Via The Art Fuse
When Béla Fleck took the stage on Saturday night with his band, My Bluegrass Heart, at the sold out Groton Hill Music Center’s concert hall, the audience was filled with Fleck fans who knew something special was likely to be in store.
Fleck has won 15 Grammy awards for nine different genres — including country, pop, jazz, classical, instrumental, and world music. He was as likely to team up with the likes of Chick Corea as a group of musicians in a remote Ugandan village. He played with symphony orchestras and his breakout band, The Flecktones, and never encountered a genre that didn’t entice him. In his hands, the banjo became something more than a musical instrument; it was a bridge across styles and cultures and tastes.
Returning to his bluegrass roots for the first time in 24 years, Fleck brought along his My Bluegrass Heart band, an all-star lineup of talent that has spent the past two years touring and recording an album with Fleck. Every member of the group has soaring bona fides and the set list was created to let everyone demonstrate mind-blowing skill. Fleck displayed both generosity and wisdom in spreading the wealth throughout the show.