The Infamous Stringdusters Cover Phish, Grateful Dead, and More in Undercover, Vol. 3

11-13-2024

(AV) The Infamous Stringdusters have released a new installment of their beloved cover album series, Undercover, Vol. 3. Following suit with their previous 5-song curated selections, with one song selected per band member, this collection reimagines classics from legends like The Grateful Dead, Phish, Avicii, and more blending bluegrass mastery with fresh, innovative twists. Listen to Undercover, Vol. 3 here.

The album opens with The Grateful Dead's "Touch of Grey" selected by guitarist and vocalist, Andy Falco. As an avid Dead Head regularly collaborating with bassist Travis Book on their 'Falco and Book Play Garcia' duo project, Falco felt the arrangement suited the bluegrass quintet format and arranged it to begin performing coming out of the pandemic.

"The song had a really great message and I've always loved it, especially after seeing The Grateful Dead back in the Jerry years," explains Falco, "It's an uplifting song. I think about a particular version when Jerry was coming out of his coma and he's singing 'I will get by' and doing windmills-it's the perfect message that matched when we were coming out of the pandemic."

Bluegrass and electronic music may be the most unlikely merger in music, but in true Stringdusters form, the group crafts a seamless arrangement of Avicii's "Wake Me Up" making the late Swedish producer's tune their own that's guaranteed to impart a wave of nostalgia in both home listening and performance settings.

"The song I chose for 'Undercover' was 'Wake Me Up,' which is an Avicii tune," reveals bassist & vocalist Travis Book, "I really love that it was a popular song, so when we play it, people have connection to it. People can remember when it was the hit of the summer and I love that it was part of a project that Avicii did where he was collaborating with a lot of musicians. I also think the song has a cool, sort of positive message that relates to the angst of being young and struggling with identity trying to figure out what's next in your life. I love the way we play it-it's always a blast!"

Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle," selected by dobroist & vocalist Andy Hall, gets a treatment that's texturized with tight strumming, accented fiddle lines, and buoyant string interplay that serves as the perfect song to insert in the middle of the 6-song EP. "It's a classic song all over classic rock stations and you have that quintessential synth sound at the start-it's such a cool sounding track and Steve Miller's voice is epic," muses Hall, "But what really drew me deeper into the song were the lyrics. It's an uplifting message with a big chorus, but the verse is what's the most amazing-the babies don't have enough to eat, the children have no shoes on their feet, how are the people living in the street? Oh, there's a solution. Any chance to get a positive message out is something I like to take."

Violinist & vocalist Jeremy Garrett knew he wanted to do a ZZ Top song for this iteration of "Undercover," but took a deep diving into the band's catalog to finally land on "Sharp Dressed Man." On his selection, he notes, "I've been listening to ZZ Top every since I was young. I love how hard they hit it, how hard they bring the show, and everything about their music. I had to go through their whole catalog, but when it comes to picking a really good song for a bluegrass cover, this one stuck out."

As 4x GRAMMY-nominated and 1x GRAMMY Award-Winning artists, The Infamous Stringdusters take notes from industry peers no matter what style of music they play, hence landing upon "As It Was" by Harry Styles as an "Undercover" selection. "We saw him play it at the GRAMMYs and his performance was so awesome it was in my head for weeks. I knew the band would make a really good treatment of it, so we did something swung, a little jazzy and I really love how it turned out," touts Book, who also noted his daughter is a big fan and they were happy to indulge in her Harry Styles obsession.

Andy Falco's guitar strumming immediately ushers in the unmistakable vamp of the Phish cult favorite "Possum" infused with the Dusters' virtuosity musicianship and high-energy improvisation making it a must-hear, guaranteed sing-a-long for fans of both bands. The final track was selected by banjoist & vocalist, Chris Pandolfi. He remarks, "We chose Phish's 'Possum' because we love the song and we love the band. They've been a huge influence on me and are one of the bands that got me excited about music in the first place. They've been an influence on our whole jam & roots scene and pioneered a sound. While it has an obvious bluegrass sound, part of the reason it stuck for us was because we wanted to figure out our own arrangement and do our own thing with it-the jam section is the Stringdusters' take on Phish and when it came time for our next 'Undercover,' this was an obvious choice."

The Infamous Stringdusters close out yet another active year with an appearance at Strings & Sol in Puerto Morelos, Mexico before a pair of New Years Weekend Dates at The National in Richmond, Virginia. 2025 will kick off with their annual 'SkiDust' tour traversing through mountain towns.

12/12 - 12/16 - Puerto Morelos, Q.R. - Strings & Sol
12/30 - Richmond, VA - The National
12/31 - Richmond, VA - The National
1/8 - Crested Butte, CO - Center for the Arts
1/9 - Beaver Creek, CO - Vilar Performing Arts Center
1/10 - Beaver Creek, CO - Vilar Performing Arts Center
1/11 - Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
2/7 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
2/8 - Telluride, CO - Sheridan Opera House
2/9 - Telluride, CO - Sheridan Opera House
2/10 - Telluride, CO - Sheridan Opera House
2/11 - Grand Junction, CO - Mesa Theater
2/13 - Park City, UT - Egyptian Theatre
2/14 - Park City, UT - Egyptian Theatre
2/15 - Park City, UT - Egyptian Theatre
2/16 - Park City, UT - Egyptian Theatre
3/20 - Live Oak, FL - Suwannee Spring Reunion