Tahoe Onstage photos by Larry Sabo
Three decades after winning a Grammy for Best New Artist and launching one of contemporary music’s most diverse careers, Bruce Hornsby still makes joyful noise as he discovers clever and expansive ways to chronicle dynamic musical snapshots of his often generously collaborative journey.
Nothing better illustrates this than Hornsby’s communion with his longtime band, the Noisemakers. Hornsby and the Noisemakers entertained a packed crowd on Saturday, July 8, at MontBleu Theatre in Stateline, Nevada.
His Grammy in 1987 for Best New Artist (with Bruce Hornsby and the Range) was followed by a 1990 Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album and a 1994 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
Hornsby and the Noisemakers tap into many of the genres that have influenced his music over the years — pop, jazz, bluegrass, country and modern classical.
“I think the guys in the Noisemakers like the gig because there’s never a dull moment and we attempt to keep the spontaneity factor high,” Hornsby says. “The idea always is, ‘Watch Bruce.’ I’m a fairly loose leader and I don’t like to rehearse. We mostly just ride around the country on a bus and laugh a lot. Hopefully, you can hear that loose spirit in our shows.”
Times and band members change, as Hornsby knows. “As the years go by and my music evolves, I’ve been increasingly interested in hearing some new sounds in my band,” he says on his website “As I get older, I’ve become more of a folkie than a jazzer, and I’ve felt the need to move the music accordingly.”
