Holly Bowling continues to wow fans everywhere she goes, taking on the catalogs of jam greats like Phish and the Grateful Dead in a totally unique manner. A classically trained pianist from San Francisco, Bowling first caught the jam scene’s eye with her solo piano interpretation of the famed “Tweezer” jam from Lake Tahoe in 2013.

Praise for Bowling’s technique only grew from there, as she eventually released a full album of Phish interpretations called Distillation Of A Dream. Naturally, Bowling set her sights on the jam scene founders themselves: the Grateful Dead.

“The Grateful Dead’s music lends itself easily to a solo instrumental interpretation in part because it’s music with intricate songwriting,” says Bowling. “That’s a big piece of it, as anything too repetitive would be difficult to arrange in this format. But more importantly, I think it works because of the depth of emotion expressed in the music.”

The pianist is set to release Better Left Unsung on December 9th, a two-CD/three-vinyl album that explores the music of the Grateful Dead in solo piano composition form. You can read all about the album, and find pre-orders, here.

With the new album coming out so soon, we wanted to get fans excited by sharing some of Bowling’s foray into the Dead’s catalog. We’re excited to premiere a brand new live video of Bowling’s interpretation of “Unbroken Chain,” played at the Lost Sierra Hoedown on September 24th in Johnsville, CA. Enjoy below!

Bowling takes us inside her love of the Grateful Dead and scoring their music. “With solo piano music, and classical music in general, I love the structures and intricacies of composition, but it’s the emotional expression and unspoken human-to-human connection expressed in it that really makes me fall in love with a piece of music. The Dead’s music is just full of that. I feel it. Everyone who loves the Dead’s music feels it. And I think part of the reason my reinterpretation works is because this music resonates with me and holds a lot of meaning. It’s easy to open up and make that connection and pour emotion into these works. And you can feel that when you’re listening. It’s all about connection and expression of human emotion.

I don’t mean to downplay the beautiful songwriting–that’s a huge part of it too. The chord changes in “Unbroken Chain,” for example, are unexpected and stunningly beautiful. I feel just as strongly about them as I do about Schubert’s surprise turns of harmony, and he’s one of my absolute favorite composers. They hit me the same way. But even then, we’re back to emotion again! It’s music that makes you feel something, deeply. It’s powerful.”

We can’t wait for Better Left Unsung to be released on December 9th, and we also can’t wait to see Holly performing at the upcoming Brooklyn Comes Alive festival on October 22nd. Brooklyn Comes Alive brings over 50 musicians to three venues in Brooklyn, pairing them in exciting super group formations throughout a day full of excellent music. With musicians from The String Cheese Incident, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, The Disco Biscuits, Dead & Company, Snarky Puppy and more – including Holly Bowling – don’t miss out. Tickets can be found here.

For more about the Better Left Unsung album, including pre-orders, head here. The full tracklisting and Holly Bowling’s upcoming tour dates can be seen below.

Better Left Unsung Tracklisting
Help On The Way > Slipknot!
Franklin’s Tower
Cassidy
Bird Song
Wharf Rat
Unbroken Chain
Crazy Fingers
Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One
Row Jimmy
Terrapin Station (Suite)
Eyes Of The World (6/18/74 Lousisville, KY)
China Doll
Dark Star

Holly Bowling’s Upcoming Tour Dates
Oct. 22 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Comes Alive
Oct. 23 – Beacon, NY – The Towne Crier
Dec. 31 – The Cutting Room – New York, NY

[Photo by Jessie Bell]