Sam Bush

I saw Sam Bush recently at the Watermelon Park Campground and was giddy with delight. The American bluegrass mandolin player is hugely talented and is considered in the music industry as the originator of the ‘Newgrass’ style. This is a sub genre of bluegrass music. His performance along with his band was a joy to see live.
His voice is typical of a Newgrass musician, country-esque, fast paced and fun. This also comes across within his vocals. His voice is straight talking and to the point which also coincides with his lyrics. Sam Bush sings about his hometown, and everyday situations. His personality is what truly makes his live shows magical, with songs such as “Circles around me” and “Howlin at he moon”.
Not only are his songwriting skills clever and musically amazing, but his mandolin playing is also awesome; they seemed effortless as he was up on stage. Sam interacts with his fans through telling little anecdotes inbetween songs describing his childhood, background of the songs which pleases his fans and here we get to see his personality better. This all makes for an awesome musical experience and one that I would highly recommend. His songs are easy listening with soft, smooth melodies.

I have been a Sam Bush fan since the 1970’s during the early New Grass Revival days. He is the reason I started loving bluegrass music. I’ve been to many of his concerts and I believe that this one was the best ever. His current band consists of extra talented musicians. The played a large variety of songs from New Grass, and Sam Bush songs throughout the set. The surprise was that they end with 3 electric songs, including “Whipping Post”, which was an audience request. They ended the set with an original Sam Bush-Jeff Black song “Stop the Violence” a new song and blew me away. They played an acoustic encore that left the audience wanting more. I can’t wait to see them again!