As you might imagine there are two things very close to my own heart: mandolin and the folks who play the instrument and music that calls Boston its home. This next Freshgrass artist encompasses both of those things.
Dan Bui is the mandolinist for the Boston based group Twisted Pine. The quartet is made up of musicians and singers who excel at the style and genre and are always put on an energetic and exciting show. I caught up with Dan to talk about the band, how Freshgrass is a breeding ground that supports up and coming artists, and where you can catch them next. Check it out.
RLR: So, why are you excited for Freshgrass this year?
Dan Bui: We’re all really excited to be returning to Freshgrass this year and playing a full set on Friday night, opening for the Punch Brothers! We’ve all been to Freshgrass for several years now and it definitely feels good to come back and experience it again and hang out with the people we’ve met in previous years.
RLR: A big part of what Red Line Roots stands for is collaboration, community and bringing folks together and fostering an environment where artists help each other. How do you feel about that preservation of unity and family sentiment as it applies to a festival like Freshgrass? How does it play into your own music and where you come from?
DB: One of the cool things about the bluegrass scene is the community that exists, and definitely a festival like Freshgrass is an example of that. I first got to attend Freshgrass as a Berklee student playing in the lobby of Mass MOCA; we got in to the festival for free and had a place to stay. Last year Twisted Pine entered the Band Competition and won, and our banjo player Ricky Mier entered the Banjo Contest and won. Freshgrass treated us all really well, and the festival definitely provides a platform for young bands and musicians to get their music out there. Last year was a huge year for us as a band and the exposure we got from Freshgrass is a big part of that. Hanging out with your heroes backstage at Freshgrass is always a real treat; I’ll never forget watching David Grisman, Darol Anger, and Bruce Molsky all jamming backstage or hearing Sam Bush tell jokes about tight pants.
RLR: If you could collaborate with anyone (dead or alive) musically, who would it be? How about seeing anyone on stage together or joining you for your set this weekend?
DB: There are way too many musicians that we admire and would love to collaborate with! Pretty much anyone at the festival is someone we look up to.
RLR: What is 1 record or an album that you are listening to now that you think folks really need to hear about?
DB: We’ve been very lucky to come from a very active and creative music scene in Boston and a lot of the recent albums that I have been enjoying are ones made by my friends and peers: John Mailander and Molly Tuttle, The Lonely Heartstring Band, Stash Wyslouch, The Goodbye Girls, Ethan Jodziewicz and Tatiana Hargreaves, Haas Kowert Tice, and Mr. Sun have all put out records of incredible music in the last year.
RLR: Anything else you want to plug?
DB: After Freshgrass (on September 23rd), we’re looking forward to returning to the Parlor Room in Northampton MA, one of our favorite venues and home to our good friends at Signature Sounds. We’ll be playing a show with a great acoustic band from Canada called the Bombadils