Telluride Bluegrass: Greensky Bluegrass

Greensky Bluegrass is the world turned upside down. Winning the Telluride Bluegrass Festival band contest three years ago was a world-upside-down moment for this group. Telluride Bluegrass is no American Idol, but  the win in 2006 – after placing 5th in 2004 – put the founders squarely on the jamgrass radar. They were invited back for an encore in 2007 and wound up playing a sold out nightgrass show.

Greensky is getting to be something of a habit. The group was invited back to Telluride Bluegrass by Festival directors Craig Ferguson and Steve Szymanski for a third time to headline the Saturday night show at the Sheridan Opera House.

Greensky is decidedly not your granddaddy’s bluegrass: the new timey band was formed in 2000 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a healthy distance from the Blue Ridge mountains. The current formation, less than one year old, consists of dobro player Anders Beck, banjo player Mike Bont, guitarist Dave Bruzza, bassist Mike Devol, and mandolin player Paul Hoffman.

Greensky’s style is a mix of classic folk, bluegrass, and country, with roots in traditional bluegrass.

Paul, Greensky’s mouthpiece, claims to be most comfortable surrounded by the Great Lakes, or by rivers, or near seas. Why in the world he is looking forward to being land-locked in a box canyon with the only available water in biodegradable bottles beats me. But to hear him tell it: “We can’t stop talking about all the ways we’re going to give it everything we’ve got.”