_via Camp Greensky Facebook Page_

Greensky Bluegrass hosted their inaugural Camp Greensky Music Festival this past weekend, welcoming guests like Marco Benevento and Mike Gordon to the stage for some pickin’ in the Great Lakes Region.

On Thursday, May 31, band’s first headlining set opened with a cover of Foreigner’s ’80s classic “Feels Like the First Time,” nodding to the fact that it was the festival’s first outing. Later on Thursday night, Greensky Bluegrass invited Billy Strings, Billy Failing and Jarod Walker to help close out the first half with a “Groundhog”> “Wheel Hoss” jam. Set two saw a reappearance of “Feels Like the First Time,” sandwiched by “Ain’t No Bread in the Bread Box.” Greensky Bluegrass closed with a lengthy “Fixin’ to Ruin” jam that contained two separate segues into “Tarpology,” and featured tour manager Guido Batista on woodblock. They encored with “A Letter to Seymour.”

GSBG kept the familial vibe going into night two, debuting a new song – “Courage For The Road” – in the first half, and later welcoming a number of friends and fellow musicians to jump onstage. Jay Cobb Anderson of Fruition added some guitar to Greensky Bluegrass’ live favorite “Burn Them” (which also managed to include a tease of “Feels Like the First Time”).

“Burn Them” gave way to “Death Comes a Knockin’” featuring Anderson as well as his fellow Fruition compatriots Mimi Naja and Kellen Asebroek. The jam eventually made its way back to “Burn Them” with Guido Batista and Lindsey Mossier adding some tambourine for fun. After playing into the festival’s “summer camp” theme with “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah,” GSBG closed night two with “Through the Trees” and “Hit Parade of Love.”

For their final performance Greensky Bluegrass pulled out all the stops. In set one alone, they debuted a new track – “Like Reflections on a Pond” – and welcomed Phish bassist Mike Gordon onstage to play acoustic guitar on “Endless Highway” and electric bass on the set-closing “Don’t Lie.”

Clearly, by the second set, the band was still reeling from their collaboration with Gordon. The opening “Windshield” included a tease of Phish’s “Harpua,” and the following “Take Cover” featured elements of both “Contact” and “Simple.” Later, Marco Benevento joined in on the fun, supplying keyboards on “I’d Probably Kill You” and “Worried About The Weather.”

As night three drew to a close, Chris Jacobs and drummer Dusty Ray Simmons guested for the closing set of “Bone Digger” and “No Idea;” the latter featured a “Stairway to Heaven” tease. Finally, Greensky Bluegrass bid farewell to their first annual Camp Greensky festival with fan favorite, “Living Over,” which was sure to contain one last segue into “Feels Like the First Time.”

For more information about Greensky Bluegrass visit the band’s official website.

Check out all three setlists below:

Greensky Bluegrass
May 31, 2018
Camp Greensky Music Festival, Wellston, MI

Set I: Feels Like the First Time, Tied Down, All 4> Demons(1)> More of Me, Radio Blues, Dustbowl overtures(2),
Groundhog (3)> Wheel Hoss (3)

Set II: Ain’t no bread in the breadbox> Feels Like the First Time> Ain’t no bread in the breadbox, Reverend, Salty Dog, Lose my way, Can’t Stop Now, Fixin to Ruin (4)> Tarpology> Fixin to Ruin> Tarpology> Fixin to Ruin (4)

Enc: A Letter to Seymour

Notes:
(1) – with Mimi Naja (Demon Dip)
(2) – with “Top Gun Theme” tease
(3) – with Billy Strings, Billy Failing, Jarod Walker
(4) – with Guido Batista (woodblock)

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Greensky Bluegrass
June 1, 2018
Camp Greensky Music Festival, Wellston, MI

Set 1: Middle Mountain Towns, The Four> Run or Die> Other One> Run or Die, Grow Bananas, Leavin’, In Control, Less Than Supper, Courage for the Road (1)

Set II: For sure uh huh> Jaywalking (2)> What Happened to Jim, Burn Them (3)(4)> Death Comes a Knockin’(5)> Burn Them (3)(6), Old Barns (7), Broke Mountain Breakdown (8)(9)(10)> Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah> Shout

Enc: Through the Trees, Hit Parade of Love

Notes:
(1) – First time played
(2) – Unfinished
(3) – with Jay Cobb Anderson
(4) – with Feels Like the First Time tease
(5) – with Jay Cobb Anderson, Mimi Naja, Kellen Asebroek
(6) – with Guido Batista & Lindsey Mossier (tambourine)
(7) – New Barns arrangement
(8) – Dedicated to Sean Michael’s appendix
(9) – with “Smoke on the Water” tease
(10) – with “Dancing in the Streets” tease

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Greensky Bluegrass
June 2, 2018
Camp Greensky Music Festival, Wellston, MI

Set I: Leap Year, Like Reflections on a Pond(1), Past my Prime, Kerosene, Endless Highway(2), Don’t Lie(3)

Set II: Windshield (4)> Take Cover (5)(6)> Exhuberance> Take Cover, Just to lie, I’d Probably Kill You (7)(8), Worried About the Weather (7), Bone Digger (9), No Idea (9)(10)(11)

Enc: Living over> Feels Like the First Time> Living Over

Notes:
(1) – First time played
(2) – with Mike Gordon (acoustic guitar)
(3) – with Mike Gordon (electric bass)
(4) – with “Harpua” tease
(5) – with “Contact” tease
(6) – with “Simple” tease
(7) – with Marco Benevento
(8) – Lyric change “Pretty sure Billy Strings was in there”
(9) – with Chris Jacobs & Dusty Ray Simmons
(10) – Lyric change “We’re all going down on Bill Devol’s dime”
(11) – with “Stairway to Heaven” tease

_Mike Gordon and Jeff Tweedy hang out backstage at Camp Greensky, via Mike Gordon’s Instagram Page_

_”…we’re dating” joked Marco Benevento on Instagram. Both Gordon and Benevento sat-in with Greensky Bluegrass at the band’s inaugural Camp Greensky Music Festival_