About Sam
Sam Grisman grew up in a house where acoustic music was not just played but lived. The son of mandolin virtuoso David "Dawg" Grisman, Sam was raised in Mill Valley, California, surrounded by some of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century. Jerry Garcia was a regular visitor, dropping by to pick old-time tunes and bluegrass standards with David in the family living room. For Sam, the sound of a flatpicked guitar and a mandolin weaving through each other was not a concert experience. It was a Saturday afternoon.
Sam picked up the upright bass as a kid, drawn to the instrument that held the bottom end together in every session he witnessed. He spent over a decade on the road as a sideman, backing some of the finest players in acoustic music and absorbing every lesson the stage and the studio had to offer. He honed a deep rhythmic pocket and a melodic sensibility shaped by years of listening to Dawg music, bluegrass, folk, and the sprawling improvisational spirit of the Grateful Dead.
Now based in Nashville, Sam leads the Sam Grisman Project, a rotating acoustic collective built on the idea that music is best when it is shared among friends. The lineup shifts from show to show, drawing from a handpicked roster of the most talented young acoustic musicians working today. Every performance is different. Every combination of players brings something new to the table. What stays constant is the feeling: joy, spontaneity, and a deep reverence for the tradition that made it all possible.
The Sam Grisman Project is not a tribute act. It is a living continuation of a lineage. Sam carries forward the spirit of the Garcia/Grisman sessions and the Dawg music catalog alongside original compositions and fresh arrangements that honor the past while refusing to be confined by it. There is a youthful, electric energy in every show, even when the instruments are all acoustic. The music breathes, the crowd leans in, and for a few hours the thread connecting Dawg and Garcia to the present moment pulls taut and hums.
