While their choice of name originally started out as a play on words it’s actually far more telling about their music than they might have imagined. The bluegrass part we all get, with dobro, guitar, banjo, upright bass and mandolin it’s hard not to be a bluegrass band, but the Greensky part, well, let’s say that’s the other side of the coin, the open-ended part of their music that knows no bounds, just like the wide open sky. That’s why they are as likely to rip through a three minute tune as focused and steady rollin’ as a freight train or extend the jam into a ten minute excursion while working in elements of some of their personal favorites, be it Jimi Hendrix or Talking Heads. So, yes it’s bluegrass music, but it’s so much more…They’re masterful storytellers and pen some real fine ballads. They can also rock. Greensky are unquestionably a team of friends that traverse the country making music they enjoy. Since winning the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Contest, this quintet from Kalamazoo, Michigan has been touring constantly, playing over 170 shows a year, and all the hard work is certainly paying off. The boys have four albums to their credit, their most recent Handguns was released last year, and prior to that, Five Interstates, produced by Railroad Earth’s Tim Carbone.
