Longwood Debut
Americana icon Peter Rowan—member of the transcendent bluegrass outfit Old & In The Way along with bandmates Vassar Clements, David “Dawg” Grisman, and Jerry Garcia—teams up with David Grisman’s son, Sam, and his Sam Grisman Project for this special performance. Together, they capture audiences’ hearts with the music of Dawg and Jerry, originals, and selections from the roots songbook, all getting to the very heart of American roots.
Peter Rowan
Americana icon, Grammy Award winner, and member of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame Peter Rowan is a singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades. From his early years playing under the tutelage of Bluegrass veteran Bill Monroe, to his time in Old & In The Way and his breakout as a solo musician and bandleader, Rowan has built a devoted, international fan base through a solid stream of recordings, collaborative projects, and constant touring.
Born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family, Rowan learned to play guitar from his uncle. He spent his teenage years absorbing the sights and sounds of the Hillbilly Ranch, a legendary country music nightclub in Boston frequented by old-time acts like The Lilly Brothers and Tex Logan. In 1956 Rowan formed his first band, the Cupids, while still in high school. After three years in college, he left academia to pursue a life in music. Rowan began his professional career in 1963 as the singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter for the Bluegrass Boys, led by the founding father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe.
The late 60s and early 70s saw Rowan involved in a number of rock, folk, and bluegrass projects, including Earth Opera, Sea Train, Muleskinner, and the Rowans, where he played alongside brothers Chris and Lorin Rowan. After the Rowan Brothers disbanded, Rowan, David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, Vassar Clements, and John Kahn formed a bluegrass band christened Old & In The Way. It was during this incarnation that Rowan penned the song Panama Red, a subsequent hit for the New Riders of the Purple Sage and a classic ever since. Rowan subsequently embarked on a well-received solo career in the late 70s, releasing critically acclaimed records such as Dustbowl Children (a Woody-Guthrie style song cycle about the Great Depression), Yonder (a record of old-time country music in collaboration with ace dobro player Jerry Douglas), and two extraordinarily fine bluegrass albums, The First Whippoorwill and Bluegrass Boy, as well as High Lonesome Cowboy, a recording of traditional and old-time mountain music with Don Edwards and Norman Blake.
Rowan’s recent release, Quartet, a recording with the phenomenal Tony Rice and Legacy with the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, coupled with a relentless touring schedule, have further endeared Rowan to audiences around the world. Following on the heels of the celebrated album Crucial Country: Live at Telluride, Rowan recorded his second album for Compass entitled Old School with members of the current Bluegrass Band plus Chris Henry, Michael Cleveland, Bryan Sutton, Ronnie, Robbie and Del McCoury, and more.
Since then Rowan has recorded and released Twang an Groove Vol. 1 (his electric band with drummer Jamie Oldacker and bassist Mike Morgan) on There Records; Dharma Blues (produced by John Chelew and including Jack Casady, Jody Stecker, Patrick Korte, and Manose Singh performing songs of the Buddhaverse) on Omnivore Records; and My Aloha, also on Omnivore Records. Rowan recorded and released two bluegrass records on Compass Records, both of which reverted back to him—Legacy and The Old School—before joining Rebel Records’ stellar bluegrass lineup. His second Rebel release, Calling You From My Mountain, received a 2022 Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album.
Internationally, Rowan often performs as a solo singer-songwriter, while stateside, along with solo appearances, he plays in three bands: the Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, a quintet featuring Keith Little, Chris Henry, Blaine Sprouse and Paul Knight; Big Twang Theory and its Texas Cousin Twang n Groove; and rock band The Free Mexican Air Force.
Sam Grisman Project
The music that Sam Grisman heard his father David Grisman and Jerry Garcia make in the early 90s in the house Sam grew up in (the simply titled Jerry Garcia & David Grisman, as just one example) is not only some of the most timeless acoustic music ever recorded, it also triggers his oldest and fondest musical memories.
Grisman is inspired by how much camaraderie, love, and joy is simply oozing out of his father and his best friend, but also how deeply they get underneath their favorite songs (originals, covers, and traditional/old-time tunes) and how expertly that material was curated.
Grisman's aim in starting Sam Grisman Project is to build a container where he and his friends can showcase their genuine love and appreciation for the legacy of Dawg and Jerry’s music, the impact it has made on their own individual musical voices, and also to showcase the original music that their squad has to offer the world.