Mission in the Rain: Sam Grisman Project to play Earl Scruggs Fest
The Sam Grisman Project will play Tryon Sept. 1.
When stand-up bassist Sam Grisman wanted to start his band, aptly titled the Sam Grisman Project (SGP), he had one simple goal in mind.
“I’ve always wanted to play bass in a great band full of my friends,” Grisman said. “And I’ve been a bass player in many bands over the years, but never had much creative input regarding what material was being played.”
Formed in Grisman’s native California, the ensemble is a melodic crossroads of Americana, bluegrass, folk and indie stylings — all of which anchored by the searing tub-thumping bass notes flowing out of Grisman’s fingertips.
“I don’t have much room or time in my life to be anyone but my unabashed self,” Grisman said. “And I have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for sharing music and building community with folks who are positive and focused on sharing that positivity — we just want to play great music and have a great time.”
Grisman took deep inspiration for not only the SGP, but also what he wants and desires within a life spent immersing in the ancient act that is creating and performing music, from his father, legendary mandolinist David “Dawg” Grisman — the founder of what’s come to be known as “Dawg Music,” this intricate, innovative blend of bluegrass, folk and jazz textures.
“I really do feel like one of the luckiest people on the planet when I reflect on my almost comically musically-privileged childhood,” Grisman said. “And all of my earliest memories seem to be colored by music.”
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Most notably, when Sam was just a young kid growing up in Mill Valley, California, he would often watch his father jam out in the family’s living room with David’s dear friend and longtime collaborator, the late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.
“Many of these early memories are of my dad and Jerry working on some of their favorite familiar material of all kinds,” Grisman said. “I wanted to start a project that was reverent to the spirit of the musical friendship of Dawg and Jerry and a band that could do that material justice but also could go in any direction we pleased.”
Grisman conjured the SGP into fruition during the summer of 2022, with touring beginning in early 2023. Diving headlong into the endless rabbit hole of traditional bluegrass, folk, blues, country and roots numbers, SGP also pays homage to Old & In the Way, the short-lived 1970s acoustic supergroup.
“It’s also been a special treat to get to explore different corners of these catalogs of material with so many different musicians who have so much reverence for the songs but also bring so much of themselves to the music,” Grisman said.
At the core of SGP is a keen knowledge, appreciation and approach to the “high, lonesome sound” that is bluegrass music. So just what is it about bluegrass — whether sonically, emotionally, spiritually or otherwise — that really sets it apart from other genres?
“Bluegrass songs can be simple yet aphoristic, and that’s something that has always resonated with me,” Grisman said. “Bluegrass is a completely unpretentious music, and its pioneers — Bill Monroe, Ralph & Carter Stanley, Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, Red Allen, Jim & Jesse and The Osborne Brothers, to name a few — all brought fearless individuality and comfortable creativity to their catalogs of music.”
That haunting, moreover soothing, tone and emotional connectivity at the heart of bluegrass and acoustic music is something SGP chases each chance it gets to hop up onstage — somewhere, anywhere, anytime, anyplace — and just see where the music, more so the moment, takes them and the audience.
Sam Grisman (center). File photo
“Although it can be challenging, I love playing completely acoustically. There’s nothing quite like it. You’re completely vulnerable,” Grisman said. “There is something special about any idiom that can be experienced by both the audience and the musicians without any sort of amplification or electricity; you [can] really hear the intricacies and tonal qualities of all of the instruments in the room.”
Quickly making a name for itself on the national touring circuit, SGP remains on this whirlwind trajectory of passion and purpose — this ever-growing music family of sights and sounds.
“I suppose each musician or performer has their own role. I feel mine is to play the bass and constantly strive to curate a quality evening of music that demonstrates some of the awesome healing, humbling, teaching, connecting power that songs can have,” Grisman said. “I will try to leave my ears and heart open so that I can hear as many great songs as I can possibly encounter whilst here on earth — learn my favorite ones and share them with whoever is willing to listen.”
The seemingly never-ending tour dates and miles ticking away along the highways and backroads of America are a continual spark of inspiration and invigoration for the SGP.
“Everywhere is a little different, and everyone brings something new to the potluck. I love connecting with new friends at each of these shows and learning about where people’s passion for these songs comes from,” Grisman said. “There are people of all ages, backgrounds, shapes, sizes, colors and creeds who come together and commune with each other over this music that we are lucky enough to honor and it is an awesome privilege to get to participate in a community that celebrates kindness and individuality.”
Want to go?
The annual Earl Scruggs Music Festival will be held Aug. 30-Sept. 1 at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring.
Headliners will include Old Crow Medicine Show, Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, Tanya Tucker, Peter Rowan & Sam Grisman Project, Lindsay Lou, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Steeldrivers, The Earls of Leicester, Mighty Poplar, Pony Bradshaw, Darrell Scott’s String Band and much more.
For more information, a full schedule of artists and/or to purchase tickets, go to earlscruggsmusicfest.com.
