Monday July 14

Andy Statman Trio (Bluegrass, Klezmer and Hassidic soul)
Sam Grisman Project (Dawg meets Dead)

Summer Jam 2025 kicks off with an unprecedented double bill spanning generations and genres, and celebrating the disparate and overlapping musical legacies of three great artists with significant milestones this year.

Andy Statman is one of the world’s premier mandolinists and clarinetists. Known for his incredible virtuosity, versatility, and eclecticism, he is a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellow and a master in multiple music genres. A protégé to the legendary clarinetist Dave Tarras, Andy was among those who initiated the Klezmer and Yiddish music revival in the 1970s. He has continued making vital music rooted in Jewish traditions and Hassidic spirituality for the last half century. All the while he has remained one of the most unique and explosive mandolinists within and beyond the progressive bluegrass world. Statman performs his distinctive, unconstrained, often avant-garde meditations on jazz, klezmer, bluegrass and the human soul with bassist Jim Whitney and percussionist Larry Eagle. “At a certain point, we’re just talking, just having a three-way conversation” says Statman. This “conversation” changes each time they have it on stage, no melody sounding quite the same as it did before, and none bearing the definitive stamp of the genre that spawned it. A totally unselfconscious performer, Statman does not mind that many audiences leave slightly befuddled as to what kind of music, exactly, they have just heard.

Video: https://youtu.be/lEcTHTOZupo?si=iTz6sA1Vj_PSTb9j

Making their Canadian debut at Summer Jam, the Sam Grisman Project is an exciting collective that is carving out a unique place in the worlds of acoustic and jamband music. Bassist Sam Grisman grew up steeped in the music of his father, legendary mandolinist David “Dawg” Grisman, and his close friend Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. These two legends first collaborated in the early 70s, when Grisman played on the Dead’s iconic “American Beauty” album, and then joined with Garcia in the shortlived but widely influential bluegrass band Old and in the Way. After a 15 year interlude, they reunited in the early 90s as a duo, recording and performing prolifically until Garcia’s death in 1995. The timeless acoustic recordings they made in this period span jazz, bluegrass, folk and Americana, and encompass Sam’s oldest and fondest musical memories from his childhood living room where the two legends would jam endlessly. Sam launched SGP “to build a platform for my friends and me to showcase our genuine passion and appreciation for the legacy of Dawg and Jerry’s music.” That legacy includes a diverse and dynamic repertoire of traditional music, covers, and staples from both the Dawg and Garcia/Hunter songbooks. The depth of the musicians’ camaraderie, the excellent choice of material, and the level of skill, intention, individuality and joy with which they deliver these tunes make Sam Grisman Project feel and sound simultaneously refreshing yet familiar. For Summer Jam, SGP will include Max Flansburg (guitar/vox), Matt Flinner (mandolin), Victor Furtado (banjo/vox), John Mailander (fiddle), and additional guests. 

Video: https://youtu.be/LYxguEIhyYE?si=ODBoz2zUIlsgrO8K

NEW THIS YEAR: Each show in the 2025 Summer Jam series will begin with a 6pm pre-event for children and families.
On July 14 the night will begin with an almost-acoustic performance by the Sam Grisman Project of songs from the beloved children’s album “Not For Kids Only” (1993) by David Grisman and Jerry Garcia. As reviewer John Metzger wrote of the music “one need not have children to enjoy this collection of traditional tunes and folk standards.”