Bluegrass legend Sam Bush to Perform at the Wachholz in October

Tickets are on sale to see Grammy-winning mandolinist, singer and songwriter Sam Bush at the Wachholz College Center Oct. 16. 

For decades, Bush has been a pioneer in the rule-breaking, genre-spanning style called progressive bluegrass, or newgrass. 

In 1971, Bush and colleagues formed New Grass Revival. Bush was the newgrass commando, incorporating a variety of genres into the repertoire. He discovered a sibling similarity with the reggae rhythms of Bob Marley and The Wailers, and accordingly, developed an ear-turning original style of mandolin playing. The group issued five albums in their first seven years, and in 1979 became Leon Russell’s backing band.  

A three-record contract with Capitol Records and a conscious turn to the country market took New Grass Revival to new commercial heights. Bush survived a life-threatening bout with cancer and returned to the group that’d become more popular than ever. They released chart-climbing singles, made videos, earned Grammy nominations, and at their zenith, called it quits. 

Bush worked the next five years with Emmylou Harris’ Nash Ramblers, then did a stint with Lyle Lovett. He took home three straight International Bluegrass Music Association Mandolin Player of the Year awards. In 1995, he toured with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, reigniting his penchant for improvisation. Then after a quarter-century of making music with New Grass Revival and collaborating with other bands, Sam Bush went solo. 

He's released seven albums and a live DVD over the past two decades. In 2009, the Americana Music Association awarded Bush the Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist. 

"With this band I have now I am free to try anything. Looking back at the last 50 years of playing newgrass, with the elements of jazz improvisation and rock-&-roll, jamming, playing with New Grass Revival, Leon, and Emmylou; it's a culmination of all of that," Bush stated in his bio at sambush.com. "I can unapologetically stand onstage and feel I'm representing those songs well."  

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. 

Ticket prices range from $49.50 to $69.30 and may be purchased online at wccmt.org or by contacting the ticket office at 756-1400.

    Sam Bush's band New Grass Revival is set to perform at the Wachholz College Center Oct. 16.