‘We will always be a band from Kalamazoo’: Greensky returns home to celebrate 25 years

Greensky Bluegrass performs in front of a packed house of more than 9,000 fans at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.

KALAMAZOO, MI — After coming together over open mic nights at Papa Pete’s, Greensky Bluegrass played its first official show at a Halloween party in 2000 in Kalamazoo.

To commemorate its 25th year, the band will return home for a two-night run at Wings Event Center on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1.

“I never imagined that 25 years later, we would have the opportunity to return home and celebrate 25 years as a band in a building I spent a lot of my childhood in (playing hockey),” said guitarist Dave Bruzza, who calls Denver home these days. “It feels like we played our first show just a few days ago! I’m humbled and grateful.”

Michael Arlen Bont and Paul Hoffman go through soundcheck on June 3, 2016, in Bell's Beer Garden in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Over the past 25 years, the band has amassed a loyal following, as it grew from house shows, to Club Soda gigs and years of headlining Bell’s and the Kalamazoo State Theatre, to preparing for its 20th performance at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado this fall.

The improvisational jamgrass act, which also features Paul Hoffman (mandolin), Anders Beck (dobro), Michael Devol (bass) and Michael Arlen Bont (banjo), has become a mainstay at the top of festival lineups across the country each summer.

Greensky Bluegrass performs its annual Halloween show on Oct. 30, 2021, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2025, the band will come home to Kalamazoo, Michigan, for two performances at Wings Event Center on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1.

The band’s return to Kalamazoo this fall marks Greensky’s first headlining appearance at Wings Event Center. It also marks the band’s first shows in Kalamazoo since ringing in 2024 with a multi-night New Year’s run at the State Theatre.

Halloween shows with Greensky traditionally mean fans can be treated to the unexpected — often a themed show with stage antics and costumes.

In past years, the band has come out as Elvis impersonators in Las Vegas, performed a psychedelic circus-themed show in Portland and dressed as historic country icons while playing the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

In 2020, for the band’s 20th anniversary, Greensky took fans on a career-spanning journey at a socially-distanced drive-in show in Brevard, North Carolina. The show began with songs off Greensky’s first album and culminated with a futuristic version of the band, which debuted new material to end the night.

Paul Hoffman performs at soundcheck at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, on July 22, 2016. The show was Greensky's fourth at the venue and first headlining performance.

No two shows with Greensky are ever the same, something that has led to the band continuing to grow its following throughout the years as it routinely plays multi-night runs at destination venues for fans. Those fans often travel from city to city to see them, knowing they won’t get any repeats for multiple nights on end.

Greensky Bluegrass performs together during soundcheck on June 3, 2016 at Bell's Beer Garden in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

“As songwriters and musicians, we have a need for people to be on board, we’re not just regurgitating the same stuff,” Bruzza said.

While more fans continue to get on board with each passing year, some of the band’s most loyal have been the ones who have been around since the early days.

Greensky Bluegrass performs its annual Halloween show on Oct. 31, 2019, at the Chicago Theatre. In 2025, the band will come home to Kalamazoo, Michigan, for two performances at Wings Event Center on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1.

These shows will be a chance to celebrate with as many of them as possible as the band hits a milestone anniversary.

Mike Devol, Dave Bruzza and Anders Beck go through soundcheck at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, on July 22, 2016. The show was Greensky's fourth at the venue and first headlining performance.

“The fact is, the band was born in Kalamazoo,” Bruzza said. “We all lived there while we were building, and even though we have all gone where our personal lives have taken us, we will always be a band from Kalamazoo.

“Nothing will ever change that. It’s a fact.”

Visit greenskybluegrass.com/tour to register for the band presale, which goes on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 25. The venue presale starts at 10 a.m. Thursday and the general on sale is 10 a.m. Friday, June 27, both at wingseventcenter.com.

Greensky Bluegrass performs its annual Halloween show in 2016, at the Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2025, the band will come home to Kalamazoo, Michigan, for two performances at Wings Event Center on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1.

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