Holly Bowling


Holly Bowling is a classically trained pianist best known for transcribing the music of Phish and the Grateful Dead into arrangements for solo piano. In 2014, Bowling published her "Jam Transcription" of Phish's famous rendition of "Tweezer" from Lake Tahoe on July 31, 2013. The success of Bowling's "Tahoe Tweezer" ignited her career as a musician. Her first solo tour began in July 2015. She has released two albums inspired by the music of Phish and the Grateful Dead and is now a well respected and established musician in the psychedelic rock and jamband music scene. Bowling is a frequent guest member of Everyone Orchestra, Phil Lesh & Friends, as well as being a part of Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam for the last two consecutive years. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Blue Note Jazz Club, The Massry Center, Lockn' Music Festival, Jam Cruise & The Peach Festival. She was named by Rolling Stone in November 2016 as one of "Ten New Artists You Need To Know Right Now."

Early life

Bowling began playing piano at age 5 under the Suzuki Methodology. In 1999, Bowling won the Norbert Mueller Concerto Competition for her performance of Vivace a Concerto for Piano in D Major. by J. Haydn. Bowling earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from San Francisco State University. While there, Bowling studied under William Corbett Jones. She won both the Ross McKee award and the 2007 Michael Avalos award, the two most coveted prizes in the SFSU Piano Department. Bowling transitioned from her job as a Suzuki Piano instructor for kids into fully dedicating herself to playing live shows in 2015. As of 2017, she has attended over 300 Phish shows during the 2.0 and 3.0 era. She currently resides in San Francisco, California with her husband, Jeffery Bowling, and their dog.

Career

Bowling's first live performance was in a San Francisco bar during Phish's 2014 Bill Graham Civic Center run. The published on October
28, 2014, has received over 95k views on YouTube. On August 10, 2015, Bowling released her first album "Distillation of a Dream: The Music of Phish Reimagined for Solo Piano," a 14 song, 2 LP set. The 1st LP is recreations of Phish studio performances and the 2nd LP is a composed of live Phish Jam Transcriptions. The "Distillation of a Dream" project took 9 months of development. Peter Smolin, of Hornblower Records, helped Bowling launch a Pledge Music campaign to raise $12,000 for funds to cover recording costs, marketing, and royalties which successfully raised $16,500. A portion of album sales went to The Mockingbird Foundation.
There are two approaches Bowling utilizes to adapt a full band's arrangement into a solo composition for the piano. “Jam Teases” are created by transcribing a small section of a song’s jam made famous by Phish or the Grateful Dead. More than 40 songs have now been transcribed as "Jam-Teases." One example is the "Beautiful Jam," played by the Grateful Dead within a “Dark Star” > “Wharf Rat” > “Dark Star” sequence at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on 2/18/71. In a “Jam Transcription,” Bowling takes the full live version of a song and transcribes it note for note. To date, she has created four “Jam Transcriptions”: Phish’s "A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing," from SPAC in Saratoga Springs, NY on 6/19/04, "The Wedge," from Northerly Island in Chicago on 7/20/14, "Twist," from Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, NY on 10/23/13; and the Grateful Dead’s "Eyes of the World," from Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY on 6/18/74.
In 2015, Jambase included Bowling in their "Songs of Their Own" video series featuring her rendition of "Eyes of the World," from Freedom Hall on 6/18/74. In 2016, Bowling released her second album, Better Left Unsung, which is a collection of classical solo piano arrangements of the Grateful Dead. The album release party for Better Left Unsung was held on December 7, 2016, at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads. The album was released on December 9, 2016. The night of the album release, Bowling performed with Bob Weir at the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina. Better Left Unsung reached its peak position on the Billboard Classical Albums charts at #25.
On January 22, 2017, during her solo tour, Bowling performed an original composition, "Evolution," for the first time. Currently, Bowling has four original compositions in playing rotation on solo tours entitled: "Proxima B," "You Are Not Are You," "Rocket’s Theme," and "Evolution."
In 2018, Bowling's focus shifted from her solo touring career to the formation of a band. The new five-piece band, Ghost Light, began touring in the spring and is currently finalizing their first album.. Ghost Light released their first album "Best Kept Secrets" on 3/22/2019

Ghost Light

In early 2018, Bowling, guitarist Tom Hamilton, guitarist Raina Mullen, bassist Steve Lyons, and drummer Scotty Zwang announced they were forming Ghost Light. This improvisational rock jamband is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the hometown of Hamilton, Mullen, Lyons and Zwang.
Ghost Light began with laying down its foundation in the studio, often working in five-day blocks to develop its improvisational, collaborative material prior to taking it out on the road for a live audience. They originally assembled for a session at a recording studio in Hamilton, Mullen, Lyons and Zwang’s hometown of Philadelphia. Ghost Light’s aim was to “come to the project with fresh ears and no pre-conceived notions.” The quintet developed songs and a musical communication, which then led to a bond and trust between the musicians.
Ghost Light's inaugural tour commenced with a sold out show on March 20, 2018, at Winstons in San Diego, CA. The first half of 2018, will see the band playing well known venues in major markets coast to coast, followed by heavy rotation on the festival circuit including the Peach Music Festival, Lockn’ Festival, Beanstalk Music Festival, Disc Jam, High Sierra Music Festival, and The Werk Out with more to be announced. During the west coast leg of the tour, the band debuted playing an acoustic set as well as special guest, Grahame Lesh, joining them for a song on both nights at Terrapin Crossroads. Along with band originals, the live shows have also featured songs of Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Van Halen, Derek & the Dominos, Tears for Fears, Bruce Cockburn, and Father John Misty. The debut record will be released in the second half of the year and will be supported by an extensive tour.

