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

Front Country performs July 27 at the Rockygrass Festival in Lyons, Colorado. (Photo by John Lehndorff)
Front Country performs July 27 at the Rockygrass Festival in Lyons, Colorado. (Photo by John Lehndorff)

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.

 

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