Greensky Bluegrass has released “Monument”, the first single from the quintet’s forthcoming eighth studio offering, Stress Dreams, due out on January 21st via Thirty Tigers. Stress Dreams will mark the first new studio album for Greensky Bluegrass since All For Money, released in January 2019.
When touring ceased in 2020 in the face of the pandemic, the band hunkered down and compiled demos from their respective lockdowns, sharing emails and voice notes. In July 2020, Anders Beck (dobro), Paul Hoffman (mandolin/vocals), Dave Bruzza (guitar/vocals), Mike Devol (upright bass/vocals), and Michael Arlen Bont (banjo) got together for the first time in four months, dedicating rehearsals to the development of the new material.
Once circumstances safely permitted, they recorded what would become Stress Dreams during a session in Guilford, VT and two sessions in Asheville, NC with producer Dominic John Davis and engineer Glenn Brown, aiming to preserve the hallmarks of their sound while widening its scope.
While the song’s lead vocals are handled by Paul Hoffman, “Monument” is the first-ever Greensky Bluegrass track to feature lyrics by dobro player Anders Beck. As Beck notes, “I enlisted the help of my buddy, [Nashville songwriter] Chris Gelbuda, to help turn a bunch of ideas that I had had into my first lyrical venture for Greensky.”
“Monument” uses clever imagery to approach the mental trauma of the pandemic for touring musicians like Beck and Greensky Bluegrass (“You can build a castle that crumbles to a cave / Funny how a monument looks just like a grave”).
As Anders explains, “This song is essentially about what it was like to have my life, career, and world slammed to a halt by the Covid-19 pandemic. It was really emotionally shocking to have everything we’ve worked for and built ripped out of our hands almost overnight. With all of that in mind, we decided that the musical vibe of the song should take on the air of the first song that we would want to play when we get back on stage in front of thousands of people dancing and partying in a field at a festival… I think we got pretty close!”
Stream “Monument”, the new single from Greensky Bluegrass, on the platform of your choice here or listen via Spotify below. Pre-save your copy of Stress Dreams here
Greensky Bluegrass – “Monument”
Greensky Bluegrass will head to Hillberry Music Festival in Eureka Springs, AR this weekend to kick off a run of fall tour dates. Click below for a full list of upcoming shows and head to the band’s website here for more information and ticketing details.