Greensky Bluegrass

The Iceland Sessions with Holly Bowling

Thirty Tigers

Handmade music this multifaceted, fearless, and inspiring, guarantees a listener’s immersion in the experience right along with the players—repeatedly. Greensky Bluegrass, out of Kalamazoo, Michigan 24 years ago, somehow manage to raise their own bar each time they record. Last summer, they took to a remote northern Iceland studio while visiting the island nation for their first-ever round of concerts there. Swathed in the green grass fields, twilight skies, and snow swept mountains, they cut these four songs, released now to coincide with the kickoff of their lengthy North American tour.

The Iceland Sessions with Holly Bowling features the quintet—dobro player Anders Beck, banjoist Michael Arlen Bont, guitarist Dave Bruzza, bassist Mike Devol, and mandolinist Paul Hoffman—collaborating with pianist Bowling, the San Francisco based sensation and frequent Greensky and Phil Lesh & Friends collaborator. Bowling makes quite a sparkling impact, offering Greensky opportunities that they took full advantage of. Each song presents a completely different, transcendent vibe. All are rooted in bluegrass but go off on journeys of deep thinking and virtuoso talent well outside that realm.

“Distracted” kicks the EP off in idiosyncratic fashion, the beat coming out of nowhere, right in line with the story of a strained relationship. “Feed me lines like an actress, I’m distracted,” they sing. The lyrics to all these songs are as intricately interwoven as the musical notes, in this case soaring in an instrumental break that culminates in a Bowling piano solo that probes for and realizes a cavalcade of expressiveness.

“Entirely Mine” rises imperially on gorgeous strings, a ballad of finding oneself, and being free to explore and enjoy. Bowling enters halfway in, playing notes of glistening encouragement.

“Solstice” then really gets out there, Greensky and Bowling whipping up a near-metal arrangement with hints of Pink Floyd and Weather Report peeking through the ever-changing melody. But as they push the envelope hard, it never tears, the six minutes of the song a solid rush of bluegrass-based improvisation and sentiment.

“Born Again” brings the experience home soulfully, the brilliance of bluegrass music and harmony singing converging and offering hope with an unusual twist. Here’s to hoping they recorded more than these four beauties in that stimulating environment and that a second volume of these magical Iceland Sessions with Holly Bowling will come to light.

Tom Clarke for MAS

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