Holly Bowling has shared full-show audio of her performance at the Diana Wortham Theatre in Asheville, NC from September 27th of last year.
The Ghost Light keyboardist put on another one of her solo concerts where she interprets the works of jam giants including Phish and the Grateful Dead in the form of unaccompanied, grand piano compositions. The show began with the soft-touch of “Lost Sailor”, which segued into the delicate “Train Song”. After those first few minutes of easy, almost-lullaby jams, Bowling really kicked things off with “Free” which would roll straight into the upbeat “Cassidy”. Bowling slowed things down again with “Sand”, which transitioned back into the raucous “Free”. Next came the musical highlight of the evening when Bowling played her transcription of “Eyes of the World” from the Dead’s concert on June 18th, 1974 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY. The show would go on to be immortalized on the Road Trips Vol. 3 archival release. Finally, the set closed out on a whisper rather than a roar with “China Doll”.
As Bowling returned to the stage, she opened the second frame with the prelude and part one of “Weather Report Suite”, a highly unconventional move as the Dead themselves shelved the song’s first two movements upon returning to the stage in 1976. The song segued into its eternal partner “Let It Grow”, which saw extended improvisation as Bowling neared the 20 minute mark, before segueing into a palette-cleansing “Frankie Says”. After “Frankie Says” came a delightfully-explorative “The Wheel”, leading into a surprising run through “About to Run” from the then-recent Ghosts of the Forest release. Following “About to Run”, Bowling lead a tender rendition of “Morning Dew” to close out the second set. Upon returning to the stage, Bowling gave one last push of energy with the slow build of “Piper” which led into a reprise of “The Wheel”, then finally flowing straight into “Saint of Circumstance” to end the evening.
Full-show audio of the evening is available on Bowling’s internet archive page, and the concert was taped by none-other than her husband Jeffrey Bowling.
Holly Bowling – Diana Wortham Theatre – 9/27/19 – Full-Show Audio
Holly Bowling’s next solo date is tomorrow, March 12th when she plays at The Triple Door in Seattle, WA, followed the next night by a gig at The Old Church in Portland, OR. The Old Church holds special significance as it was where Bowling recorded her most recent live album, Live at the Old Church, which was released last year. After those two shows, she returns to the road with Ghost Light, beginning with a show at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg, FL on March 18th. For tickets and a full list of tour dates, head to her website.
Setlist: Holly Bowling | Diana Wortham Theatre | Asheville, NC | 9/27/19Â
Set one: Lost Sailor (Grateful Dead)Â > Train Song (Phish), Free (Phish) > Cassidy (Grateful Dead), Sand (Phish) > Free (Phish), Eyes of the World (Grateful Dead) (6/18/1974) > China Doll (Grateful Dead)
Set two: Weather Report Suite (Grateful Dead) (Prelude & Part 1) > Let it Grow (Grateful Dead) > Frankie Says (Phish) > The Wheel (Grateful Dead) > About to Run (Trey Anastasio) > Let it Grow (Grateful Dead) > Morning Dew (Bonnie Dobson)
Encore: Piper (Phish) > The Wheel (Grateful Dead) > Saint of Circumstance (Grateful Dead)