Sony Masterworks
You may be asking yourself, “What the hell is a goat rodeo?”
Sitting in Marcus Theatre in Orland Park with the late-matinee crowd waiting for the sound to come over the live feed from the House of Blues in Boston, I must have heard this question about a thousand times and honestly, I’m sick of answering it. But since this is probably the only reason you’re reading this article, I’ll let Yo-Yo Ma tell you himself.
“If there were forks in the road and each time there was a fork the right decision was made, then you get to a goat rodeo.”
Still need a hint? It rhymes with bluster-chuck.
Yo-Yo Ma is the latest high-grossing recording artist to cash in on the Bluegrass gold rush that began slowly with the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack and exploded with the chart-topping Allison Krauss and Robert Plant collaboration Raising Sand that aced the Grammy Awards in 2009.
The Goat Rodeo Sessions find Yo-Yo Ma collaborating with some Newgrass heavy-weights; legit bluegrass virtuosos like fiddle player Stuart Duncan and Edgar Meyer on the double bass. The real star of the show, which Ma seems more than happy to let steal the spotlight from his celebrity cello, is Nickel Creek’s Chris Thile.
Chris Thile tears into the mandolin like it was an electric guitar. All these guys absolutely shred and the mind-boggling intricacy of their music lends the term “goat rodeo” some gut-level veracity. I was jealous the whole time of how much fun they seemed to be having jamming way outside of their comfort zones. It would be unfair to think of The Goat Rodeo Sessions as just a pedestrian Bluegrass-Classical fusion. The music is genuinely exciting, exploring very eclectic tonalities and rhythms that I would personally associate with the likes of King Crimson or Phillip Glass.
I think most rock and roll kids have a week or two where they turn on the local classical radio station to broaden their minds before inevitably finding it too pompous to deserve serious attention. Goat Rodeo finds traditional Western instrumentation liberated from the tyranny of classical pretenses, and American hillbilly music lifted to the ear of 21stCentury innovations.
This music isn’t really made for kind of crowd that goes to see a Yo-Yo Ma concert piped into a mall movie theatre. Ma throws them some red meat every once and a while, but Goat Rodeo is really about masterful musicians breaking free and having a blast doing whatever happens. Just like a great rock band. It was inspiring to see, and I hope their collaboration continues.
