Bruce Hornsby

Bruce Hornsby has three Grammy Awards that showcase the diversity and breadth of his career. He won Best New Artist (1988) as leader of Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Best Bluegrass Recording (1989) for his version of “The Valley Road,” that appeared on a Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album, and shared award with Jazz great Branford Marsalis for Best Pop Instrumental (1993) for “Barcelona Mona, “ a song written and performed for the 1992 Olympic Games. Tupac Shakur’s hit “Changes” is a reimagining of a Bruce Hornsby song and Hornsby has partnered with everyone from Spike Lee to Bob Dylan and Elton John. Oh, yes, there was also a stint with a little band called The Grateful Dead.

The Virginia native has built one of the most diverse, collaborative, and adventurous careers in contemporary music. Drawing from a vast wellspring of American musical traditions, the singer/pianist/composer/bandleader has created a large and accomplished body of work and employed a vast array of stylistic approaches. Throughout this period, Hornsby has maintained the integrity, virtuosity, and artistic curiosity that have been hallmarks of his work from the start.

Hornsby and his band The Range's first album The Way It Is (1986) was steadily and slowly building in popularity in the U.S. when in August the title track exploded on BBC Radio One in England, then Europe, the rest of the world and finally in the United States. The record went on to sell three million records, the band played Saturday Night Live and opened for Steve Winwood, John Fogerty, Huey Lewis, the Grateful Dead and the Eurythmics before becoming headliners on their own tour.

Soon Hornsby became the go-to collaborator for writers and musicians. He has played on records for Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Bonnie Raitt (piano on her iconic "I Can't Make You Love Me"), Willie Nelson, Don Henley, Bob Seger, Squeeze, Stevie Nicks, Chaka Khan, Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Bon Iver, Leon Russell, Chris Whitley, Warren Zevon, Bernie Taupin, Shawn Colvin, Bela Fleck, Randy Scruggs, Hillary Scott, and more. He has worked on his own records with Ornette Coleman, Jerry Garcia, Eric Clapton, Sting, Elton John, Mavis Staples, Phil Collins, Pat Metheny, Branford Marsalis, and Justin Vernon. Along with his early co-writer Jonathan Hornsby and latter-day partner Chip deMatteo, Bruce has co-written songs with Robert Hunter (the great Grateful Dead lyricist), Justin Vernon, Robbie Robertson, Don Henley, Leon Russell, Charlie Haden, Chaka Khan, and Jack DeJohnette.
Over the years Hornsby has successfully ventured into bluegrass, jazz, classical, and even electronica, reflected on acclaimed releases like two projects with Ricky Skaggs, Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby (2007) and the live Cluck Ol' Hen (2013), the jazz trio album Camp Meeting (2007) with Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride, and Solo Concerts (2014), a stylistic merging of traditional American roots music and the dissonance and adventure of modern classical music. This latter-day interest led to an orchestral project spearheaded by Michael Tilson Thomas featuring this new music; the first performance occurred in January 2015 with Thomas' New World Symphony, and the latest concert with more new material came in June 2018 at his Funhouse Fest with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
Throughout the years Hornsby has participated in several memorable events: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opening concert in September 1995 (with the performance included on the concert album), Farm Aid IV and VI, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival (many times), the Newport Jazz Festival (2007), New Orleans Heritage and Jazz Festival (1997 and 2011), Woodstock II (1994), Woodstock III (1999), and the Bonnaroo Festival (2011). Hornsby, solo and with Branford Marsalis, has performed the National Anthem for many major events including the NBA All-Star game, four NBA Finals, the 1997 World Series Game 5, the night Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's all-time consecutive game streak, and the soundtrack to Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns. He was a special guest of Bon Iver for their set at the Coachella festival in April 2017, and sat in with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) several times.

