Greensky Bluegrass opened up a three-night Colorado run last night, with a sold-out show at Denver, CO’s Ogden Theatre. Last night’s intimate performance comes ahead of a two-night Red Rocks Amphitheatre run, with the California Honeydrops performing the opening duties tonight, and the colorful funk-outfit, Turkuaz, opening up the show tomorrow night. Greensky Bluegrass has been on a recent tear, sitting in with Willie Nelson, traveling to Japan to play the infamous Fuji Rock Fest, and destroying America coast-to-coast.

With Michael Arlen Bont’s opening lick on the banjo, Greensky opened set one with “Cold Feet”, with Dave Bruzza sounding strong on vocals. Hinting at the snow coming and winter approaching, Greensky moved into another cold-themed song of the evening, “Last Winter In Copper Country”, followed by “New Rize Hill”. Cranking the tempo up, the GSBG boys were heated up and sounded locked-in, as Bont, Bruzza, Paul Hoffman, and Anders Beck passed off solos down the line.

“Can’t Make Time” led to a meaty segment of the set, with Greensky sandwiching “Ballad Of John and Yoko”, in the middle of “Don’t Lie”, with “Ballad Of John And Yoko” teases sprinkled throughout the entirety of the delectable treat. With barely a chance to catch their breaths, the five-piece laid down a heartfelt “Room Without A Roof”, with Bruzza once again dazzling the capacity crowd with his sweet, country-laced vocals. The Greensky Bluegrass boys closed set one with a sped-up cover of Bob Marley’s “Small Axe”, starting off their three-night Colorado run with tenacity and a more-than receptive crowd.

Following a brief set break, Greensky came back out for the second set, opening with the Hoffman led “No Idea”. Having fun with their “hometown” crowd, Hoffman made a lyrics change from, “We’re going down on someone else’s dime” to “We’re going down on Bill Devol’s dime”. With Hoffman continuing to take lead on vocals, the band worked through “Less Than Supper and “Train Junkie”, with a tease of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” twisted into the latter.

Moving forward, “Better Off” was next, with a rowdy Hoffman hooting and hollering out of the chorus, paving the path for Bruzza to rip up some serious pickin’ work on the acoustic guitar. Greensky’s way of interacting with their crowd seems so fluid and natural, with the band and the crowd’s energy melting into one. Slowing down their sometimes unstoppable speed, Hoffman led through “Forget Everything”, with Beck laying down a heartfelt solo on the dobro, before Hoffman brought it all back together on vocals.

Speeding things back up, Hoffman continued the lead on vocals through “Tied Down”, before Bont kicked off the opening lick to “Doin’ My Time”. Bruzza stepped up to the mic, sustaining his lyrics for an extended period, with a rowdy Ogden Theatre crowd cheering him on. “Doin’ My Time” led to “Exuberance”, before appropriately ending the set with a cover of Duran Duran’s 1982 hit, “Hungry Like The Wolf”. GSBG was playing like a hungry pack of wolves last night, and if the Ogden opener is any indication of what the rest of the weekend may bring, fans traveling from near and far should buckle up for a special two-night Red Rocks run with the kings of jamgrass.

Greensky Bluegrass came back out for their encore, offering up “Dustbowl Overtures” that fetaured a badass “Top Gun Theme” tease, from the hit 1986 Tom Cruise movie, before smoothly transitioning into a cover of Bill Monroe’s “Wheel Hoss”.

Greensky Bluegrass | Ogden Theatre | Denver, CO | 9/21/2018

[Audio: rockymtnryan]

Greensky Bluegrass heads to Red Rocks Amphitheatre tonight, with nugs.tv offering up an option for fans to webcast from home.

For more information on Greensky’s upcoming dates and ticketing information, head to the band’s website.

Setlist: Greensky Bluegrass | Ogden Theatre | Denver, CO | 9/21/2018

Set One: Cold Feet, Last Winter In Copper Country, New Rize Hill, Can’t Make Time, Don’t Lie (1) > Ballad Of John and Yoko > Don’t Lie (1) Room Without A Roof, Small Axe (2)

Set Two: No Idea (3), Less than Supper, Train Junkie (4), Better Off, Forget Everything, Tied Down, Doin’ My Time > Exuberance > Hungry Like The Wolf

Encore:  Dustbowl Overtures (5) > Wheel Hoss

(1) – Ballad of John and Yoko tease
(2) – Lyric change “these are the words of my Maxter”
(3) – Lyric change “going down on Bill Devol’s dime”
(4) – Space Oddity tease
(5) – Top Gun Theme tease

Greensky Bluegrass Upcoming Tour Dates

9/22 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre %
9/23 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre @
9/26 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown *
9/27 – Des Moines, IA – Brenton Skating Plaza *
9/28 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre *
9/29 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater *
9/30 – Columbia, MO – Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival
10/2 – Fort Wayne, IN – The Clyde Theatre
10/4 – Asheville, NC – Salvage Station
10/5 – Arrington, VA – The Festy Experience
10/6 – Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre
10/7 – Stratton Mountain, VT – Stratton Mountain Resort
10/31 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre #
11/1 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre #
11/2 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox #
11/3 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox #
11/7 – Crystal Bay, NV – The Crystal Bay Club/Crown Room #
11/8 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre #
11/9 – San Diego, CA – Observatory North Park #
11/10 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre #
11/12 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren #
11/14 – Oklahoma City, OK – The Jones Assembly #
11/15 – Houston, TX – House of Blues #
11/16 – Austin, TX – Stubbs BBQ #
11/23 – Kalamazoo, MI – Kalamazoo State Theatre
11/24 – Kalamazoo, MI – Kalamazoo State Theatre
11/17 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater #
12/7 – 12/11 – Puerto Morelos, Mexico – Strings & Sol
12/28 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theatre
12/29 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theatre
12/30 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theatre
12/31 – Chicago, IL – The Riviera Theatre

% – with The California Honeydrops
@ – with Turkuaz
* – with Ghost Light
# – with The Lil Smokies

View All Tour Dates