Weekly Artist Spotlight: Holly Bowling
Having become one of, if not, THE most respected and well-known solo artists in the Phish and Jam community, Holly Bowling has taken the scene by storm. First gaining recognition after re-working one of Phish’s most infamous jams, the Tahoe Tweezer into a composition for the solo Piano, Holly has proven herself to not only be a masterful piano player, but also a true Phish fan. Being able to take the 36 minute, 48-second long jam with 7 distinct sections, and re-organize it into a beautiful solo piano piece is quite a feat, and it has not gone unnoticed. Watch Holly play the complete Tahoe Tweezer here!
At the early age of five, Holly’s parents laid the foundation of her music career by training her on classical piano. Unlike some students of classical music, Holly experienced a unique opposition throughout her musical upbringing. While she spent hours receiving classical training, Holly was naturally drawn to the music of The Grateful Dead, Little Feat, and obviously, Phish. Holly attended her first Phish show over the band’s New Year’s run in 2002, right after the band came out of a 2 year hiatus. Since that moment, Holly’s seen the legendary Burlington quartet in concert over 300 times. So rather than siloing her career from this seemingly contradicting passion for Phish, Holly instead brought both worlds together to build an incredibly unique take on Phish’s music that pays tribute in a way that’s only hers. Though her claim to fame was her organization of Phish’s Tahoe Tweezer, Holly is anything but a one trick pony. Releasing her album, Better Left Unsung, Holly took the music of the Grateful Dead and re-arranged it for solo piano. But Holly’s prowess doesn’t end there, obviously a master of piano, Holly has released a series of Freeform Piano improvisations on her Soundcloud, called Late Night Meditations, listen here!
As Holly has found herself playing more and more festival slots as well as Pre and After parties, she’s incorporated even more music from throughout the jam and live rock scene into her repertoire. Playing with notorious musicians such as Phil Lesh of The Grateful Dead and Aron Magner of The Disco Biscuits, Holly has truly gained the recognition she’s deserved.
Luckily enough Holly Bowling is returning to NYC for a Phish Pre-Party on New Year’s day at The Cutting Room! Tickets are available here! Previously Holly has sold out almost all of her Phish Pre-Party’s so this is not a ticket to sleep on!