• The Grascals – Sellersville Theatre (Sellersville, PA – Oct. 24, 2013)

    Jim Moulton Posted On October 30, 2013
    0


    Last week, a good friend of mine and I went up to Sellersville to see one of my favorite Bluegrass groups, The Grascals.

    I have been listening to them for quite some time, but never got the chance to see them in concert. They put on quite a show, looking  a bit tired as they had just driven 2 days from Nashville for the show. They started out with a very strong version of “Mystery Train”, which is a cover song that they did a strong version of. I noticed that Jeremy Abshire ,their fiddle player for several years was missing and they had a new fiddle player, who was Adam Haynes, formerly of Grasstown.  He has a different style than Jeremy, but was a fine player. He plays in a more staccato style than Jeremey did. He did an instrumental duet with super talented banjo player Kristen Scott Benson, which was good. Benson is the IBMA Banjo player of the year, and has been for about three years. Benson is very good at playing the banjo and guitar also, she is a very melodic player, and can play some good banjo from the Scruggs type of pickin’ too.

    They also have Danny Roberts, a very good mandolin player, who really can play that instrument. When they have an instrumental, they really get cooking. They really do not over do jamming songs, but I really enjoy the instrumentals they play. They have a lot of fun with their music, which is what it is all about, plus they have a very good catalog of songs to play from.

    Talking about catalogs, They have a new CD coming out on November 19  , which I am looking forward to.  I don’t know anything about it, but I have heard they will be getting into some punk grass, Just making sure that you were awake, I am sure that it will be similar to their previous material. Now, I did hear that Kristen might be joining in the vocals, but I’m not sure of that.
    They played “Road To Surrender” ,from their last CD that really moves me, It moved Jamie that night and He lost for a bit, before he could gather himself and get singing, that is a very powerful Christian Song. They played for about two hours total , then came back for an encore and did a great version of “Up This Hill and Down”, an upbeat song that they really played well. The life of a bluegrass musician is a lot of traveling, which is work and they don’t usually play the big venues, but I  give them a lot of credit for keeping the craft of bluegrass music alive.
          

     




    • ADVERTISEMENT

    • SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

    • SUBSCRIBE NOW


    Enjoy this article? Support No Depression.

    Help us continue to keep our web content free and accessible to all – without paywalls or invasive pop-up ads.

    Your support is important because it helps us cover our costs so that we can continue bringing you the independent music journalism you know and trust. Please consider subscribing or donating to No Depression now.

    Related Stories

    BONUS TRACKS: Steve Martin Banjo Prize Winners + Remembering Dualtone Records’ Paul Roper

    By Hilary Saunders on December 20, 2024

    THROUGH THE LENS: IBMA’s World of Bluegrass Bids Farewell to Raleigh, North Carolina

    By Amos Perrine on October 8, 2024



    A Little Help Here?

    No Depression depends on reader support to bring you top-quality roots music journalism on our website and in our quarterly journals. Donations large and small are greatly appreciated, and will help us hit our goal of raising $15,000 by Dec. 31.

    Can you help us get there? Donate or subscribe using the buttons below. Thank you for your support!

    Please consider becoming a subscriber or providing a donation. With your help, No Depression can continue to grow and cover roots music the way it deserves.