Béla Fleck, Sam Bush & Greensky Bluegrass Members Join Phil Lesh & Friends At Telluride Bluegrass Festival

Phil Lesh & Friends welcomed Béla Fleck, Sam Bush and members of Greensky Bluegrass during their performance at the 49th annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado. The headlining Sunday evening collaborative set, led by Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, was the final performance of the weekend.

Sunday’s Father’s Day Phil & Friends lineup saw Lesh joined by his son, guitarist Grahame Lesh, as well as guitarist Stu Allen, keyboardist Holly Bowling and drummer John Molo. Lesh and his cohorts began by pulling from the Dead’s early catalog via “Mason’s Children.” The quintet then tapped the Dead’s mid-1970s material with “Here Comes Sunshine” and “The Wheel.”

Béla Fleck was the first guest to emerge, lending his banjo to “Peggy-O.” Fleck stuck around as Sam Bush came out to play mandolin on “Cumberland Blues.” The pair of bluegrass legends then exited as Lesh called upon the next generation of pickers as mandolinist Paul Hoffman and dobroist Anders Beck of Greensky Bluegrass came onstage to augment “China Cat Sunflower” into “I Know You Rider.”

Following the guest segment, Phil & Friends brought the set to an end with the “Terrapin Station” suite. Phil preceded the encore with his common call for support for organ donation. The performance and the fest were capped with a “New Speedway Boogie” encore finale. Footage of Phil Lesh & Friends’ headlining set at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival 2022 can be reviewed below: