By R. David Shew
Sam Bush and his four-member band were on fire last night at Kentucky Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky. The current members of the Bush band are Stephne Mougin on guitar, Wes Corbett on banjo, Chris Brown on drums, and Todd Parks on bass. To say the least, all four band members are truly hot musicians. Bush and his members reside in Nashville today.
Bush and the band members paid tribute to Bill Monroe, J.D. Crowe, Leon Russell, and Bob Dylan. My personal favorite of the night was “When You Gonna Wake Up” by Bob Dylan. The lyrics really moved me, especially the first line in the song “God don’t make promises that He don’t keep.”
Bush’s tribute to Leon Russell was another rendition that brought back memories of seeing Leon Russell with my brother, Randy, way back when or too long to remember. Yes, Randy taught me to appreciate different genres of music. Thanks Randy.
Bush told several stories of playing with the greats of his long career. Some even call him the Father of Newgrass. His mandolin licks and fiddle playing brought out hoots and hollers from the fans in the crowd.
The band was very tight and quite gifted. Their harmonies were truly unique. The music is not my favorite, but it truly gave me a different perspective of his Bluegrass background. At 72 years young, Bush made the evening entertaining and uplifting.
My recommendation would be to catch a show down the road. Yes, thank you to Mike for the tickets. I appreciate the introduction to Sam Bush and his band members.
