Béla Fleck - Live Heart: My Bluegrass Heart at the Ryman [3LP]

Live Heart: My Bluegrass Heart at the Ryman captures Béla Fleck and a staggering cast of pickers on one of country music's most storied stages, spread across three LPs.

Recorded at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium in early 2022, the concert celebrated My Bluegrass Heart, the Grammy-winning album that saw Fleck return to his bluegrass roots after decades of exploring jazz fusion with the Flecktones, classical projects and African collaborations. The guest list reads like a hall of fame roll call: Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Bryan Sutton, Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, Tony Trischka and Billy Strings.

Twenty tracks give everyone room to stretch out, and Fleck's banjo threads it all together. Blue Mountain Hop opens the show, Vertigo gathers Bush, Douglas, Duncan, Meyer and Sutton for a dazzling ensemble workout, and Slippery Eel sets Billy Strings and fiddler Michael Cleveland trading lines at full tilt. The set closes with Tennessee, with Strings stepping up to sing lead, a warm, celebratory finish to a night of blistering musicianship and obvious mutual affection.

Bluegrass fans get a summit meeting preserved in full, with the crowd's delight audible throughout. Anyone who simply loves hearing great players push each other will find three records of pure, string-driven joy.