Bruce's long involvement with the Grateful Dead began when the group asked him to open two shows in Monterey, CA in the spring of 1987. Bruce and the Range continued to open shows for the Dead in 1988, 1989 and 1990, and after the tragic death of Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland, the band asked him to play with them. He started winging it with them with no rehearsal for five nights at Madison Square Garden in September 1990, and played more than 100 shows with them until March 1992. He continued to sit in with the band every year until Jerry Garcia passed away in 1995. He played in the first post-Dead band "The Other Ones" in 1998 (the album The Strange Remain chronicles that tour) and 2000. Bruce reunited with the band for the 50th Anniversary Fare Thee Well concerts in June and July 2015 at Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, CA) and Soldier Field (Chicago). He appears on seven Grateful Dead records including Infrared Roses, So Many Roads and View from The Vault II.
A University of Miami alum, Hornsby has partnered with The Frost School of Music to establish the Creative American Music Program, a curriculum designed to develop the creative skills of talented young artists/songwriters by immersing them in diverse American folk, blues, and gospel traditions that form the foundations of modern American songwriting.

Indeed, Bruce Hornsby's restless musical spirit continues to spontaneously push him forward into exciting new musical pursuits. He's composed and performed for many projects with long-time collaborator, filmmaker Spike Lee, including end-title songs for two films, Clockers (1995, with Chaka Khan) and Bamboozled (2001). He contributed music for If God is Willin' And the Creek Don't Rise (2010), Old Boy (2013) and Chiraq (2015), and composed full film scores for Kobe Doin' Work, Lee's 2009 ESPN Kobe Bryant documentary, 2012's Red Hook Summer, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2015), and Lee's film for the NBA2K16 video game (2015). Bruce wrote and performed the end title song "Set Me in Motion" for Ron Howard's Backdraft (1991) and a featured song "Big Stick” for Ron Shelton's Tin Cup (1996). He's currently working with DeMatteo on a musical entitled SCKBSTD and contributed music for Disney/Pixar's Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014). Hornsby is also featured onscreen in and contributed music to the Robin Williams/ Bobcat Goldthwaite film World's Greatest Dad (2009), the first (and last!) time he has been asked to "act." He scored both seasons of Spike Lee's Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It, in 2017 and 2019, wrote and performed new music for Lee’s 2018 film Blackkklansman, and contributed a new solo performance of “The Way It Is” for the 2019 documentary NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½.

Three decades after Bruce Hornsby established his global name as the creator of pop hits that defined "the sound of grace on the radio," as a Rolling Stone reviewer once wrote, such projects continue and are consistent with his lifelong pursuit of musical transcendence. "It's always been about staying inspired, broadening my reach and range of abilities and influences, and exploring new areas," Hornsby says. "I'm very fortunate to be able to do that, to be a lifelong student, and to continue to pursue a wide-ranging musical life."

His adventurous 21st album, Absolute Zero, was released in April 2019, and received some of the best reviews of Hornsby’s career. “Voyager One” was picked as one of the Best Songs Of 2019 by The New York Times. It featured guests yMusic, Justin Vernon, Blake Mills, Robert Hunter, The Staves, and Jack DeJohnette.

In 2020 Hornsby released the follow-up to Absolute Zero entitled Non-Secure Connection, which was again met with an extremely positive critical reception from both sides of the pond. “My Resolve”, a duet with James Mercer from The Shins, was picked as one of the Best Songs of 2020 by The New York Times. It featured guests Mercer, Jamila Woods, Leon Russell, Vernon Reid, Justin Vernon, and Rob Moose. Bruce and James appeared in virtual duets on Stephen Colbert and the Virtual Bonnaroo Festival.

Also appearing with Bruce on the Bonnaroo set was Chicago hip-hop artist Polo G who released “Wishing for a Hero” in 2020, a song inspired by Tupac’s “Changes” that again used the music and some words from “The Way It Is” to great effect. “Wishing for a Hero” was a highly acclaimed and well-received hit from Polo’s 2020 album The GOAT.

Bruce’s 23rd record, Flicted, was released in May 2022 completing the trilogy of albums begun with Absolute Zero. Featuring an array of special guests including Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend), Danielle Haim (Haim), Blake Mills, and yMusic, the album was again met with critical acclaim. His most recent studio album, a collaboration with yMusic titled Deep Sea Vents, was released in 2024.

Bruce Hornsby is a national treasure. We’re grateful to have him.