Grassland String Band: The Face of ‘Amerigrass’
By: Rachel Bailey

Bluegrass was only the beginning.

Athens, Georgia’s Grassland String Band began their journey at a bluegrass jam, when lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Michael Lesousky wowed vocalist and banjo player Jody Daniels with his talent. The two of them decided to make music together, and GSB was born. A few years later, they’ve grown into a multi-generational six-piece band (spanning in age from 24 to 60) that boasts members with master’s degrees in classical organ and guitar; a jazz-influenced, improvisational live performance style; and a lead singer who’d sound as at home fronting a soul band as he does backed by a fiddle.

You would never have put together a band like this using a formula.

In the months after their meeting, Daniels and Lesousky rounded out their line-up to include Nathan Elder on bass, Todd Ferguson on drums, fiddler Adam Poulin, and classical guitarist Kevin Fleming. With that growing base of musical knowledge, GSB’s sound expanded to touch on Americana, jazz, pop and folk — a hybrid the group has taken to calling Amerigrass.

Before the Feast, GSB’s debut album released in the summer of 2014, presents a survey of what Amerigrass has to offer. Opener “Clara” is all boisterous vocal interplay and fine string-pickin’, a glimpse into the group’s palpable chemistry and virtuosic musicianship. A few tracks later, Lesousky’s impressive pipes take center stage on the love song, “Neil Young” as the backing band mellows into a supporting role that could almost be called stripped-down by comparison if it wasn’t so rich with sound. In live performances the band has already started incorporating new material from a forthcoming follow-up, like “Boom Boom,” in which Daniels takes center stage. Clearly having one hell of a good time, he leads the band through a soulful number about the need “to kick down the door, children!” over Fleming’s bluesy, electric guitar.

At live shows, all these elements are turned up to eleven. This is not a set you’ll see fans chatting through. The crowd yells “woo”s of encouragement. They slap their thighs. They sing along. They dance. The band’s chemistry, so apparent on record, positively fills the room as they grin their way through the set, extending some of their tracks into improvised jams. Does it feel a little like bluegrass? Sure. But it’s something more, something modern and amorphous. If this is Amerigrass, I think I like it.

(Watch GSB live at LiveWire Athens, here)

Garden & Gun Magazine, a premier Southern Lifestyle journal, has tapped GSB to perform for its 3rd Annual G & G Shoot September 20th at the prestigious Foxhall Resort & Sporting Club in Douglasville, Georgia.

Grafton Tanner, a writer for the indie music & art blog “The Blue Indian”, included some very nice remarks about GSB’s recent Athfest performance.  Read the full article here:  The Blue Indian

GSB will perform an outdoor show on July 28 at the State Botanical Gardens in Athens, Georgia.  Claire Campbell, also of Athens, will open.  The popular Sunflower Concert Series features two-hour concerts during the months of June through September. Each concert begins at 7 p.m. on the stage of the State Botanical Garden’s terraced Flower Garden. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and picnic dinners. Lawn chairs are only allowed for those with physical limitations. In case of inclement weather, the concerts will be held inside the Visitor Center and Conservatory.

Grassland String Band will celebrate the 2015 4th of July Holiday with a performance at the 7th annual Classic City American Music Festival in Athens, Georgia.  Tapped to close out the all-day music festival, GSB will follow headliner Dom Flemons and an impressive who’s-who of local and regional Americana bands.   Dom Flemons is the “American Songster,” pulling from traditions of old-time folk music to create new sounds. Having performed music professionally since 2005, he has played live for over one million people just within the past three years. As part of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, which he co-founded with Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson, he has played at a variety of festivals spanning from the Newport Folk Festival to Bonnaroo, in addition to renowned venues such as the Grand Ole Opry.

Other notable performers are:

The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Department has announced its selection of headline entertainment for the inaugural “Sounds of Summer” concert series at Lake Chapman beach at Sandy Creek Park. The event is part of “July is National Park and Recreation Month” and will be held on Thursday evenings. Grassland String Band will perform on July 16. The Common People Band will perform on July 9th and Sons of Sailors on July 23rd.
The admission fee is $5 per vehicle and includes park admission starting at 5:00 p.m. Opening acts begin at 6:00 p.m.; headliners at 7:00 p.m. Food vendors will be on site.
Sponsors for the event include: Flagole Magazine, Zaxby’s, Magic 102.1FM, and OnlineAthens.

GSB has been nominated as a finalist in the 2015 Flagpole Music Awards, an annual selection and performance event hosted by Flagpole Magazine , Athens, Georgia.  The annual Flagpole Music Awards Show is designed to honor and celebrate those who make Athens, GA a center of musical creativity, enjoyment & accomplishment.  A panel of local music judges selected this year’s finalists, but fans determine the top award winners by majority vote (vote here).

GSB is honored to be recognized among some of the best music acts in Athens.  That in itself is a culmination of hard work fueled by the support of our fans, and for that we are very appreciative.

The award show kicks off AthFest, Athens’ annual music and arts festival, and will be held on Thursday, June 25 in the Morton Theater, in Athens.  GSB will be performing at Athfest on Friday June 26, at Hendershot’s, along with Sye Spence and Cicada Rhythm.

GSB is thrilled to announce: GSB,  Cicada Rhythm  and Sye Spence will perform together on Friday June 26 as part of Athfest 2015!  The show will take place at Hendershot’s in Athens as part of the music festival’s Club Crawl.  Cicada Rhythm recently signed with New West Records and is one of Athens fastest rising bands.  “Born and raised in Georgia, this talented pair imitates and modernizes folk music to a rejuvenating degree. The sound of Andrea DeMarcus and Dave Kirslis exhibits skilled and articulate guitar picking honed in the dive bars of Atlanta over rolling Julliard-trained bass lines. Expect chilling harmonies, unbridled enthusiasm, some wholesome tunes and a sincere performance.”   Sye Elaine Spence is a singer/songwriter from New York City, currently residing in Atlanta, GA. As a songwriter, she has collaborated with various artists in the New York City indie music scene since 2008. She also records and performs as a solo artist. Her latest release is a warm, folk-inflected EP entitled Bloom.  Spence is a storyteller, with every pluck of the acoustic accompaniment, a truthful narrative of love and pain exposed.

GSB is pleased to announce a July 18 engagement at The Pour House in Charleston, S.C.  GSB will perform a “deck” show, beginning at 6:15 p.m.   The Pour House is Charleston’s premier music venue and boasts nationally recognized acts.  The venue is located in the heart of one of the South’s most iconic, historic and architecturally pleasing cities.