Friday is going to be a huge day for legendary jamgrass group Greensky Bluegrass.
With this weekend marking their 25th year as a band, the Kalamazoo, MI formed band is revisiting some of their most popular tracks and recording some new ones as they release their aptly titled new record XXV on Friday, which includes some star studded features from artists like Billy Strings, Sam Bush, and more. Moreover, they’ll be returning to Kalamazoo that evening for the first night of a two-night run back where it all started back in 2000.
The XXV record release and the Halloween shows this weekend will be full of nostalgia and excitement for both the band and their fans as well, so in an effort to reflect on a quarter century of jamgrass greatness from Greensky Bluegrass, I sent the band 25 questions related to the new album, the last 25 years, and what might be next.
Their responses are a bit lengthy but extremely insightful, so in an effort to keep the intro short, you can read more about the context behind the band’s anniversary and what they are doing to celebrate here. Otherwise, see below for 25 questions to celebrate 25 years of Greensky Bluegrass, with the band’s very own Paul Hoffman (mandolin) and Mike Devol (bass).
Hoffman and Devol are some of the best artists in the business, and the reverence with which they approach their craft is clear in their responses and reflections on their experiences thus far. It was a pleasure working with them to gains some more insight on the new album and their acclaimed careers, and I think all fans of country and bluegrass music will gain an even better appreciation for their music after hearing what they have to say.
So, without further ado, here we go…
1. How did the concept of XXV come together?
PH: “When we started talking about our 25th anniversary, I knew that I wanted to be careful about framing what we could do or should do rather than what we needed to do. Meaning, I wanted the project to look like an exercise in gratitude rather than the burden of coming up with some marketable celebration. So we talked about recording a greatest hits record. Which to us is funny, because in our minds, we don’t really have any hits. Kind of a self deprecating camaraderie. But the joke led to a conversation about re-recording songs and adding guests and working on new arrangements for old songs. Even when we started working on the project and booking studio time, we still didn’t really know what we were working towards. We just kept going until we had a bunch of songs recorded, and the project sort of revealed itself to us.”
MD: “Sort of as a joke – a ‘greatest hits’ album – as if we have any hits. The conversation turned into how we can honor our legacy and sort of breathe some new life into some of our older material. Collaboration is a big part of what we do, so certain songs lent themselves to this. Other songs have changed so drastically over time, and we felt like they were due for another go in the studio.”
2.You all have released so many classics over the years that could have made it onto this album. How did you all hone in on the tracklist?
MD: “Certain songs have been begging for a revamp – ‘Broken Highways’ was originally recorded without Anders and is now just SO different than its original. Other songs have sort of taken on a new life in collaboration with our friends, and we thought that deserved the studio treatment.”
PH: “We focused pretty heavily on stuff that we thought we could elevate. Unintentionally the older material kind of takes center stage in this idea because songs we just recorded were hard to ‘improve upon.’ One of these old songs, ‘Broken Highways,’ was recorded before Anders [Beck] was even in the band.”
3. Which song was the most fun to revisit and why?
MD: “I had a great time recording ‘Who is Frederico?’ It’s a song that we’ve never taken seriously, and when we recorded it, we still weren’t even sure we intended for it to land on the album. We approached it with a certain playfulness that I think comes through on the track, and Jason Hann’s percussion really elevates it. It’s a party!”
PH: “I came away from all the songs with a great sense of satisfaction .From reworking ‘Lose My Way,’ I’m really pleased with the way both of the guest contributions elevated the song. The way we breathe new life into the old recording, to me, is just evidence of how timeless the material is to our band and our ethos. Therein lies the moral and the purpose of the whole project and it revealed that itself to me in such an organic way.”
4. Which song was the most challenging to revisit and why?
MD: “‘Windshield’ – because I didn’t get to play. Joking, sort of. None of it felt especially challenging. We’ve been playing most of this material for a long time, and it was cool to reapproach it as a better bass player, a better musician, a better band.”
5. How do these new, revisited versions of older songs represent Greensky’s evolution as a band since the original releases?
