Andy Greensky Bluegrass took to Red Rocks Amphitheatre for its 12th annual two-night run at the iconic venue on Friday and Saturday, September 13th and 14th. Night one saw soulful openers The California Honeydrops, while night two featured harrowed fun-bringers Andy Frasco & the U.N. A common thread through both evenings was the piano stylings of Holly Bowling who was on hand the entire weekend, beefing up the band’s lineup to its 6reensky configuration.
As anticipatory energy blanketed the sacred acreage in Morrison, CO, the doors opened with a wonderful show announcement by way of free koozies on the way into the venue. Some of the most notable practitioners of jamgrass at the turn of the 21st century, the five-piece comrades will ring in the new year at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on December 30th and 31st.
As the 70 rows began filling with beaming folks ready to tackle night two, the perfect weather was a decidedly warm welcome for the crowd. Good-timing rockers Andy Frasco & the U.N. took the red sandstone stage at 7 p.m., wearing their rambunctious and infectious energy on their sleeves.
Opening with “The Walk”, guitarist Shawn Eckels wasted no time letting his true rock star shine as he played on top of Andy Frasco’s (very durable) piano. The self-diagnosed optimistic-depressed person delivered “Try Not To Die”, a love song written to himself that will be on the new album. He also let the audience know that the band just got signed to their first major record label.
The rowdy crew catapulted through a sweet rendition of “Love, Come Down” and unreleased “Ugly On You”—an ode to Andy’s pop-punk upbringing. Next up was arguably the highest highlight of the set when Frasco called over Holly Bowling’s son from the side stage during “Slampiece”. The future rock star ripped his toy guitar as Eckels paired his shredding with the kid’s for a truly heartwarming moment. The band brought out Denver’s Isaac Teel (TAUK) for some epic double drummer action with Andee “Beats” Avila, all the while Floyd Kellogg kept the low-end thumping.
The set’s spirits lifted even higher with a guest appearance from Lyle Divinsky for a duet cover of The Clash’s “Train in Vain.” The fro’d ringleader then opted for some crowd interaction by directing them to run “to the right, to the left” and then to “put arms around each other and attempt the famous Rockettes’ kicks.” The set dove into Frasco’s heartfelt tune “Somedays”, written and dedicated to his mother who was watching the livestream as she battles leukemia. Anyone who feels feelings deeply or has experienced associations with cancer was surely touched to the core by that one.
To end the 65-minute show, the band played “Dancin’ Around My Grave”, with Andee Avila’s chops on full display during the Kanika Moore vocal segment. Another new banger “God at a Festival” left the stage ablaze before Greensky took the reins.
The devout followers of the forward-thinking, rock-centric bluegrass band erupted as the group graced the stage, joined by the incredible Holly Bowling for another well-rounded night of soul-wrenching musical escapades. Before diving into the breakdown of the evening, props must be given to the real star of the show (along with the entire crew), Andrew Lincoln on lights. The curated production was a gorgeous fusion of light, color, and nature that will be hard to top.
As a crescendo of dots surrounded the picturesque setting, the band launched into set one with an emotionally driven “Past My Prime”, followed by relatable number
“Do Harm” which showcased mini solos from mandolinist Paul Hoffman, banjoist Michael Bont, and Bowling. A brooding and beautifully dark “It’s Not Mine Anymore” began with an instrumental conversation between guitarist Dave Bruzza and dobroist Anders Beck before it entered a psychedelic portal of pure, rock-laden jamming.
The men and their queen held no bars as they entered ferociously into Appalachian standard “Reuben’s Train”, with Anders leading the way and Mike Devol steadily keeping the pace on the upright bass. As the almost nine-minute version of this famous song came to an unwavering close by way of Holly’s finger magic, Hoffman let the audience know “That’s Holly making all those weird noises. I love weird noises.”
Greensky Bluegrass, Holly Bowling — “Reuben’s Train” (Traditional) — 9/14/24
“Worry for You” was served up next and ended with Holly conjuring her magic with an extended outro solo that took every witness into a multi-dimensional psychosis beyond the physical realm. As Holly received deserved extra applause, she walked to the center of the stage and looked up. It was only then that many realized the guys were pulling a trick of their own on the stage above the soundboard in the middle of the crowd. Similar to the move they pulled the previous night when Hoffman and Holly appeared in the same spot for a most endearing rendition of “Windshield”, Anders let the amphitheater know “We couldn’t let Paul and Holly have all the fun last night!”
