On New Year’s Eve of 1989, the groundbreaking acoustic music band New Grass Revival ended with a bang its influential 18-year history of mixing traditional music with rock, jazz and reggae. That evening, the band, which included mandolin player and fiddler Sam Bush and banjo prodigy Bela Fleck, played an eight-song set including a cover of Bob Marley’s “One Love” to a full crowd at the Oakland Coliseum while opening for The Grateful Dead.

During the previous 18 years, New Grass Revival had become popular for playing all sorts of different genres of music on traditional bluegrass instruments like mandolin, Dobro and banjo. Bush says that the way New Grass Revival played music was simply an outgrowth of the musician’s influences. As a kid growing up in the ‘60s, Bush was a huge fan of bluegrass acts like Flatt & Scruggs, but also later became enamored with the rock music being played by groups including The Beatles. “It pretty much was a combination of being interested in all kinds of music,” Bush says of New Grass Revival’s pioneering sound.

Though Bush contends that other bluegrass players respected what his band was doing, some of the genre’s fans were not that impressed. “Traditionalists would say, ‘That ain’t bluegrass,” he says. “We’d say, ‘You’re right.’”

In 1981, the makeup of New Grass Revival changed when Fleck and mandolin player/guitarist Pat Flynn joined the band to replace two departed members. Bush recalls being swayed by the young Fleck after hearing a recording. “I just felt he was going to be a major player in acoustic music,” Bush says.

With Fleck, New Grass Revival scored a couple of minor hits with “What You Do to Me” and “Ain’t That Peculiar.” In addition, Fleck’s “Seven By Seven” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Country Instrumental category.  

Despite being at the top of their game, New Grass Revival decided to call it quits in 1989 due to Fleck’s desire to embark on a solo career. Meanwhile, Bush decided to step away from the forefront, and joined Emmylou Harris’ backing band. During the next five years, Bush says, he learned a lot by playing with Harris, including how to refine his vocal abilities.

Since the mid ‘90s, Bush has been consistently releasing solo albums and appearing regularly at concerts like the famed Telluride Bluegrass Festival, where he has been known to lead all star acoustic jams on reggae songs. His latest CD, Laps in Seven, features brisk instrumentals that showcase his virtuosity, like “The Dolphin Dance,” along with detours into country rock on “The River’s Gonna Run” and blues on “I Wanna Do Right.”

The release’s dozen songs are a mix of originals and covers of tunes by artists like Robbie Fulks, Leon Russell and John Hartford. One song that Bush is particularly proud of on the CD is a version of Jean Luc Ponty’s “New Country,” where the legendary electric-violin fusion star joins the mandolin and fiddle player on that track. “It was just an overwhelming experience,” Bush says of hearing the finished product. “It was tears of joy.”

These days, Bush is clearly pleased that new bands like Nickel Creek and Yonder Mountain String Band are following in New Grass Revival’s footsteps by expanding what acoustic musicians can play. At the same time, the bluegrass enthusiast in Bush is excited that you can still catch traditional acts like The Del McCoury Band and Doc Watson. “It’s healthy,” he says. “Because you have the best of the young and the originators.”

Does Bush ever contemplate putting his old band back together? “Nothing is planned at this time,” he says. “The separation has been somewhat successful.”

SAM BUSH plays the Sunset Cultural Center, San Carlos and Ninth in Carmel, Thursday, Aug. 31, at 8pm. $47. 620-2048.