Event

Greensky Bluegrass

The Riviera Theatre is proud to welcome Greensky Bluegrass, one of the most exciting bands in today's music scene! Like a breath of fresh air, this five piece band from Kalamazoo plays traditional bluegrass instruments and uses them to create original songs and soundscapes that are unique and new, yet somehow feel comfortable and familiar. Though they have been likened to 70's-era Americana acts like The Band, Greensky would prefer not to be compared to any other bands. "We really just try to make music as a group that sounds and feels right to us," says mandolin player Paul Hoffman, later adding that it is nice to know that other people really dig it, too.

While "green sky" is the opposite of "blue grass", the band insists that the name came about as more of a pun than a statement about their music. "Along with the tradition of bluegrass, we all have lots of different musical influences that we bring to the table," says guitar player Dave Bruzza, "and we somehow wanted to reflect that in our name." Upon witnessing the band's live shows, this statement seems to make a little more sense. On any given night, in addition to the myriad of excellent original songs, one might hear traditional bluegrass songs with an exploratory rock and roll jam or selections from the Talking Heads, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead or Bob Marley turned bluegrass. "We are as likely to play a three minute song as we are a ten minute song on any given night," says dobro player Anders Beck, "and I think that keeps it exciting for the audience." Perhaps this is the reason that Greensky Bluegrass is as equally embraced by the jam-band community as it is the bluegrass/Americana community and the band's fan base is growing so rapidly.