Musically, Atlanta’s Blueground Undergrass has always been a bit of a Frankenstein. Despite the bluegrass instrumental trappings, Blueground revels in a funky, rocking approach to the genre that has landed its members on stages with jam giants such as Phish, Leftover Salmon and Widespread Panic.
Saturday, however, they’ll pull off a trick even a mad scientist’s mind couldn’t fathom by rising from the grave.
Founder Jeff Mosier retired the Blueground name months ago to focus on his new group, The Mosier Brothers. But Friends of the Festival assistant talent coordinator Jeff Styles convinced him to reunite, with the addition of a special guest, R&B organist Ike Stubblefield, for a special one-off performance as this week’s Riverfront Nights headliner.
“This is really special,” Mosier said. “We’re going to do what we did in 1998, 1999 and 2000, and improvise, play funk and Afro-Cuban and then go back into bluegrass and then play rock and go back into Afro-Cuban. It’s like weird stunt arranging.”
RELATED LINKS FOR WEB:http://www.bluegroundundergrass.comIF YOU GO* What: Riverfront Nights, featuring Blueground Undergrass.* When: 7 p.m. Saturday.* Where: Ross’s Landing at Riverfront Parkway.* Admission: Free.* Phone: 756-2211.* Venue website: www.riverfrontnights.com.
Mosier founded Blueground in 1998 as a follow-up to his traditional bluegrass band, Good Medicine, which he founded with his brother, guitarist Johnny Mosier.
He earned his stripes as a musical innovator, however, as a member of Col. Bruce Hampton’s early jam-fusion band, Aquarium Rescue Unit. The legacy of his time with Hampton can be heard in Blueground’s organic style, something Mosier said he couldn’t have conceived of growing up as a banjo player from Bristol, Tenn.
“(Hampton) helped me meld the new world and old world in my mind,” Mosier said. “He gave me permission to play music on the banjo, not just banjo music.
“I was this hillbilly, kind-hearted, recovering Christian whose mind was being exploded by a new world of music. It was thrilling. I’ve never looked back. I’m proud that I didn’t.”