The group rolled into treasured classic “Burn Them” and a bone-chilling “Bottle Dry”, before ending its intoxicating soundboard stint with a cover of Del McCoury Band’s “My Love Will Not Change”. Leaving everyone in attendance in a full-fledged frenzy for the intimate, three-song, soundstage special, the guys conducted one more magic trick as they disappeared one more time.
Greensky Bluegrass, Holly Bowling — “Burn Them” — 9/14/24
Holly slowly set the scene for “Leap Year” with her hauntingly ethereal playing as thousands of fans began to hear it coming, lightly chanting the remembered notes “Oooh, oooh, oooh.” A few minutes in, all six were on stage as Hoffman jumped right into the GSBG staple as it bled into a mind-bending six strings symphony between Bruzza and Anders to cap off set one.
A short 20-minute break later, the sonic brothers (and sister) opened up set two with an otherworldly cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Feel Like a Stranger”. With such a way of conveying extremely emotional messages with their unique and intricate musicality, the six players quite literally jumped (in unison) to the beloved “Demons” before showcasing “Distracted” from their recently released album with Holly, The Iceland Sessions.
“Murder of Crows” demonstrated the band’s stylistic ability to morph bluegrass into full-on rock and roll before Greensky welcomed Andy Frasco and friends to the limelight to turn the place into a two-step hall for the next five minutes. As Andy professed his lifelong dream to become a Jewish country star, the entirety of the stage broke into a twangy affair with a cover of Garth Brook’s “Friends in Low Places”. During the set, Andy Frasco smacked his lips on both Greensky Bluegrass’ Anders and Hoffman, leaving the stage as Anders proclaimed “He’s not big on social graces, folks.”
Greensky Bluegrass, Holly Bowling, Andy Frasco & The U.N. — “Friends In Low Places” (Garth Brooks) — 9/14/24
[Video: Max Berde]
Deep into hour four of the night’s festivities, Greensky graciously delivered “Reasons to Stay” and REO Speedwagon‘s “Roll with the Changes”. With Holly strongly planted at the helm, “Solstice” from The Iceland Sessions catapulted the energy and proved a reminder of the changing of seasons that is quickly coming. The unended song transitioned into a truly sweet performance of another deep digger, “Living Over”, before “Solstice” was wrapped up with a bow and dedicated to long-time fan Jill DeNinno in honor of her 200th show. As the night came to a bittersweet end, the guys finished with “Grow Together”, a song completely appropriate for the beautiful moment as another Greensky Red Rocks came to a close.
Greensky Bluegrass, Holly Bowling — “Reasons To Stay” > “Roll With The Changes” (REO Speedwagon) — 9/14/24
[Video: Max Berde]
Check out a gallery of images from Greensky Bluegrass and Andy Frasco at Red Rocks Amphitheatre courtesy of photographer Kit Tincher. The band’s tour continues on Wednesday in Wilmington, NC. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on Greensky’s website. Listen to soundboard audio and tune in for subscriber-exclusive livestreams on nugs.net. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
Greensky Bluegrass — “Bottle Dry” — 9/14/24
[Video: Max Berde]
Greensky Bluegrass — “My Love Will Not Change” (Del McCoury Band) — 9/14/24
[Video: Max Berde]
Greensky Bluegrass, Holly Bowling — “Living Over” > “Solstice” — 9/14/24
[Video: Max Berde]
Setlist: Greensky Bluegrass | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO | 9/14/24
Set One: Past My Prime, Do Harm, It’s Not Mine Anymore > Rueben’s Train (Traditional), Worry for You [1], Burn Them [2] [3], Bottle Dry [2], My Love Will Not Change (Del McCoury Band) [2], Leap Year [4]
Set Two: Feel Like a Stranger (Grateful Dead, Demons, Distracted, Murder of Crows, Friends in Low Places (Garth Brooks) [5] [6], Reasons to Stay, Roll With the Changes (REO Speedwagon), Solstice [7] > Living Over > Solstice
Encore: Grow Together
[1] – all band members leave stage leaving just Holly to play extended outro solo
[2] – Greensky plays on stage on top of soundboard
[3] – w/ Keith Kinnear (tambourine)
[4] – Holly plays extended solo intro from stage with Windshield teases as band members head back to stage
[5] – w/ Andy Frasco, Shawn Eckels, Ernie Chang, Andee Avila
[6] – FTP
[7] – Dedicated to Jill DeNinno’s 200th show
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