The Infamous Stringdusters are back with the third installment of their beloved Undercover tribute series, announcing the EP with a cover of Phish classic “Possum”. Undercover, Vol. 3 is out November 13th via Americana Vibes.
A staple of Dusters live sets, “Possum” is ironically Phish’s second-most played song but has never appeared on one of the band’s studio albums. The Infamous Stringdusters took it upon themselves to record a polished version of the Mike Gordon-sung song, bringing it all back around to Phish’s bluegrass phase in the mid-to-late ’90s.
“Possum” is an ideal candidate for a grassy translation, as the pulsating rhythm lends itself perfectly to the acoustic format. The Infamous Stringdusters aren’t afraid to wade into the deep end of improvisation either, as traditional bluegrass runs on acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, and mandolin give way to an ethereal breakdown before a triumphant reprise closes the track at a lean five-and-a-half minutes.
As is tradition on The Stringdusters’ Undercover series, each band member selects a song. Banjoist and vocalist Chris Pandolfi, who picked “Possum”, remarked, “We chose Phish’s ‘Possum’ because we love the song and we love the band. They’ve been a huge influence on me and are one of the bands that got me excited about music in the first place. They’ve been an influence on our whole jam and roots scene and pioneered a sound. While it has an obvious bluegrass sound, part of the reason it stuck for us was because we wanted to figure out our own arrangement and do our own thing with it—the jam section is the Stringdusters’ take on Phish and when it came time for our next ‘Undercover,’ this was an obvious choice.”
The six-track Undercover, Vol. 3 highlights The Infamous Stringdusters’ wide range of influences, from Grateful Dead and ZZ Top to Avicii and Harry Styles. This marks the first Undercover in seven years, following previous installments featuring tributes to the Allman Brothers Band, Daft Punk, Marvin Gaye, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, and more. Between Undercover volumes two and three, the band has released two original studio albums, a tribute to Bill Monroe, a Christmas album, and a slew of live releases. The band’s most recent album, Songs from the River, arrived back in May.
Hear The Infamous Stringdusters cover “Possum” by Phish below or on your preferred streaming platform and pre-order/pre-save Undercover, Vol. 3 here. Scroll down for the full tracklist and album artwork. The band has a string of festival appearances and headlining shows scheduled through the end of the year, leading up to a two-night New Year’s run at The National in Richmond, VA. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on their website.
Over the weekend, the band staged its second annual Infamous Weekend at Pop’s Farm in Martinsville, VA, home of Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival. In addition to six sets of The Infamous Stringdusters, the three-night camping festival included sets by Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, The Lil Smokies, The Last Revel, Dangermuffin, Jon Stickley Trio, and many more. Check out a gallery of images from The Infamous Weekend below courtesy of photographer Robert Love.
The Infamous Stringdusters — “Possum” (Phish)
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