Deadgrass has been turning up at Caffe Lena on Halloween for three years running, which makes a certain sense: the band’s project is to take Jerry Garcia’s catalog — Grateful Dead songs, Jerry Garcia Band material, the Old & In the Way recordings, the early jug band work — and find the bluegrass skeleton that was always inside those songs, then play it out on fiddle, banjo, guitar, and bass with the improvisational range left fully intact.
About the Show
The ensemble describes itself as “a string band jamgrass adventure through Jerry Garcia’s musical world,” drawing from across Garcia’s output and rebuilding the extended jams within an acoustic framework. Garcia spent significant parts of his musical life reaching toward exactly those forms, and Deadgrass returns the favor, finding the bluegrass frame that was already inside the songs. Critics have called their playing “phenomenal” and the result “refreshing and fun”; one program director described the approach plainly: Deadgrass “takes these wonderful songs and puts them in a bluegrass format” that audiences understand immediately, played by musicians who bring genuine mastery to material that has always demanded it.
Co-founders Matt Turk and C. Lanzbom have been at the project’s center since the band formed six years ago. Lanzbom is a Grammy-winning guitarist and studio musician with credits that include Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger, and Garcia’s influence runs through his own work. Turk, described by All Music Guide as “an artist to be reckoned with,” performed and recorded with Pete Seeger and opened for Judy Collins, The Doobie Brothers, Fiona Apple, and Mickey Hart. Bassist Dave Richards performs in Hamilton on Broadway and has played the Hollywood Bowl and Austin City Limits. Fiddler Kensuke Shoji, a Japanese-born jazz violinist, trained at Berklee. Banjo player Scott Hopkins completes the lineup for this show. The band’s latest studio album, Deadgrass 4, is out now. Costumes are welcomed.
Venue & Logistics
Caffe Lena, on Phila Street in Saratoga Springs, is a 110-capacity folk club and listening room in the capital region — the kind of close-in space where acoustic music lands without anything between the performance and the audience. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.; the show runs 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Tickets
Tickets are $27.11 for members, $30.37 general admission, and $15.18 for children or students; all prices include fees. A livestream is available through Caffè Lena TV for $5. Buy tickets