MD: “I think a lot of what Greensky has become is evident in our live shows. We have felt like our studio recordings are a snapshot of a moment in time. We make decisions that become sort of the “official” version of a song, but then they continue to develop on stage. We listen and react differently now. We have an evolved tool kit in a way, and that can be heard in the way we have reapproached older material.”
PH: “It’s really powerful to me how timeless some of this old material feels. While this project is by definition nostalgic, recording some of these old songs doesn’t feel off base with who we are now.”
6. When you’re reworking these older songs for XXV, what was the gameplan as far as pushing the boundaries vs. honoring the original?
MD: “Our rule has always been to ‘serve the song.’ No choices have been made for the sake of being simply new or different, but instead, we’ve let these songs slowly evolve over time. I think the changes are subtle, and no choice was made rashly or haphazardly.”
PH: “As I mentioned, we chose stuff that had a path to elevating it in someway or experimenting with it. Things that we still play like we recorded 15 years ago, we kind of stayed away from. And we also didn’t just pick songs that we play longer improvised versions of live. I think we figured that process of expanding upon the idea in the live setting has already been exploited enough. So a song like ‘Old Barns’ that we regularly play differently than we recorded it, was a perfect example of a song to recapture.”
7. Is there anything on the album that longtime fans will catch on XXV that newer fans might miss but should know?
MD: “‘33443’ and ‘Who is Frederico?’ are both longtime live tunes but previously unrecorded.”
PH: “Neat question. It’s fun to think about the nuances and minutia that really makes art a collaborative experience between the creator and the observer. I changed two lyrics, both gender things. ‘Old Barns’ is written about my friend’s father, so the lyrics of the song are about raising a boy. I now have a daughter, and often sing ‘this girl I raise,’ so I changed it in the recording. A similar gender lyric in ‘Windshield’ used to be, ‘there’s nothing for the woman left to take from the man’ and I change the word ‘take’ to ‘give.’”
8. XXV is full of high profile features from artists you all have collaborated with frequently over the years. How did you all decide who would feature on what song?
PH: “We love making music with friends and regularly have guests on stage, so this was an overwhelmingly exciting prospect to make a record with guests. We wanted to honor collaborations that are important to the band’s narrative with people like Lindsay Lou, Billy Strings and Holly Bowling, who are close to the band and regularly have collaborated over the years. But we also wanted to use the record as an opportunity to invite some creative play with newer friends that we haven’t collaborated with and much live like Nathaniel Rateliff or Ivan Neville.”
MD: “It seemed clear to us in several cases: Sam Bush on Newgrass Revival’s ‘Can’t Stop Know.’ Holly [Bowling] on ‘Windshield.’ Lindsay [Lou] on ‘In Control.’ Others took some more brainstorming. We looked to the character of the songs and asked ourselves what addition would elevate the music in a natural way. We’ve had the great opportunity to work with so many great musicians over the years and tried to get creative in how to bring many of them onto this project in a way that felt both refreshing and also musically very natural- again, to ‘serve the song.’”
9. XXV will drop as you all start your two night Halloween run in Kalamazoo, where it all began. I can only imagine that the magnitude of these shows will be palpable. What is on your mind headed into this run?
MD: “It’s just been a hell of a run. At some point, Greensky has become a band with a legacy- a legacy that was born in Kalamazoo. While we are nowhere close to stopping, it’s just really cool to have the opportunity to revisit our beginnings. Kalamazoo harbored us and supported us for years while we honed our sound and wrote our first original songs, and it is where we really dug in and served our first really devoted fanbase. We’ve since gone on to bring what we built there to the rest of the world, but Kalamazoo has always been – and always will be – the home of the band. It’s just pretty amazing that we get to celebrate in such a momentous way right where it all began. Well, a hockey arena instead of a basement, but Kalamazoo all the same.”
PH: “I’m just so grateful, obviously, that we’ve survived this long and we continue to enjoy the process. It’s also extremely exciting to me to have it all come together in a way that just makes so much sense. We have this project and we are in our hometown on the very day 25 years later. It’s pretty cool.”
10. What’s one thing your younger selves would be most proud of about where you are now but could never have imagined 25 years ago.
