Will JonesOn Friday, the Gertrude C. Ford Center hosted their first event of the new year, welcoming American music masters Sam Bush, Mike Marshall, Edgar Meyer and special guest George Meyer for a unique americana/bluegrass collaboration and performance.
“Good evening, music lovers!” said Bush — Grammy-winning mandolinist and one of the modern masters of the genre — as the quartet took center stage, garnering a very enthusiastic round of applause.
This enthusiasm, from both the musicians and the audience, remained consistent from beginning to end, as the group performed works from their revolutionary album “Short Trip Home,” with hits such as “If I Knew” and “BT,” as well as classical-era pieces and original compositions written specifically for this tour.
The quartet, led by Grammy-winning bassist Edgar Meyer, explored numerous variations, styles and tones, while providing brief insights into their own personal musical histories/collaborations, in addition to the history of the bluegrass genre as a whole.
Musician Bill Monroe — often described as “The Father of Bluegrass” — and the Bluegrass Boys, in particular, remains one of the core inspirations for the artists, with the quartet even performing various songs from their catalog during the show, namely “Tennessee Blues,” yet their individual and collective styles remain utterly distinctive and wholly infectious, where one cannot help but tap their feet along to the rhythms.
The quartet continued with variations on a number of their past hits, including Bush’s “Junior Heywood,” as well as more experimental work, specifically utilizing the mandolin, a highly underappreciated instrument, to draw upon Brazilian musical styles, creating a wondrous and thoughtful tapestry of differing genre influences through the course of the performance.
Following intermission, the quartet split in half, with Bush and Marshall performing together, and the Meyer father/son duo performing together, respectively. George Meyer, only recently having attended Juilliard for a master’s degree in violin, fit elegantly within the ensemble as he begins to chart his own distinct path in the musical world.
To conclude the show, the respective duos coalesced once more, performing back-to-back songs, with a violin trio beautifully accompanying and complimenting Edgar Meyer’s lead bass performance.
The event program read: “Collaborations are a central part of Mr. Meyer’s work.” The famed musician has performed with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma, Mark O’Connor and Jerry Douglas, to name a few. Yet, this collaboration feels particularly sweet and particularly unique.
As the quartet played their final notes, the audience could not have had a more positive response, with a standing ovation throughout the auditorium,
This rapturous response prompted the group back on stage once more, concluding with an interactive encore, with the audience passionately clapping along with every note.
The Bush/Marshall/Meyer/Meyer tour will continue until February. More information on the tour and the respective musicians’ illustrious careers can be found on the Gertrude C. Ford Center website.
