Words & Images by: Tory Pittarelli and Hilary Gleason of The Mischief Collective

Bluegrass Underground - Greensky Bluegrass, Leftover Salmon & Railroad Earth :: 3.29.15 :: Cumberland Caverns’ Volcano Room :: McMinnville, TN

Bluegrass fans from near and far gathered 333 feet below ground in Cumberland Caverns’ Volcano Room for a bucket list worthy afternoon of music with Greensky Bluegrass, Railroad Earth and Leftover Salmon. Bluegrass Underground is a monthly event recorded in McMinnville, Tennessee for PBS, which has hosted bands such as The Wood Brothers, Widespread Panic and Béla Fleck. Sunday's Bluegrass Underground was a particularly special installment because the chances to catch these three bluegrass giants co-headlining one event are few and far between.

The festivities began at 2 p.m. sharp when Greensky Bluegrass took the stage. It wasn’t your average full house with fans seated quietly in rows of chairs in the center of the room while being surrounded on all sides by those who preferred to dance on the steep terrain, or perch high above the room within the cave’s walls. Greensky stuck with their originals, mostly those from their newest album If Sorrows Swim, beginning with guitarist Dave Bruzza’s song “A Letter to Seymour.” The “Dark Lord of Greensky Bluegrass,” dobro player Anders Beck, capitalized on the opportunity to play with the cave’s acoustics and his delay pedal to create a spacey, primordial jam before they broke into “Kerosene.” After their tune “Leap Year” turned into a cave wide sing-a-long, they closed out their set with their only cover for the day, the Grateful Dead’s “Black Muddy River.”

Greensky Bluegrass Setlist

Set: A Letter to Seymour, In Control, Can’t Stop Now, The Four, Windshield, Burn Them, Kerosene, Wings for Wheels, Leap Year, Black Muddy River

Railroad Earth began their set with a swingin’ rendition of “Chasin’ a Rainbow,” off their latest album Last of the Outlaws. It came as a surprise to all when they dropped one of the most special songs of their catalog, “Railroad Earth,” immediately after, as this tune is typically reserved for a tear-jerking encore slot. We can think of no better place on earth to witness the thunderous outcries of Tim Carbone’s fiddle in “Mighty River” than within the depths of one the longest caves in the entire world. At the end of the set, bassist Andrew Altman caused quite a rumble with his show stopping solo between “Bird In A House” and “Black Bear.”

Railroad Earth Setlist

Set: Chasin' a Rainbow, Railroad Earth, Mighty River, Like A Buddha, Water Fountain Quick Sand, Bird In A House, Black Bear

Known as one of the biggest party bands in the scene, we were quite curious to witness how Leftover Salmon would approach playing in front of a seated audience. They opened their set with “Gulf of Mexico” followed by “High Country,” and it was clear they would not be toning it down for the occasion. Perhaps the most legendary jam of the entire evening was banjo player Andy Thorn’s “Aquatic Hitchhiker,” a dark, ethereal tune, featuring white-hot solos from Thorn, as well as bassist Greg Garrison and drummer Alwyn Robinson.

Leftover Salmon Setlist

Set: Gulf Of Mexico, High Country, Get Up and Go, Two Highways, Aquatic Hitchhiker, Oh Atlanta, Liza, Down in the Hollow

It should go without saying that the acoustics inside the cave provided a unique sound that can’t be replicated anywhere else, but to hear the way the room transforms the sound of each band is a big part of what makes these events so special. The long and winding walk to the Volcano Room provided time for reflection on the unbelievable happenings in the cavern down below. It’s just like Railroad Earth frontman Todd Sheaffer said to us with a sarcastic tone, “Our career has reached a new low…this place is a real hole.”

Be sure to check out The Mischief Collective for more from Tory and Hilary.

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