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A FEARLESS PERFORMER
KENTUCKIAN, NEWGRASS PIONEER AND BLUEGRASS HALL-OF-FAMER SAM BUSH CHATS ABOUT HIS EARLY DAYS IN LOUISVILLE AND HIS UPCOMING PERFORMANCE WITH THE LOUISVILLE ORCHESTRA
entucky artists, past and present, have made a habit of bubbling over into the global music scene in ways that shake up the status quo. One wouldn't need to look much further than current artists like Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, and Chris Stapleton, to see that in motion. K Upon further inspection, their Appalachian roots, particularly Bluegrass music influences, would be apparent, along with a certain fearlessness shared by these Kentuckians. Over five decades into his trailblazing musical journey, mandolin virtuoso, founder of the New Grass Revival, and longtime band leader, Sam Bush is still injecting that fearlessness into his performances.
Roughly 20 years before Sam Bush acquired his first mandolin as a child, another fearless Kentuckian was blazing a trail of his own with the mandolin. In the 1940s, Bill Monroe popularized a new kind of music that was rooted in traditional English, Scottish, and Irish ballads and dance tunes combined with African-American blues and jazz, gospel and close harmony vocals.
This new, radical flavor of music became known as Bluegrass, and it didn’t take too long for a traditionalist camp to form and claim a proprietary role among Bluegrassers. Like most art forms, as quickly as the ground rules were established, there were folks willing to break the Bluegrass mold and forge the path ahead. Ensembles like the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, The Country Gentlemen, and The Dillards are often cited as such, and it should come as no surprise that these artists had a profound influence on the young Sam Bush.
Moving to Louisville in 1970, shortly after graduating high school near Bowling Green, Ky, Bush quickly joined the Bluegrass Alliance, a band that was certainly primed to help mow down that progressive path forward.
“I went straight to Washington Street, where we played the Red Dog Saloon five or six nights a week, and it was just a thriving music scene down there.” Bush says. “It was a great scene in Louisville. I feel really fortunate that I got to come up. It just opened my eyes to a lot of music I’d never heard before.”
Sam Bush will perform live with the Louisville Orchestra on Saturday, November 7.
Sam Bush is a Some have even compared Bush to the great Bill Monroe, naming pioneer of Bluegrass music.
In no time, the 18-year-old Bush was joined in the group by a 19-year-old Tony Rice, now a legendary flatpicker and innovator on the acoustic guitar. Bush reminisced about wandering the town with Rice during their own set breaks to see other, more electrified Louisville bands like Dusty and NRBQ that were steeped in blues and rock influences.
“Right down the street from us is where I met a lifelong friend named Tim Krekel,” he says. It was the direct actions of Louisvillians, including Krekel, who introduced Bush to the music of the Allman Brothers, The Band, and the Byrds.
Armed with a newfound passion that exceeded the imaginary boundaries of traditional music, Bush and three of his bandmates struck out on their own, forming the New Grass Revival in 1972. Bush, Courtney Johnson (banjo), Curtis Burch Orchestra to deliver a virtual concert performance, streaming
(guitar, dobro), and Ebo Walker (bass) soon released their self-titled, debut album.
“It shook the bluegrass world up a little bit” Bush says about that first record, “You know, if a rock-and-roll audience saw us, they thought we were a Bluegrass band. If a Bluegrass audience heard us, they thought we were a rock band!” Bassist and vocal phenom John Cowan joined the band in 1974, with banjo guru
Bush and New Grass Revival often sported long hair and informal clothing, and included songs from a wide variety of musical genres. These continuous breaks with tradition were not always well received in Bluegrass circles. Nonetheless, they went on to enjoy a much broader audience and released 16 albums and collaborations over the years.
When asked about the band’s recent induction into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, Bush replied, “That’s the thing about the Revival. I can feel proud in knowing that we made the Bluegrass Hall of Fame doing it exactly like we wanted to. It’s a big deal for us, for New Grass Revival to have made the cut, so to speak.” Fast forward to 2020, and few contemporary figures associated with Bluegrass music have the ability to transcend divisions the way Bush does. Because of the longevity and relevance of his musical contributions, both with the Revival and leading the Sam Bush Band, he tends to be one of a small handful of artists who are recognized and revered by fans of all walks of life.
This reach includes much of the Bluegrass purist crowd, while continuing to thrive in more progressive scenes, earning the attention of a younger, broader Americana audience. him the “Father of Newgrass” and prompting this response: “If Bill was the father of Bluegrass, then I could be the mother because Monroe would say, ‘Here comes that mother now!’”
On Nov. 7, Sam Bush, along with his bandmate Stephen Mougin, will be teaming up with Teddy Abrams and the Louisville Béla Fleck and guitarist Pat Flynn being enlisted in 1981.
live from Paristown Hall.
At first glance, this sort of collaboration may seem like worlds colliding, but that’s exactly what fans have come to expect out of Bush.
“Man, I’m ready! I’m so ready to play,” Bush says. “Just to hear us with orchestrations for the sake of it is one thing, but the treatment that Teddy [Abrams] and arranger Nate Farrington are giving these songs, that’s something really interesting to me. Because we get to play with the orchestra, we actually get to call it a concert. Otherwise, we just play shows!”
Paired with the incredible breath of fresh air Abrams brings to the Louisville Orchestra, this virtual concert is bound to deliver a one-two punch, celebrating the American folk music tradition, and the diverse catalog of Sam Bush, a man who’s spent a lifetime turning that tradition on its head.
Get excited about Sam Bush's upcoming performance with the Louisville Orchestra by watching the previews below!
VIDEO: Sam Bushperforms "8 Miles to Louisville"
VIDEO: "Appalachian Spring"
SATURDAY, NOV. 7, 7:30 P.M. “Appalachian Spring” with Sam Bush COPLAND: Appalachian Spring Other selections with Sam Bush Sam Bush and the Louisville Orchestra LIVE on the LO Virtual Edition
The performance will be available on-demand Nov. 13-Dec. 27
A one-time view is available here for $30. The entire LO Virtual Edition is available here for $99 and gives access to the live-streamed events, unlimited views of the on-demand versions of all of the concerts, and a plethora of bonus material such as ensemble performances and interviews (including one with Teddy and Sam!).
VIDEO: Sam Bush invites you to stream the live concert on November 7.
All dates, programs, and artists are subject to change.
