Suzy Bogguss

Legendary bluegrass

Fifty-three years into a legendary career, much has changed about The Seldom Scene, starting with the venerable progressive bluegrass quintet’s various lineup iterations over time. But even as band members have stepped in and out of various roles, what’s most important is what hasn’t changed: an undeniable knack for blending both old and new music and traditions without sacrificing what makes either potent and durable. Their current iteration is a true blue lineup: guitarist mandolin player Lou Reid, bassist Ronnie Simpkins, banjoist and fiddler Ron Stewart, dobro player Fred Travers, and guitarist Clay Hess.
Since they started up together in 1971, The Seldom Scene has dexterously performed original and traditional songs while presenting fiery and soulful reinterpretations of material by Merle Haggard, James Taylor, and more. The concept of bluegrass unshackling itself from a conservative, straight-ahead mindset seems like a given now, when some of its biggest stars fill stadiums and cross over with mainstream audiences, but the continued presence of the Scene acts as a reminder that it wasn’t always so. Even if their playing style feels more at home in intimate clubs, where the audience can feel their exuberance radiating from the stage, the Scene’s elastic relationship to genre established an important precedent that encouraged their contemporaries and allowed bluegrass bands to expand their repertoire in ways that laid the groundwork for today’s bluegrass boom.

You may also like the following events from The Ark - Ann Arbor:

• This Friday, 30th January, 07:30 pm, Greensky Bluegrass w/sg Junior Brown: Ann Arbor Folk Fest Opening Night in Ann Arbor
• Next Tuesday, 3rd February, 08:00 pm, The Ark's Open Stage in Ann Arbor
• Next Wednesday, 4th February, 08:00 pm, Audrey Ray in Ann Arbor

Also check out other Music events in Ann Arbor, Entertainment events in Ann Arbor.