As one of the founding fathers of this progressive style of blue grass, Bush has continued to step over that sacred Bill Monroe boundary blending bits of jazz, rock and blues into the traditional sound of this hillbilly based genre.

This original recipe was concocted in the early seventies when Bush, along with other like-minded musicians which included Bela Fleck joined forces to form the now legendary band New Grass Revival.  Although their reception into the Blue Grass community was lukewarm at times they persevered and ended up with twelve or so albums under their belts and a huge following before disbanding in 1989.  Bill Monroe was a fan so they must have had something going on.

Since that time Bush has been involved with the Blue Grass super group Strength In Numbers and The Nash Ramblers.    Embarking on a solo career, Bush has continued his New Grass journey and released many critically acclaimed albums.  He has also garnered a few Grammy awards and been honored by the Americana Music Association with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

With such a stacked musical resume it was with much anticipation that I travelled to Doesy Doe Big Barn in The Woodlands to see and hear Sam Bush for myself. The only other time I saw him was with Lyle Lovett at The Woodlands Pavilion a few years ago as part of Lovett’s Large Band, only performing a small sampling of his music.

Bush and band took the stage around 8:20 and kicked the show off with a Keb Mo number called “A Better Man” that featured Bush playing bottleneck slide on his well worn vintage National mandolin.

After that warm up number Bush greeted the crowd by saying “Hello music lovers” and took off with a second slide mandolin number called “Where’s My Love ?”

Bush’s version of John Hartford’s “On The Road” featured white lightin’ hot solos from each band member.  Schooled jazz bassist Todd Parks melodic bass lines flowed flawlessly with the music as he took the first solo.  Flat top guitar picking is Steve “Mojo” Mougin’s specialty and his contribution to this number was outstanding. Better banjo picking would be hard to find after witnessing Scott Vestal perform on a banjo of his own innovative design called a Stealth banjo.  Drummer Chris Brown just about wore out his drum kit keeping the rhythm in check.  And of course Sam Bush was doing what he does best as he pounded out precise rhythm and lead on his Gibson mandolin.

Sam Bush’s music possesses an unpredictable component because he adapts many different sounds and melodies within the traditional blue grass style.  Extended jams are quite often worked into their numbers and this show featured a handful of such songs.

“It’s Not What You Think” was one such number with Bush on fiddle sounding a bit Jean-Luc Pontyish with the rest of the band backing him up with an incredible jazz bluegrass fusion sound. Kind of hard to explain but it worked extremely well.

More jamming on a blue grass / rumba sounding tune called “Bananas” was in store with a twist in the middle as Bush and band morphed the song into The Allman Brothers classic “Whipping Post” and then back again.

Bush mentioned that the inspiration for “Laps in Seven” occurred when he noticed that his dog Ozzie was lapping his water in seven beats to a measure.  For this version the band plugged in and went electric on the crowd with Bush playing a Fender mandolin like it was a Fender Stratocaster along with Scott Vestal on synthesized guitar. This number also went through a metamorphosis as it eased into Bob Marley’s “Lively Up Yourself”.

Other numbers from Sam Bush’s vast musical catalog featured at the show included “Roll On Buddy Roll On”, “Unconditional Love”, “By Stealth”, “Riding That Blue Grass Train”, “Transcendental Meditation Blues”, “Little Girl of Mine From Tennessee” and more.

With over forty years worth of material to choose from it’s impossible to predict what you might hear at a Sam Bush show but I can guarantee you it will be dominated by ineffable playing and incredible high energy.

This is a must see show – Blue Grass lover or not.