Sam Bush talks bluegrass and newgrass

To bluegrass fans, it’s no secret, but spend enough time watching or listening to Sam Bush, and you’re bound to be as enamored by his inexhaustible good humor and energy as you are his by his virtuosity. The image of Bush on stage—spry, copper, shoulder-length hair bouncing as notes cascade from his F-5, “Hoss—is an all too familiar one to festival goers everywhere. The former New Grass Revival frontman, now 66, is still on the road, and stopped by Western Connecticut State University’s Ives Concert Center for a show that not only showcased Bush’s trademark eclectic style, but was rich with bluegrass classics as well. Openers Tony Trischka and Michael Daves played a galvanizing first set. I had the chance to speak to Bush from his hotel room in Pennsylvania on Thursday before his performance. Laconic and gentle, with a good-natured, cheeky sense of humor, Bush exudes all of the same qualities that his music does: charm, complexity, and a lot of fun.
...There’s a great in story in Richard D. Smith’s book, Can’t You Hear Me Calling, which is his biography of Bill Monroe, where, when you were undergoing treatment for cancer, Monroe called you and gave you a pep talk. That was one of my favorite parts of reading Bill’s life story. “He didn’t like our long our long hair, and it’s hard to know whether he liked our music per se, but that was kind of the olive branch when he called me in the hospital. And, he played on a benefit for me, and it was great for Bill Monroe and John Duffey and Jethro Burns to be calling in the hospital. When [Emmylou Harris] cut a live record at the Ryman Auditorium, [At the Ryman, 1992] which we won a Grammy for Country Vocal Group, of all things, she was dancing a lot then, and she had Bill come out and dance with her. They were changing the tape reels, and Bill and I ended up playing a duet together. Sometimes a life snapshot comes through, and then it did.”
You’re often referred to as the “Father” of newgrass. Does the word newgrass mean the same thing as it always has, or does it carry a different meaning nowadays?
 “It probably means something different now, 40 years later. It’s turned into a generic name for a type of music. Me and New Grass Revival, we were one of the groups that brought on this type of different bluegrass. We were already influenced by the Osborne Brothers, Jim & Jesse, and progressive people like the Dillards. There was a band from North Carolina called the New Deal String Band. The person that played fiddle with them, Kenny Kosek, on occasion, was also in this great band that we’d shared the stage with sometimes called Breakfast Special, from the northeast. And lo and behold, their banjo player, Tony Trischcka, is one of the most progressive banjo players that ever lived. I certainly don’t call self the father of anything other than a girl named Jessica. We were all part of it.”

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