Uploaded April 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith perform their song "Hemenway" in this music video recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado.
Bluegrass emphasizes tradition. For all the proliferation of jamgrass and its variants, especially in Colorado, the old ways of bluegrass have an inherently powerful pull that keep successive players from growing too far from the roots.
But the quartet Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith does much to expand the possibilities of a bluegrass lineup. Bluegrass songs are essentially country songs, and country songs aren’t supposed to have more than a few chords or get too complex rhythmically.
GLH&S doesn’t seem to know about these rules. Their instrumental songs, realized through Sam Grisman’s bass, Dominick Leslie’s mandolin, Alex Hargreaves’ fiddle and Nathaniel Smith’s cello (the presence of cello is the first sign that something different is happening here), take compositional risks and search for unusual sounds. Parts of their music are devoted to finding new ways to play their instruments. The spirit of GLH&S’ music is reminiscent of the Punch Brothers, and members of the two bands share a very high degree of skill.
GLH&S has released one EP, The Brotet, and though the band started as a “supergroup” side project — each of the members has an impressive performance resume — it’s poised to evolve into something bigger. When they came to the Garage, they performed “Shrimp Island Reel,” “Harkeesh, Harkash” and “Hemenway,” and they talked about the future of their collaboration in an interview with Quentin.
Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith perform their song "Shrimp Island Reef" in this music video recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado: secondstorygarage.com/grisman-leslie-hargreaves-smith-shrimp-island-reel-music-video
Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith perform their song "Harkeesh, Harkash" in this music video recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado: secondstorygarage.com/grisman-leslie-hargreaves-smith-harkeesh-harkash-music-video
Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith perform their song "Hemenway" in this music video recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado: secondstorygarage.com/grisman-leslie-hargreaves-smith-hemmen-way-music-video
Members of the band Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith chat with Second Story Garage host Quentin Young in this video interview recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado: secondstorygarage.com/grisman-leslie-hargreaves-smith-video-interview
What they brought us: A signed cup that bears the mysterious words “Harkeesh, Harkash,” which appears to have some kind of deep meaning for the band.
Sign up. Don’t miss out! Sign up for the Second Story Garage newsletter to keep up with local music news, show announcements, ticket sales information, previews, interviews and more. SIgn up here: eepurl.com/mzbMX
Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith perform their song "Hemenway" in this music video recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado.
Bluegrass emphasizes tradition. For all the proliferation of jamgrass and its variants, especially in Colorado, the old ways of bluegrass have an inherently powerful pull that keep successive players from growing too far from the roots.
But the quartet Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith does much to expand the possibilities of a bluegrass lineup. Bluegrass songs are essentially country songs, and country songs aren’t supposed to have more than a few chords or get too complex rhythmically.
GLH&S doesn’t seem to know about these rules. Their instrumental songs, realized through Sam Grisman’s bass, Dominick Leslie’s mandolin, Alex Hargreaves’ fiddle and Nathaniel Smith’s cello (the presence of cello is the first sign that something different is happening here), take compositional risks and search for unusual sounds. Parts of their music are devoted to finding new ways to play their instruments. The spirit of GLH&S’ music is reminiscent of the Punch Brothers, and members of the two bands share a very high degree of skill.
GLH&S has released one EP, The Brotet, and though the band started as a “supergroup” side project — each of the members has an impressive performance resume — it’s poised to evolve into something bigger. When they came to the Garage, they performed “Shrimp Island Reel,” “Harkeesh, Harkash” and “Hemenway,” and they talked about the future of their collaboration in an interview with Quentin.
Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith perform their song "Shrimp Island Reef" in this music video recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado: secondstorygarage.com/grisman-leslie-hargreaves-smith-shrimp-island-reel-music-video
Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith perform their song "Harkeesh, Harkash" in this music video recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado: secondstorygarage.com/grisman-leslie-hargreaves-smith-harkeesh-harkash-music-video
Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith perform their song "Hemenway" in this music video recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado: secondstorygarage.com/grisman-leslie-hargreaves-smith-hemmen-way-music-video
Members of the band Grisman, Leslie, Hargreaves & Smith chat with Second Story Garage host Quentin Young in this video interview recorded at the SecondStoryGarage.com studio inside the Daily Camera newsroom in Boulder, Colorado: secondstorygarage.com/grisman-leslie-hargreaves-smith-video-interview
What they brought us: A signed cup that bears the mysterious words “Harkeesh, Harkash,” which appears to have some kind of deep meaning for the band.
Sign up. Don’t miss out! Sign up for the Second Story Garage newsletter to keep up with local music news, show announcements, ticket sales information, previews, interviews and more. SIgn up here: eepurl.com/mzbMX
