This is a collaboration I’d want to see more of.
One of Bluegrass’ famed groups, Greensky Bluegrass, took the stage at Red Rocks over the weekend, marking ten years the group has filled the venue with phenomenal bluegrass.
Sierra Ferrell joined the bill for one of the nights, and Greensky had her join them on stage for a few tunes. One of which was Ferrell’s most recent collaboration with Zach Bryan for “Holy Roller.”
Dare I say….this song makes a near-perfect bluegrass track.
The original track features light acoustic melodies, letting the focal point be the harmonies between Bryan and Ferrell.
As bluegrass often focuses on multipart harmonies, the two voices harmonize throughout the song, hits the nail on the head for a traditional sound, and the soft acoustic melodies are given a little edge from the bluegrass picking style.
With the upright base holding the tempo, the addition of the banjo, steel guitar, and mandolin gives the track depth.
While Zach and Bryan’s version of the song has a whimsical feel, with Greensky Bluegrass as the band, it has a little more grit from the quick-stop strums on all their string instruments.
I love the reimagination of this song; check it out.
And of course, the original with Zach Bryan:
