Marking its 100th year in existence, the Mishawaka Amphitheatre opened its doors on the 2016 season, as they have done in hears past, with Head For The Hills. This was the 12th time that local bluegrass legends Head For The Hills have had that honor.

This night at The Mish had a festive feel with a full supporting lineup consisting of Fort Collins favorites Blue Grama and Leftover Salmon’s Andy Thorn leading a Pickin’ On Phish set with the members of DeadPhish Orchestra. The show was a sellout, which is never a bad way to start the season for owner Dani Grant and company.

The weather had threatened to dump rain all day long, and just before the first opener, we were engulfed in a light mist that soon dissipated. The house DJ started playing “No Rain” to scare away the weather goblins. It seemed to work. Blue Grama Bluegrass came to the famed stage with a version of The Steep Canyon Rangers’, “No Where To Lay Low.”

Blue Grama may in fact be your grandmother’s bluegrass. This is a band steeped in the traditions of Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe. They had an old-fashioned approach as evident in songs like “Rough Edges.” The band complete with Stetson hats featured some impeccable harmonization and solid picking throughout their set. They closed with a stunning “Miner’s Woe.”

The evening began to cool as the skies cleared. The deer that had dotted the hillside were long gone, but the lights from the stage continued flicker. Up next was Andy Thorn performing a Pickin’ On Phish set with the DeadPhish Orchestra. They opened up with a plucky “AC/DC Bag.”

This performance was focused on grassy reinterpretations of classic Phish songs rather than straight covers. Mr. Thorn was all smiles as he added his unmatched picking skills into the mix. Each member took a turn singing with “Back On The Train” working as an early climax. After a funky “Wolfman’s Brother,” the band proceeded with an unreal “Possum” that included a jawdroppingly good solo from Thorn. The “Tube” sandwich was a nice indulgence. The Pickin’ On Phish set ended with a perfectly timed “Rift.”

Listen to the full audio below, courtesy of Eric Wilkens:

Head For The Hills has now performed approximately 60 shows with new mandolinist Sam Parks and his chops on his first night opening up The Mish were spot on. The snow flurries began to swirl under the lights as the band started rocking. Head For The Hills put their epic harmonization on display early with “One Foot In The Grave.”

Head For The Hills is known for tossing in intricately composed instrumentals throughout their sets, and “Floodwaters” was the first of the evening. The dark and brooding “Suit & Tie” was a nice juxtaposition from the hot jazz stylings of the instrumental “Tipsy Gypsy.” Sloppy Joe kept the party going with an gritty “Scrap Metal” before the band tipped their collective hat to Merle Haggard with an appropriate “Mama Tried.”  “Potions and Poisons” was another highlight in a jam-packed first set. They brought out Andy Thorn to close it out with Earl Scruggs’ “Ground Speed” and a ridiculous version of the Peter Rowan classic “High Lonesome Sound.”

The second set was equally impressive as the fans huddled together to stay warm. One by one people trickled off to find a bus or a bar tab, but the diehards stayed until the last note. They opened up with an original instrumental, “Japan” before segueing into “Let It Ride.” They invited local legend and former roadie for the Grateful Dead, Boots Jaffree for a trio of songs ending with a smoking version of “Fire On The Mountain.” Bassist Matt Loewen lead fans through a bouncy “Lover’s Scorn” before their now classic segue into “High On A Mountain Top.” Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” was a huge second set highlight. They closed it down with a rowdy “Goin’ Down” that got everyone dancing away the cold. They returned to encore with the instrumental “Solar Bowling Shoes” followed by a spectacular “My Angelie.”

To the great people of Colorado, Head For The Hills is our Greensky Bluegrass, they are our Infamous Stringdusters. Despite their extensive skills and relentless touring, they have yet to catch fire like the two aforementioned bands, who are both headlining at Red Rocks this summer. If you dig solid bluegrass check out Head For The Hills, it would be impossible to be disappointed.

Check out a majority of the show’s audio below, courtesy of Eric Wilkens.

 

Happy Birthday Mishawaka, here’s to another 100 years of amazing music in the Rocky Mountains.

Setlist: Blue Grama Bluegrass at Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Bellvue, CO – 5/14/16

Set 1: No Where to Lay Low, Lonesome, Cold Colorado Wind, Rough Edges, Bullet Train, Caleb Meyer, Love Of The Mountains, Blue Dream Highway 305, Miner’s Woe

Setlist: DeadPhish Orchestra at Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Bellvue, CO – 5/14/16

Set 1: AC/DC Bag, Axilla, Back On The Train, Genseng Sullivan, Wolfman’s Brother, Possum, Tube> First Tube> Tube, Scent Of A Mule, Rift

Setlist: Head For The Hills at Mishawaka Amphitheatre, Bellvue, CO – 5/14/16

Set 1: One Foot in The Grave, Time To Spare, Floodwaters, Afraid Of the Dark, Suit & Tie, Tipsy Gypsy, Scrap Metal, Sit and Whittle, Mama Tried> Wild Horse, Telling Me Lies, Potions and Poisons, Light The Way, Bucker, Ground Speed*, High Lonesome Sound*  

Set 2: Japanese Cowboy> Let It Ride, Darlin’ Corey**, Big Mon**, Fire On The Mountain**, East Tennessee Blues, Bitter Black Coffee, Lover’s Scorn> High On A Mountain Top, PBM, Never Does, Take Me Back, Kodachrome, High Road, Columbus Stockade, Just Dropped In, Goin’ Down

Encore: Solar Bowling Shoes, My Angelie

*w/ Andy Thorn
**w/Boots Jaffree

Note: Mishawaka Amphitheatre is a gem. If you haven’t made the trek it is worth every single mile. Magic happens in that canyon most weekends throughout the summer. 

A full gallery of Nicholas Stock‘s photos can be seen below: