Greensky Bluegrass left Bell’s Brewery ringing last night as they brought a three-night run in Kalamazoo, MI to a close last night, June 6th. 

The night started with an opening performance from the Joshua Davis Trio. It is no surprise that Davis was chosen to support Greensky: his music is steeped in ragtime blues, sweet jazz and real country. It’s music that comes from the same well traveled, old country rambler’s soul as Greensky’s, and the crowd dug into every bluesy lick for the entire set.

Fresh off of the eighth season of the primetime talent competition show “The Voice,” Traverse City, MI-native Davis’ own excitement for Greensky was evident as he joked about ending his set early so they could start sooner. The buzz around Bell’s was what Greensky could be up to, especially after mandolinist Paul Hoffman joked last night that the band was fresh out of material for the third night of their three-night run.

As it turns out, Hoffman, along with guitarist David Bruzza, could be found feeding the rumor between acts pouring beers and posing for candid cell phone pictures for fans. Bell’s Brewery, a nationally acclaimed brew house renowned for their in-house special brews and one-offs, has a beer named “All Four,” after the Greensky song of the same name. It is a beer they only offer when Greensky Bluegrass is in town.

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By the time Greensky played their beer’s title track in the first set, people in the crowd were throwing their hips to match the magical swing of Anders Beck’s dobro. The 20-minute version got the crowd going, and the show never lost a moment of steam from that point on.

In the middle of the first set, the band teased the Grateful Dead’s “The Other One” on multiple occasions, literally playing with the crowds emotions. After getting shut out of their Dear Jerry performance at the last minute, anticipation for a “The Other One > Eyes Of The World” segue grew exponentially over the weekend. Unfortunately, it was only a tease.

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The set ended similarly to the previous two nights, with a song about a train. For the last segment of the set, the band played the mammoth song “Kerosene” featuring a furious rendition of The Dillards’ “Reuben’s Train” sandwiched in the middle.

The beginning of the second set was very bittersweet before the music began, as it signaled the end of a truly magical three-night run. There were no stops left, and this train was a hard rolling home.

“Bring Out Your Dead” was like a battle call for fans in the crowd to grab their best friend off of the ground and revitalize them in bluegrass. “Middletown Mountains” rained fire on the crowd, “Burn[ed] Them,” before proceeding to “Handle Me With Care” as the crowd collectively went on a rollercoaster whirlwind of tunes.

The middle of the second set featured a huge breakout of the band’s own “The Reverend,” and a version of The Beatles’ “Glass Onion” sandwiched between two halves of a “Broke Mountain Breakdown.”

Just when the band seemed to shaking their bag of tricks upside down, they invited the Joshua Davis Trio to join them onstage for the final three songs, beginning with a performance of Davis’ own original “Delta 88.”

What happened next was arguably the highlight of the night, and perhaps the entire weekend.

It was a phenomenal 1-2 punch. A left-right combination knock-out to close the set with Davis and his band still on stage. Together the bands performed two amazing Paul Simon covers, including “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard” and “You Can Call Me Al.” 

 

Greensky brought back the Joshua Davis Trio for an encore, returning with a touching rendition of the Bob Dylan classic “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You.” With that, the three-day homecoming party drew to an appropriate close.

It is easy to understand why this band loves its hometown, and why Kalamazoo loves its bluegrass band. During Davis’ set in the beginning of the night, he asked the crowd who was from Kalamazoo. The crowd, at that point filling the first half of the grassy area in front of the stage, cheered enthusiastically. Again, they cheered when Davis asked who traveled from out of state to be present. At that moment, it was clear that Greensky Bluegrass and their Kalamazoo roots stretch far, run deep and have no end in site.

Setlist: Greensky Bluegrass at Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI, June 6th 2015

Set 1: For Sure Uh Huh, Blood Sucking F(r)iends, All Four, What’s Left of the Night, Bottle Dry > The Other One > Eat My Dust, Pig in a Pen, Wings for Wheels, Kerosene> Reuben’s Train > Kerosene

Set 2: Bring Out Your Dead, Middle Mountain Towns, Burn Them, Handle Me With Care, Reverend, Broke Mountain Breakdown, Delta 88*, Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard*, You Can Call Me Al*

Encore: Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You
* – w/ Joshua Davis Trio