MD: “We are still friends. Being in a band for so long is really an accomplishment, and while of course there are dynamics to any long-term partnership, at the end of the day, we are friends. We still enjoy each other’s company, and we still really push each other artistically. We’re very lucky to share the love that we do. And we’re the same band!! quite literally. So many bands go through personnel changes that really affect the music and the ethos, and we’ve been so lucky to all have stayed together this long without big changes like that.”
PH: “Funny – That we are STILL doing the same thing! Not to say we haven’t grown or matured, but who we are looks pretty similar to where we started. To me, that is a testament of us remaining true to our values and our creative voice. We remained authentic and somehow achieved what feels like success.”
11. If each of you had to pick one year in Greensky history to time travel back to, which year would it be and why?
PH: “Love this question. Cool. In 2015ish, we were rising to success in a long list of venues we had been playing for a while. We were playing a lot of shows, and the energy was exciting. There were some wild and crazy moments I don’t really care to live again, but man, that excitement! The risk! The adventure!”
MD: “Do you get to be the age you were in the year you choose? That matters. I’d sorta like to relive 2007. We toured so crazily then and just didn’t need ANYthing. We camped and slept on couches. We were big in Kalamazoo and nowhere else. Just growing our fanbase in Colorado. There was just a palpable hunger, and it felt like we were out there hustling to take over the world one bar gig at a time. We were dreaming big, and everything was a possibility. I would never survive 2007 as a 44yo. That’s why I asked. I’d have to be 26 again.”
12. What is the craziest place you have played a show?
PH: “Japan – maybe not crazy, but I couldn’t have imagined that we were going to rock a stage closing set to an audience in a foreign country that we don’t even speak the language in.”
13. You’ve played just about every type of venue and in every city at this point. What’s the most underrated venue or town for live music in the country?
MD: “Ya know, I feel like we’ve played some real bangers in Des Moines. Not exactly a notable music city, but they get down, and we’ve had a few sort of legendary midweek rowdy shows that really stick out to me.”
PH: “Man, I think about this all the time. We had a lot of really great times in Pittsburgh over the years. I’m not sure its ’hallmark’ music city but our friends ran a venue called the Rex Theatre that I loved playing. We played it a lot and it usually was a light crowd but we were always experimenting there and giving it our all.”
14. Is there any particular show or tour you all can point back to where you started to believe you had finally ‘made it’ as a bad?
PH: “When we won the [Telluride Bluegrass Festival] band contest in 2006, I remember thinking this was worth investing in. In 2009, I quit my day job. In recent years, I’ve been really drawing this pride that we ‘made it’ from the people we have been able to include, employ and elevate with our community.”
MD: “Winter Tour 2019. Finally landed in all the big rooms on the East Coast we had been aiming for for years. Like really legitimate huge, beautiful theatres, and packing them out. We had Circles Around The Sun opening for part of that run shortly before we lost the great Neal Casal. It was just such a big, powerful tour, and I found myself thinking “wow, look what we’ve built”. Not to mention big shows at Red Rocks before that, but Colorado- and Red Rocks- always felt like a bit of a bubble. There are just so many music fans there.”
15. You have played thousands of shows together. is there an on stage moment that instantly comes to mind when you think of ‘peak Greensky?’
MD: “Some of our days touring with Billy Strings come to mind. We were kind of the kings of jamgrass in a way- although that sounds a little arrogant. But we were playing big rooms to big crowds, and the heir apparent was out supporting us. I didn’t realize then, but I see now the way we were kind of passing the torch. Billy would go on to take jamgrass to a truly then-inconceivable amount of people. But on those nights, we had all that magic in one room. We designed these huge interplay collaboration jams with members of his and our bands coming and going from the stage, and the results were just HUGE jamgrass moments. I’m not sure if Greensky was peaking then, but it felt like the whole genre was. Such enormous energy that I’ll never forget.”
PH: “Gosh. Definitely there are these moments and yet it seems so difficult to nail it down. My mind kind of drifts to moments in certain songs that can feel very euphoric because places and times feel big and daunting. The song ‘Reverend,’ for example, (which is included on XXV) has a lyric that transports me every time I hear is there love enough to save and will it find us out here.’ Peak Greensky for me is when we are just in the moment and everyone is engaged and into it because we are all just participating. Free of judgement, fear and expectation.”
