David Grisman Quintet is a self-styled alternative bluegrass/ acoustic jazz band founded by David Grisman in 1975 in San Francisco, California, USA. Following the Bill Monroe's bluegrass legacy and Django Reinhard's 30s swing, the David Grisman Quintet comes with entirely new style to the acoustic...
and more.
Band members
- Anders Beck - dobro
- Michael Arlen Bont - banjo/vocals
- Paul Hoffman - mandolin/vocals
- Mike Devol - bass/vocals
- David Bruzza - guitar/vocals
Discography
| Title | Album details | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| US Bluegrass | ||
| Less Than Supper |
|
— |
| Tuesday Letter |
|
— |
| Live at Bell's Live At Bell's Live At Bell's is the third release from the winners of the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition, Greensky Bluegrass. Recorded in the summer of 2007 at their home base of Bell's Brewery, this album is the first... |
|
— |
| Five Interstates |
|
— |
| All Access Vol. 1 |
|
— |
| All Access Vol. 2 |
|
— |
| Handguns |
|
3 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||