David Grier picks past ‘fast’ on his way to virtuoso

3;40 P.M. July 26, Lyons CO – “Not human.”

That’s what a veteran bluegrass fan muttered to me after listening to David Grier flatpick one lightning-fast guitar solo after another. He was playing with Helen Highwater, another new/occasional super-ensemble also featuring bassist Missy Raines and mandolin whiz Mike Compton. He was right. Grier does a sort of finger ballet on the frets – he’s really, really fast, but there are a lot of fast licks guitarists. Grier’s a

freak, an artist with a quirky mind, so the resulting runs are never typical. It’s spin-tingling stuff.

Coming up today: Steeldrivers, Kruger Brothers, Tim O’Brien and the Del McCoury Band.

* Tickets to Rockygrass are sold out. Information: bluegrass.com. KGNU (88.5 FM, 1390 AM, kgnu.org) will air portions of Rockygrass 9 to 1 p.m. July 27 and 28. Highlights from the 2012 Rockygrass including Ralph Stanley, Punch Brothers and Infamous Stringdusters can be streamed at: kgnu.org/rockygrass.