Equipment

Yamaha CP4, Nord Electro 4 & 5

First introductions and early shows

2013

The Chapel with Marco Benevento a benefit for Bread & Roses 12/1/13
Marco Benevento at The Highline Ballroom post Phish MSG show 12/30/13

2014

Distillation of a Dream: Tahoe Tweezer in 88 Keys - 10/27/14 - Noir Lounge in San Francisco, CA. This is Bowling's first ever public performance of her solo piano interpretations of the music of Phish. This also marks the day the full version of her solo piano version of the Tahoe Tweezer is released on YouTube.

2015

Magnaball Festival in 2015 - 2 clandestine solo sets from the lot night one & at the Wetlands campground night two
Phan art Presents: A World Cafe Live One 8/25/15

Collaborations and special guest appearances

2016

Greensky Bluegrass at McDonald Theatre in Eugene, Oregon 3/26/16
Terrapin Crossroads playing with Phil Lesh for the 1st time, along with Ross “MF” James, & Eric Diberardino. 11/4/16
Bob Weir & Friends at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC 12/9/16
Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam at US Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina 12/10/16

2017

Phil Lesh & Friends at TXR Bar in San Rafael, CA 1/12/17
Umphree’s McGee at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids, MI 2/2/17
Everyone Orchestra at Pour House in Charleston, SC 3/9/17 & 3/10/17
Everyone Orchestra at The Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, PA 4/29/17
Songs To Phil the Air at The Back porch stage in San Rafael, CA 6/7/17
Holly Bowling with Tom Hamilton's American Babies from the Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, PA 7/14/17
Everyone Orchestra at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT 7/28/17
Live Dead '69 at The Hamilton in Washington DC 8/1/17
Scott Law & Ross James' Cosmic Twang at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA 8/19/17
Phil Lesh & Friends ft. Bob Weir at Mount Tamalpais State Park 9/9/17
Phil & Stu do Europe '72 Vol 1 & 2 from Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA 9/14/17 & 9/15/17
Songs To Phil the Air at The Back porch stage in San Rafael, CA 9/19/17
Phriendsgiving at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA 11/12/17
The Jazz is Phish at the Mezzanine in San Francisco, CA 11/17/17
Everyone Orchestra in The Great Room at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA 12/1/17 & 12/2/17
Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, NC 12/9/17
Everyone Orchestra at Gypsy Sally's in Washington, D.C. 12/29/17
Everyone Orchestra at The Gramercy Theater New York, NY 12/30/17

2018

Phil & Terrapin Family Band at the 1st TXR House Party 1/15/18
Jam Cruise 16 - Everyone Orchestra, Andy Frasco, Robert Randolph Super Jam, Jen Hartswick Jam Room Set, Dan Lebowitz Jam Room Set 1/17/18 - 1/22/18
Cosmic Twang at the Chapel in San Francisco, CA 3/2/18
Thunder & Lightning in the Grate Room from Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA 4/24/18

2019

phAb6 at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver, CO with Paul Hoffman, Anders Beck, Jay Cobb Anderson, Andrew Altman, & Tyler Thompson 02/21/19
Phil & Friends at Peach Music Festival with Phil Lesh, John Scofield, Warren Haynes & John Molo 07/18/19

Played with

Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Page McConnell, Warren Haynes, John Scofield, Ivan Neville, Steve Kimock, Oteil Burbridge, Dave Schools, Branford Marsalis, Marco Benevento, Claude Coleman Jr., Duane Trucks, Natalie Cressman, Jennifer Hartswick, Jim James, Greensky Bluegrass, Umphrey's McGee, Railroad Earth, Tom Hamilton's American Babies, Don Was, Robert Randolph, Jason Hahn, Tony Hall, Alvin Ford Jr., Ross James, Stu Allen, Dan Lebowitz, Grahame Lesh, Jay Lane, Scott Law

Discography

2015-08-10 ': The Music of Phish Reimagined for Solo Piano
2016-12-09 ': The Music of the Grateful Dead Reimagined for Solo Piano
2019-08-23 : Solo piano recorded 9/21/2018 at the Old Church Concert Hall in Portland, OR

Videography

Holly Bowling: produced by Conveniently Texan Pictures of her first east coast performance on August 10 at Philly's Howl at the Moon.
Songs of Their Own created by Jambase in 2015 ft. Holly Bowling playing from Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY on 6/8/74

Selected performances and shows

at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA 12/7/16


7/22/17
at The Cutting Room in NY 7/23/17
10/21/17