Review & Photos by Porter Byers

Greensky Bluegrass returned to Washington D.C. for their annual two-night stand at the Anthem, and as usual, brought the house down. The band’s signature bluegrass / rock ’n’ roll hybrid sound brought mainstays and featured guest Cris Jacobs on electric guitar.

After opening with a moody and spaced-out “Stress Dreams,” Greensky went into high gear with “Reuben’s Train.”

The Anthem is the perfect venue for a Greensky show: the 6,000 capacity theater offers all around great sound and views of the band’s top-tier lightshow which complements their unique improvisation. Friday’s show was nearly sold out but still had plenty of room for the enthused crowd to dance and slap their knees. I can’t recall if this was the case at previous Greensky shows but the house music throughout the night was exclusively the Beatles.

Opener Molly Tuttle wowed with her guitar skills, voice, and cheerful presence that all work in tandem to bring a country-tinged bluegrass sound capable of evoking both longing and jubilation. Her originals (including several from her outfit, Golden Highway) “Crooked Tree” (a song about being different) and “El Dorado” were just as moving as her covers of “White Rabbit” and “She’s a Rainbow.” Anders Beck and Chris Devol joined her for a couple numbers, including a fun little ditty lobbying “Mr. Senator” for pot shops in Tennessee (“Down Home Dispensary”). She later hopped on stage with the quintet for “Give a Shit” and “Castilleja” to the delight of the crowd.

Greensky’s tour picks up again at the end of the month in Des Moines and will be capped-off with two nights at the Ryman in Nashville before the summer festival circuit kicks into full swing.