Those of us who have the pleasure of seeing Sam Bush perform live at a festival need only know that this album is a collection of Bush performances live at Telluride. Without question, Sam Bush can be appreciated in his studio work. His albums Glamour And Grits and Howling At The Moon are two of the most-played CDs in my collection. Bush's energy and creativity on the mandolin, along with the diversity of music he dared to play at a bluegrass festival left me riveted to my seat for almost three hours. I even missed a midnight bluegrass jam session to catch the walk on of Peter Rowan, Sammy Shelor and other joining Bush for an impromptu jam of bluegrass standards.
Music is, after all and said and done, interactive in nature.
And Bush understands that when he plays. He is unafraid to deviate from the song list, even in the middle of the song, taking us all on a spontaneous unscheduled journey. He communicates intuitively with his mandolin, and the others playing with him share the journey. A mini-New Grass Revival reunion takes place on some of the cuts, with former NGR members John Cowan and Bela Fleck. And it is magic, sharing with us the first time Cowan and Bush had sung together since the New Grass Revival had disbanded.