16. Jamgrass has evolved a lot over the years. You all pioneered a modern jam grass movement, and 25 years later, still remain as one of the scene’s most prominent and important acts. What has been the key to the band’s longevity?
PH: “Thank you for the compliment here. I think what we do has worked for us because it’s authentic, and we are constantly striving to make music that we enjoy. While we’re constantly looking for new challenges and new boundaries to go beyond, we also still enjoy the roots of the journey. The place we started is still sacred to us so I think on a nightly basis we can take the stage and celebrate who we are AND how we got here.”
MD: “We’ve had to (gotten to) really just be ourselves. We were never Nashville polish. We’re not Phish or the Grateful Dead. We’re not Leftover Salmon. Or Yonder [Mountain String Band]. or Billy. We write how we write, we jam how we jam, and that’s all evolved over time, but we’ve always been honest with ourselves and authentic in our music. It’s not like we somehow chose to be authentic. I think we just valued the music we were making enough to allow ourselves to make it without trying to be something or another. At some point, we decided that we didn’t need to “genre” ourselves – that we were Greensky, and that was enough. I’m glad our fans agreed.”
17. Moreover, the band’s lineup has remained unchanged since 2007. After 18 years together, what do you think is the biggest advantage of that kind of stability and shared experience?
MD: “Mutual respect. And love. Being in a successful band is a head trip, and a tenuous and delicate relationship. It’s your art, your dream, your job, your social life. It’s really all-consuming in a lot of ways. And then when you boil it all down, we are people. With hearts and minds and families, and a life outside of Greensky. Balance has always been a challenge with our ambitious touring schedule, but I think Greensky has done a good job of honoring the human and adapting to everyone’s changing needs, both personally and professionally.”
PH: “The real testament to our longevity to me is the growth that we’ve experienced together and supported each other through. So, while we have remained committed to each other, and Greensky has been a constant in our life, we have not been stagnant. Our creative vision has evolved together and always accommodated everyone’s desires. If we all haven’t shared the same goals at times, we honored each other and pursued things to support each other.”
18. What is one thing you still argue about on tour – even after 25 years?
PH: “I just kind of touched on this. We are rolling on the same track. I think that constant is honoring each others’ creative ideas. We all agree that we all care about this. We all want it to be our best. Being aligned on valuing each other is a beautiful commitment to an ‘us’ that is healthy.”
19. What is a dream collaboration you haven’t done yet but is on the bucket list?
PH: “The idea of working with an electronic music producer or some kind or DJ to use our recorded music as an instrument. That’s kind of how I view that process, like pull the hooks out in the vocal courses and put them back together in different ways with different beats or with sounds from other music. I think I’ve got a taste of this hearing other artists cover our music from time to time, but in my imagination, there’s a next step where the music we make can be a tool in someone else’s repertoire.”
MD: “I just want Trey [Anastasio] to rip a ‘Don’t Lie’ solo.”
20. A lot of bands in the scene seem to have their own festival these days. if you could design the ultimate Greensky themed festival, what’s it called and who’s on the line up?
PH: “We took a soirée into this for a few years, and we also cohost or collaborate in the production of a few different festivals over the years. I think we take a lot of pride in being the curator of an experience with our own show and we also love music so much that the opportunity to present other bands has always been a calling that we’ve answered. We’ve taken our friends out on tour with us to open our shows with the main incentive of exposing our fans to something we think is great. Music festivals are absolutely a fun format for this kind of sharing. I think too because we have such an eclectic taste in music that might not be obvious to our listener. The idea of presenting other bands has always been fun to us because there might be some surprises and things we think are cool.
MD: “I just want to go back to Fuji Rock.”
21. What would be your advice for an up and coming band looking to follow in your footsteps?
MD: “Be true to yourselves. Sounds cheesy, but authenticity is so key. Nobody wants to watch a band try to be another band. and focus on songs. No jam- no matter how sick- can carry the weight of a mediocre song (although many jam bands have seemingly disproven this for decades).”
