Featuring Aoife O’Donovan, Mr. Sun Plays Ellington Plays Tchaikovsky, and more, FreshGrass is proud to present a series of Commissions which includes FreshScores: Silent films with original live music! Stay tuned for more information about this year’s Commissions.
Michael Daves was born in 1977 in the southern empire of Atlanta, Georgia. Soon after, he began to make loud noises, so his loving parents put music instruments in front of him. It was a good plan. He grew up in that grand tradition of staying up late & singing real loud. Although he’s since … Continued
Sam Grisman’s goal in starting Sam Grisman Project is to build a platform for himself and his friends to showcase their genuine passion and appreciation for the legacy of David Grisman (Dawg) and Jerry Garcia’s music. By playing some of their beloved repertoire and sharing the original music that our own collective has to offer, … Continued
Mexico City’s Son Rompe Pera began performing at local events alongside their father when they were kids, accompanying him on the traditional Mexican marimba. Today, they are at the forefront of the contemporary international cumbia scene, as they take what they learned in their youth to new heights and push the marimba to its limits. … Continued
“…her right thumb plunks the bass part while her forefinger upstrokes notes and chords, leaving the other three fingers unused. A banjo technique, it’s also used by acoustic blues guitarists. Her fingers are long and strong – Robert Johnson hands – in jarring contrast to the waif they’re attached to. The walking bass line sounds … Continued
Since his earliest infatuations with guitar, Buffalo Nichols has asked himself the same question: How can I bring the blues of the past into the future? After cutting his teeth between a Baptist church and bars in Milwaukee, it was a globetrotting trip through West Africa and Europe during a creative down period that began … Continued
The new all-star roots project Mighty Poplar brings together some of the finest players of this generation, including Andrew Marlin of Watchhouse, Noam Pikelny and Chris Eldridge of Punch Brothers, and bassist Greg Garrison (Leftover Salmon). Harnessing the fierce and playful energy of an all-night jam between old friends who just happen to be grandmasters … Continued
Allison Russell, musician, poet, singer, songwriter, and activist (and co-founder of Our Native Daughters and Birds of Chicago) is an extraordinary artist of power, empathy, and grace. Outside Child, the Montreal native’s acclaimed debut solo LP, hailed around the world as one of 2021’s best and most essential new albums, is a heartbreaking reflection and … Continued
With six studio albums and almost 20 years under their belt, The Devil Makes Three (TDM3) breathes a slightly punk perspective into vintage American blues. Laced with elements of ragtime, country, folk, and rockabilly, the critically praised drummer-less trio brings forth a genuine approach to acoustic music that is deeply steeped in rhythm. Over the … Continued
Co-founder of the GRAMMY award-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops and a 2017 MacArthur grant winner, the singer/banjo player/fiddler Rhiannon Giddens masterfully blends American musical genres such as gospel, jazz, blues, and country, showcasing her extraordinary emotional range and dazzling vocal prowess. Giddens is back at the festival after her 2018 FreshGrass Composition Commission.
