reCAP :: Keller Williams' Grateful Grass w/ Love Canon :: 2017.04.20
Words by Olivia Schilder
Photos by Chad Anderson
Last night the Capitol Theatre was enveloped in what bluegrass dreams are made of.
For those of you unfamiliar with the band Love Canon, think virtuoso string players meet the biggest hits of the 80’s. Confused? Don’t be. The band has previously shared the stage and toured with artists like Bruce Hornsby and David Grisman and they have a diehard following of fans.
This band brings new life to those classic 80’s songs we are already familiar with, wrapped up in that deep rooted American bluegrass flavor. The show was an uplifting and intimate experience as the band blazed through songs like Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel, Kiss by Prince and Legs by ZZ Top. I’m sure you are all thinking, “how can Kiss by Prince even sound remotely good being played on a mandolin and a banjo?” Trust me, it can.
The band closed out their performance with an ode the Grateful Dead, The Cap and the 4/20 holiday with Touch of Grey. It was a beautiful slowed down rendition of the song and probably one of the better covers I’ve heard done.
I had the pleasure of seeing Keller Williams’ Grateful Grass at LOCKN’ music festival this summer, and I loved every minute of it. If you know Keller Williams you know he tends to put his own quirky spin on pretty much everything he does and Grateful Grass is just that. The band delivers nontraditional versions of dead favorites with improvisational bluegrass and it is a dancing good time.
Wearing no shoes and looking right at home at the Cap, Keller and his band brought the house down with a Shakedown Street opener. Last night was one of those evenings where the band and the audience were too engaged with one another to even look at the clock, Grateful Grass played for three hours straight without a set break. Eyes Of The World, Brown Eyed Women and a Rain & Snow Cumberland Blues mash up were just some of the highlights. Grateful Grass closed out the show with Scarlet Begonias, we hope they come back to Port Chester soon!
