Newgrass legend Sam Bush’s latest album, Circles Around Me, hit store shelves last month and he’ll be taking it on the road next year.
In the meantime, he took a few minutes to talk with us about the record, his amazing career and of course, baseball.
As one of the founding fathers of Newgrass, Sam Bush has inspired generations of musicians and won numerous awards and honors including Grammys and honors from the Americana Music Association and the International Bluegrass Music Association.
His latest record, Circles Around Me, is a continuation of the musical style and skillful playing that earned him the moniker of “King” both at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and of the musical style he pioneered.
The crowned queen of Telluride, Ms. Emmylou Harris, took the stage for the fourth time in as many days for her own set on the final night of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
With her band, the Red Dirt Boys, she ran through an hour and ten minutes of music, focusing on material from her “brunette days” and from her latest album, All I Intended to Be.
In a set that seemed custom-made for the festival environment, the King of Telluride, Sam Bush, played his 36th Telluride Bluegrass Festival during the Satruday-evening time slot.
He joked that he was lucky to be only 38-years-old and playing his 36th festival and that he had known “about this gig for weeks.”
He told some stories about ‘Stringbean’ Akeman, his first time at Telluride and the formation of New Grass Revival and being told by Bill Monroe to stick with the fiddle instead of the mandolin. He declared he was left “verklempt” twice by his guests.
Nominations for the 8th Annual Americana Awards were announced last week and Buddy Miller seems to be the hands-down darling this year with a nomination in every category besides the “new & emerging artist.”
The award show, scheduled on Sept. 17 will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale and will feature a band led by, who else, Buddy Miller.
After what seems like forever, the 36th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival is only a month away. And we’re so excited we can hardly stand it.
Honestly, we turn into giddy little children every time we think about it.
And why are we jumping up and down? It has a lot to do with the fact that there’s just nothing quite like the atmosphere in Telluride’s Town Park during the four days of the bluegrass festival.
What a hilarious gentleman. Lyle Lovett’s new release It’s Not Big, It’s Large (of course referring to his Large Band) makes me smile just thinking about it.
Guests like Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck and Guy Clark are everywhere, when you’re Lyle, you can get anyone to play on your album.
Of course, not to take away from his band which includes Russ Kunkel, Gene Elders and Mitch Watkins.
Bonnie came out about thirty minutes late because the band before her played late. She burst out on the stage, very energetic and she praised the previous band (Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, Tim O’Brien, Bryan Sutton) and said she couldn’t believe that she had to follow them. She said it was nice to be back and “You’ve had the bluegrass now we’ve got the blues! Let’s rock out!”
She started with Help Me Lord and did a cute little dance during the break and it was much slower than on the album. She admitted it was a little scary to be in Telluride but she was glad to be here.
She then said, “Now we’re gonna sing some songs from Souls Alike, this one’s from Souls Alike!” She did Two Lights In The Nighttime and added the best voice break to the first chorus, last ‘do’.
More…
