Sam Grisman Project - Sam Grisman Project (2025) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Ramble On Rose
02. Went To See The Gypsy
03. Pork Fat Makes My Chicken Tan
04. Buckets Of Rain
05. Long Hard Year
06. Morning Dew
07. Riley's Run
08. I Ain't Never
09. Lazy River Road
10. When First Unto This Country
11. Loser
12. Wild Bill Jones
13. Deal
14. Sow Em On The Mountain
15. Willow Creek
16. Waiting For A Miracle
17. Dark Hollow
18. Bound By Love
19. Rosin On The Gourd
20. So Many Roads

Sam Grisman Project summons the acoustic spirits of Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, Bonnie Dobson, Bruce Cockburn, Bill Browning, and other unnamed folk heroes on their new self-titled double album. Out today (Friday, December 12) on all major streaming platforms—and available for purchase on David “Dawg” Grisman’s Acoustic Disc beginning Saturday, the 20-track set unfolds much like the group’s live show, nodding to their influences, carving out space for instrumental centerpieces, and giving deserved weight to originals by Max Flansburg [“Long Hard Year”] and Nate Leath [“Riley’s Run,” “Rosin on the Gourd”], and guest slots featuring greats, Tim O’Brien, Lindsay Lou, Logan Ledger and Leath.

“I’m extremely excited to finally share the first full-length SGP record with the world. It is a sonic snapshot of some of my favorite music and musicians from early this January. I couldn’t be more proud of my friends for playing their hearts out on these songs we love so much, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to share this music with the community of friends and music appreciators we are so lucky to be a part of,” Grisman comments via press release.

The double release was tracked over three days, Jan. 5–7, 2025, at Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, Tenn., with minimal overdubs to preserve the immediacy of the live experience and showcase the rich, natural sound of the acoustic instruments. On the set, Grisman extends an invitation to his growing list of collaborators and longtime friends, including Victor Furtado, Dominick Leslie, John Mailander, Nat Smith, Alex Hargreaves, and Flansburg, who collectively rework classic compositions into pieces that are uniquely their own with Bob Dylan (“Went to See the Gypsy,” “Buckets of Rain”), Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter (“Ramble on Rose,” “Loser,” “Deal,” “Lazy River Road,” “So Many Roads”) among them.

While pre-existing associations with these songs might linger for listeners, the classics have never been presented like this: The piano pressed entry and lightness of Dylan’s telling of the late-day Las Vegas-living Elvis on “Went to See the Gypsy” has been replaced by a twin fiddle awakening from two of the best to do it, Mailander and Hargreaves. Led by Hot Rize’s O’Brien, his vocals shift the New Morning cover into the bluegrass ether, with a sense of profound reverence to traditional folk practices.

Similarly, O’Brien lends his voice to the nuclear wreckage of an Adam-and-Eve archetype and what remains in post-apocalyptic “Morning Dew.” Fans of Sam’s dad and Jerry Garcia’s Not For Kids Only album will be thrilled with the addition of “When First Unto This Country,” expanding upon the original with more instruments, the rich tone of Sam’s bass coalescing with the guitar, mando, double fiddle, cello, and Dobro–provided by Tod Livingston. “Dark Hollow” also excels in instrumental excellence, less mournful, and more like a Nashville pickers circle with O’Brien and Ledger sharing lines.

Ledger leads other classics, including a heap of Garcia/Hunter tunes. Among them, “Ramble on Rose” features Lou and functions like a slow dance between the two voices. “Waiting for a Miracle” finds the songstress harmonizing with Flansburg, whose voice, well-beyond his years [and might well be one of the best in the acoustic market], emotively pleads for the desired outcome. The guitarist, who also supports Dirty Blanket, takes it even further on the collection ending “So Many Roads” – ponderous, harmoniously wrapped, and aching with nostalgia.

For Grisman, the double album is a long time coming and demonstrates a desire to generate music that speaks to the maestro’s family ties, influences, and, of course, community. A master of song history, timing, and groove, he draws on three decades of skills and experience, sharing space and memories of his dad’s collaborators and at-home picking sessions, which inspired his fascination with the craft and approach to the music.

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