Greensky Bluegrass on Wednesday returned to its home state of Michigan for a show at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. The band’s fourth trip to the outdoor amphitheater also served as its inaugural headlining appearance, drawing family, friends, and collaborators to the spot 50 miles north of the group’s Kalamazoo birthplace.
Greensky Bluegrass was clearly among friends on Wednesday, with the band bringing up internationally renowned mandolinist Brian Oberlin (Full Cord) in the first set. After chiming in on Greensky’s original “I’d Probably Kill You”, Oberlin squared off with mandolinist/vocalist Paul Hoffman as he helped introduce traditional bluegrass tunes “The Midnight Train” (Jim & Jesse) and “Head Over Heels” (Osborne Brothers) to the band’s catalog. The latter cover hit especially hard for mountain music fans, who just the day prior mourned the loss of mandolinist Bobby Osborne.
Greensky Bluegrass, Brian Oberlin – “Midnight Train” (Jim & Jesse) > “Head Over Heels” (Osborne Brothers) – 6/28/23
The easygoing nature of Wednesday’s show fully manifested itself during the encore, when Greensky Bluegrass performed “Let It Be” by audience request. The addition of the title track to The Beatles‘ final album marked the third and final Greensky Bluegrass debut of the evening.
Related: Grand Rapids Reveals Plans For New 17,000-Person Riverfront Amphitheater
Check out a gallery of images from Greensky Bluegrass in Grand Rapids courtesy of photographer Steve Baran. The band travels to Milwaukee, WI tonight, June 29th, for a set at Summerfest. For tickets and a full list of tour dates visit Greensky’s website. Greensky Bluegrass is featured on the latest edition of the L4LM Monthly Mix, a serialized playlist with a rotating theme—devoted this month to the backyard barbecue.
Setlist: Greensky Bluegrass | Frederik Meijer Gardens | Grand Rapids, MI | 6/28/23
Set One: Monument, Just to Lie > Bottle Dry, Courage for the Road, Murder of Crows, What You Need, I’d Probably Kill You [1], The Midnight Train (Jim & Jesse) [1] [2], Head Over Heels (Osborne Brothers) [1] [2], Burn Them
Set Two: Reverend, Leap Year, Forget Everything, Hit Parade of Love (Jimmy Martin), Fixin To Ruin, The Radio Blues, Screams, Worry for You, Grow Together
Encore: Let It Be (The Beatles) [2] [3]
[1] w/ Brian Oberlin (Mando, vocals)
[2] FTP
[3] Added by fan request