Beloved bluegrass-americana band Greensky Bluegrass is set to release their new album XXV on October 31—the exact date of their 25th Anniversary. The LP will be released via Big Blue Zoo Records/Thirty Tigers. Today the band unveils their new single “Reverend” featuring bluegrass superstar and Grammy-Award winner Billy Strings; watch the official lyric video HERE, Listen HERE.
“We’ve called on some dear friends to breathe a touch of new life into some classic Greensky songs for your listening pleasure,” says dobroist Anders Beck. “We’ve reinvented the sounds of some of our (dare I say) ‘hits’ because after a quarter century of Greensky Bluegrass, with plenty of new music on the horizon, we believe it's worth celebrating what the five of us have created together… and we want you to have a damn good time listening to it.”
“This is quintessential Greensky to me,” says the band’s Paul Hoffman of the single. “When we were about to record ‘five interstates,’ our producer and long-time friend, Tim Carbone, told me he thought there was one more important song missing. Something I still needed to write. Shortly after, I spent a night talking songs with a Michigan musician named Seth Bernard, affectionately referred to as ‘the reverend’. He uses his music for community and activism… the next morning this song kind of fell out of me.”
Hoffman continues, “Keeping the song in its Michigan roots, we asked Billy to play and sing on this. I love the way he relates to this song and how he participates when he performs with us. His love for our band has always been generous, so why not have a quintessential Greensky fan participate on the quintessential song?”
Greensky Bluegrass started at an impromptu show in 2000 in Kalamazoo, Michigan and have developed into a marquee live act and staple in the progressive bluegrass space. XXV brings together many friends and collaborators of the band throughout their 25-year run — Sam Bush, Billy Strings, Lindsay Lou, Nathaniel Rateliff, Aoife O’Donovan, Holly Bowling and more. Each of these special guests represent chapters of the band’s continued journey.
The group is on the road for a host of headline and festival dates across North America, continuing their landmark 25th year. Stops include Charlotte, Milwaukee, Miami Beach, Jacksonville and Madison, as well as the band’s 20th performance at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, plus two special hometown anniversary shows at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, MI on October 31 and November 1. See HERE for tickets and additional information.
For over two decades, progressive bluegrass band Greensky Bluegrass—Anders Beck (dobro), Michael Arlen Bont (banjo), Dave Bruzza (guitar), Mike Devol (upright bass), and Paul Hoffman (mandolin)—have become known for their dynamic live performances and extensive touring schedule. With music reflecting their own lives and collective experiences, their songwriting stays true to traditional bluegrass. The band’s die-hard fans travel in droves across the country and pack multiple-night show runs at iconic venues like Red Rocks and The Ryman.
XXV TRACK LIST
1. Can’t Stop Now (feat. Sam Bush)
2. In Control (feat. Lindsay Lou)
3. Reverend (feat. Billy Strings)
4. Broken Highways
5. Old Barns
6. Last Winter in the Copper Country (feat. Holly Bowling)
7. Past My Prime (feat. Nathaniel Rateliff)
8. 33443
9. What You Need (feat. Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman)
10. Who is Frederico? (feat. Jason Hann)
11. Lose My Way (feat. Aoife O’Donovan and Ivan Neville)
12. Windshield (feat. Holly Bowling)
13. Drink Up and Go Home
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS TOUR DATES
July 31—Happy Valley, OR—Pickathon
August 1—Bend, OR—Century Center*
August 2—Seattle, WA—Oodalalee – Concerts at Pier 62
August 3—Kaslo, BC—Kaslo Jazz, Etc.
August 9—Alta, WY—Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival
August 15—Park City, UT—Park City Song Summit
August 20—Toronto, CA—The Mod Club
August 21—Detroit, MI—The Fillmore
August 22 —Interlochen, MI—Kresge Auditorium
August 23—Interlochen, MI—Kresge Auditorium
September 13—Morrison, CO—Red Rocks Amphitheatre†
September 18—Utica, NY—Saranac Brewery
September 19—North Adams, MA—FreshGrass Music Festival
September 20—Annapolis, MD—Annapolis Baygrass Festival
September 21—Camden, NJ—XPoNential Music Festival
October 2—Harrisburg, PA—XL Live
October 3—Raleigh, NC—Red Hat Amphitheatre^
October 4—Aiken, SC—Southern Strings Festival
October 5—Oxford, MS—Lyric Oxford
October 7—Tuscaloosa, AL—Bama Theatre
October 9—Eureka Springs, AR—Hillberry Music Festival
October 10—St. Louis, MO—Pageant
October 11—St. Paul, MN—Palace Theatre
October 12—Milwaukee, WI—Aurora Pavilion
October 29—Des Moines, IA—Hoyt Sherman Place
October 30—Madison, WI—The Sylvee
October 31—Kalamazoo, MI—Wing’s Event Center
November 1—Kalamazoo, MI—Wing’s Event Center
November 4—Cleveland, OH—Globe Iron
November 6—Roanoke, VA—Jefferson Center
November 7—Charlotte, NC—The Fillmore
November 8—Charleston, SC—Charleston Music Hall
November 9—Jacksonville, FL—FIVE
November 12—Cocoa, FL—Cocoa Riverfront Park
November 13—Clearwater, FL—The BayCare Sound
November 14—Jupiter, FL—The Abacoa Amphitheater
November 15—Miami Beach, FL—Miami Beach Bandshell
December 11-15—Puerto Morelos, QR—Strings & Sol
*with River Whyless
†with Margo Price
^with JJ Grey & Mofro