Greta Van Fleet Preview New Music At Homecoming Gigs
Greta Van Fleet has been on fire this year and came home — or close to home — this week in triumph.
The quartet from Frankenmuth, Mich., played the first of two sold-out shows at Saint Andrews Hall in nearby Detroit on Thursday (December 28), giving a hint of what’s to come in the New Year. Five of the 80-minute show’s 12 songs are so far unreleased, including the acoustic-flavored “You’re The One,” which the group preceded with a bit of the late Fats Domino‘s “Blueberry Hill,” the Tom Petty tribute “Watching Over” and “Lover Leaver Taker Believer,” which incorporated a bit of the Muddy Waters-popularized “Rollin’ And Tumblin’.” GVF also covered Howlin’ Wolf‘s “Evil Is Goin’ On” and played a half-dozen tracks from its From The Fires mini-album, closing with the hits “Highway Tune” and “Safari Song.”
The group has been working on a new album at studios in suburban Detroit and Nashville, and bassist-keyboardist Sam Kiszka tells us the recording is taking a priority at the moment:
“Everyone’s been requesting more material, which is great to have that kind of response with people, and I guess they’re into it enough where we kind of hold back from the touring and get more in the studio. It’s a difficult thing to juggle, going out to play shows and giving the people more material. It’s a tough split, but we’re finding a happy medium right now.”
GVF closes its U.S. tour with a second show Friday (December 29) in Detroit and on Saturday (December 30) in Grand Rapids, Mich. It kicks off a European tour on March 20 in the Netherlands and is booked for the U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville, Carolina Rebellious and the Hangout Beach, Music & Arts Fest in May.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
