Why Do Bluegrass Folks Love…

Bluegrass has always reached beyond its own borders. Spend enough time around festivals, musicians, record labels, radio shows, or campground jams, and you start to notice certain artists, bands, and cultural touchstones that have unusually strong followings among bluegrass people — even when they exist well outside the genre.

That is the idea behind “Why Do Bluegrass Folks Love…?”, a new recurring column in The Bluegrass Standard. Each installment will take one of those shared enthusiasms and ask people from across the bluegrass world to explain the connection in their own words. For our debut installment, we’re starting with what we thought was an obvious connector.

When you talk about the Grateful Dead and acoustic roots music, it’s plain as day. Groups like The Grass Is Dead, Grateful Grass, and The Grateful String Band have built entire projects around bluegrass and Americana interpretations of Dead material, while many bluegrass and jamgrass artists regularly work an occasional Dead song into their sets. Jerry Garcia’s own deep connection to bluegrass, including his project Old & In the Way, makes the relationship even more apparent. Even the term “Deadgrass” brings an expectation among the devoted on both sides of this musical handshake.

But that isn’t quite what we are asking here. This isn’t about interpretive tribute bands or covering Dead songs. We’re asking why the Grateful Dead themselves are so deeply cherished by artists whose musical lives are centered in bluegrass. Is it the musicianship? The community? We asked three great musicians just what is going on here, and each had a great response.

So, for the first edition of “Why Do Bluegrass Folks Love…?”, we asked three award-winning bluegrass artists a simple question: 

“Why do bluegrass folks love the Grateful Dead?”

"A lot of Bluegrass people connect with the Grateful Dead. There’s a couple reasons for this in my opinion. One, the Grateful Dead musicians had some kind of history with Bluegrass music and respected the art form and ended up recording and implementing traditional music into their own music. Two, just like Bluegrass, the fans and artists have always connected on a community level. There aren’t many other art forms like that. Bluegrass fans go to festivals not only for the music but to see their friends and feel this connection. Dead heads do the same and it’s as much about that camaraderie and fellowship as it is the music." - Darren Nicholson, whose latest album is Lonesome Trails and Tall Tales.

“For those who love bluegrass, there is often a similar passion for the music of the Grateful Dead. In my own experience, I grew up listening to the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia’s guitar playing. My dad played the music around the house, and it felt familiar and authentic. I was similarly inspired when my parents brought me to bluegrass concerts, and I began learning the guitar style of Tony Rice and Doc Watson. I think there’s a crossover with the bluegrass and Grateful Dead audiences because of the common threads of improvisation, creativity, and a spirit of rooted timelessness. There’s a culture of jamming and sharing the music, and the social nature of the music inspires fans to learn the songs and play them with creative interpretation. And with bluegrass and the Dead, there’s a catalog of songs rooted in Americana, folk and blues, with timeless themes that still resonate across generations and genres.” - Rebecca Frazier, whose latest album is Boarding Windows in Paradise.

“The profound influence of the Grateful Dead on my music reflects the profound intersection between traditional acoustic American roots and a legendary ethos of live, fluid improvisation. While I have built much of my career on the discipline of high-level, traditional bluegrass, the Dead’s musical philosophy provides a powerful framework for my work as a resophonic guitarist, solo creator, and songwriter. To me, their catalog is not merely rock and roll; it is a masterclass in how to treat an arrangement as a living, breathing canvas where the forward drive of acoustic picking meets the boundless freedom of spontaneous musical exploration.” - Darren Beachley, whose latest album is The Road Not Taken.