PH: “Boundaries!!! Ha. I’m not kidding. I’ve always tried to achieve success by harnessing a relentless dedication to the things I love. Creativity, performance, music. etc. While I am proud of where I am and the path that led here, I value the balance more. Maybe that’s maturity. Maybe it’s success. Still, my advice is: Don’t let the destination distract the goal of enjoying the process and journey. Cherishing the grueling van tour is what makes the bus happen.”
22. If you had to describe the past 25 years using lyrics from one Greensky song, which song would it be?
MD: “‘Don’t underdo it, put your whole self entirely into it.’ – ‘Who is Frederico?’”
23. If you could say one thing to the fans that have been with you since the beginning, and one thing to those that are just discovering your music with XXV, what would your message be?
PH: “This project feels like it represents our band in such an authentic way, with tested staples from our career and some relevant songs that we cover. When we make a new album, we are trying to create more space for our art, sort of expand the view, so the new music might represent the whole of who we are. I hope the new fan and the loyal companion fan alike can enjoy this perspective on who Greensky Bluegrass is.”
MD: “Thank you so much.”
24. 25 years down. What does the next chapter for Greensky Bluegrass have in store?
MD: “We’re writing for a new studio album and will continue to bring our live show to the people!! We make music. That’s what we do, and we’re not planning to stop.”
PH: “I’m sure there’s more rules we can break and more boundaries we can redefine.”
25. What do you hope Greensky Bluegrass will be remembered for 25 years from now?
MD: “All of the friendships that were born out of our music and our concerts. Our fans have built such a community amongst themselves, and that is something that far outreaches the power of our albums or shows, in my opinion. I hope that the people who have been on tour with us look back and remember how fun it was when we were all together, celebrating music and celebrating each other. Friendships. Losses. Love. Family. Growth. The human stuff. It’s an honor to be here for it.”
PH: “The simple answer rings true here. For our music. We really loved making it. That’s why we have continued to make it for 25 years and continue to add new music to the catalog. I believe art is how I can challenge the idea that life is not permanent. Maybe the impact of art can ripple through time in a way that defies life and makes it all eternal. Grandiose? Maybe a little, but it rewards me to find beauty there.”
What a career it has been for Greensky Bluegrass so far, and it sounds like they have plenty of exciting songs and shows already in the works to keep the momentum rolling for the next 25. truly impressive stuff that deserves to be celebrated.
If you’ve made it this far, go ahead and check out the tracklist for their forthcoming record XXV, and make sure to give the whole project a listen when it drops this Friday.
Here’s a few already-released songs from the upcoming album:
“In Control” ft. Lindsay Lou
“Reverend” ft. Billy Strings
“Windshield” ft. Holly Bowling
Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, Greensky Bluegrass has a ton of shows scheduled for the next few months.
If you want to get the full experience, you need to get out there and hear these songs live. There is no better way to experience the Greensky Bluegrass phenomenon.
Greensky Bluegrass Tour Dates
10/30 – The Sylvee – Madison, WI
10/31 – Wings Event Center – Kalamazoo, MI
11/1 – Wings Event Center – Kalamazoo, MI
11/4 – Globe Iron – Cleveland, OH
11/6 – Jefferson Center Shaftman Performance Hall – Roanoke, VA
11/7 – The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC
11/8 – Charleston Music Hall – Charleston, SC
11/9 – FIVE – Jacksonville, FL
11/12 – Cocoa Riverfront Park – Cocoa, FL
11/13 – The BayCare Sound – Clearwater, FL
11/14 – Abacoa Amphitheater – Jupiter, FL
11/15 – Miami Beach bandshell – Miami Beach, FL
12/11-12/15 – Strings & Sol – Puerto Morelos, QR
4/16 – Greenfield Lake Amphitheater – Wilmington, NC
4/17 – Asheville Yards Amphitheater – Asheville, NC
4/18 – Shell Daze Music Festival – Memphis, TN
4/19 – The Majestic – Fort Smith, AR
4/22 – The Hall – Little Rock, AR
4/23 – Tipitina’s – New Orleans, LA
4/24-4/25 – The Caverns – Pelham, TN
