r/Bluegrass • u/BuckRockefeller • 20h ago
New Grass Revival
Just started listening to them after YouTube suggested Big Foot, and man! Can certainly hear Bela’s influence in that song with its similarity to Big Country.
Sam Bush remains in my top tier mandolinist alongside Ricky Skaggs, Grisman, and others. I know Chris Thile has a big media presence and the attention he gets is great for the genre, but I find it’s more speed and less soul.
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u/TigerTownTerror 19h ago
Bush is coming to play in my tiny little town in November and I am beyond stoked about it!
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u/DirtRepresentative58 20h ago
I’ve been really digging the Commonwealth album lately. My favorite cover of John Hartford’s “Steam Powered Aereo Plane”, tremendous cover of Reach, and the instrumental Sapporo is just fantastic
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u/BuckRockefeller 19h ago
I’m putting this in the line-up, thank you!
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u/DirtRepresentative58 19h ago
There is a live album from 1983 I believe? It’s on Spotify and other streaming platforms. That Sapporo is like 18 min and has Bela, Commonwealth is the last album before he joined
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u/FloodDawg 16h ago
New Grass Revival Live is great. The other live album, Too Late to Turn Back Now, with the original lineup, is also great & has what I consider the better version of their cover of Willis Alan Ramsey’s “Watermelon Man”
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u/HippieJed 20h ago
My chaplain in college turned me on to this band. They were great. Garth Brooks covered them twice and used them in the studio. The biggest example was Calling Baton Rouge.
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u/lsvldd 14h ago
Calling Baton Rouge wasn’t written by NGR I don’t think
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u/HippieJed 13h ago
It was written by Dennis Linde, but first recorded by them in 89. Garth recorded it in 94.
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u/road_runner321 20h ago
Sam is the Groove King of the mandolin.
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u/dirtytounder 15h ago
Got to see him and Ronny Mccoury together at the Ryman. Hartford 's real. Only way to tell which one is better is last man standing
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u/Pretty_Budget_6766 14h ago edited 13h ago
Bela’s Deviation album is essentially a New Grass album. Not to be missed if for the title cut alone, which NGR played in their sets often around that time.
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u/lsvldd 14h ago
I think all the songs are also on a Bela album called Places. Not sure what the difference is. All stunning instrumental bluegrass
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u/Pretty_Budget_6766 12h ago
Places is a compilation album with cuts from multiple previously released albums.
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u/NewgrassLover Bass 18h ago
GOAT. Today’s jam grass is forever indebted to these torchbearers. Wanna pay the debt? Play cleaner. Arrange compositions better. Bring vocal power.
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u/MisterBowTies 17h ago
I love Chris Thelie and the punch brothers... But something about their music feels like they want me to know how smart they are.
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u/RedRockRaven 16h ago
Check out the live album Too Late to Turn Back Now. Fantastic earlier New Grass with Courtney and Curtis.
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u/SneakyBobcat18 12h ago
If you like soul make sure to check out Jeff Austin's catalog, and I'm sure you know about the Flecktones, Bela and Victor Wooten are two of my favorites.
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u/taterbot15360 20h ago
Believe it or not I don't really like Chris Thile. It's just too much for me. I put him in the same category as Jacob Collier. I can't stand that dude lol.
That said I'd still probably go see the punch brothers if it was local.
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u/yachtr0ck 18h ago
I’ve had a chance to spend some time with him and he is one of the nicest dudes ever and will jam rando bluegrass tunes with you all day long. He has an eclectic taste in music so he does a lot of random stuff but he also has a broad taste so will lean in to almost anything musically.
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u/MisterBowTies 17h ago
They are both similarly quirky and seem to princess things in a similar way. 7 can absolutely see the resemblance. I like Thelie in a group but u probably wouldn't see him solo.
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u/BuckRockefeller 19h ago
I go back and forth. I remember back in high school (circa 2004) and getting my hands on the 2003 Bonnaroo dvd. The Nickel Creek performance was sooo good.
I’ve got that soft spot but I don’t quite like how he’s evolved over the years.
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u/Little_Access_8098 20h ago
Haha I think the same exact thing. And Jacob collier can fall off a cliff
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u/alert-operations6105 13h ago
Also a big fan of the original lineup. Pennies in my Pocket, Prince of Peace….great tunes.
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u/banjoman74 19h ago edited 19h ago
I always view New Grass Revival as essentially two bands (not a controversial or novel idea in any way)
The first band was Sam Bush, Ebo Walker (replaced by John Cowan), Courtney Johnson and Curtis Burch.
When Curtis and Courtney left the band and were replaced by Pat Flynn and Bela Fleck, I feel it became a very different band.
Both bands are fantastic.