In my experience of bluegrass, there is usually a lot of plaid and a smattering of Stetson hats among both band and audience. While not one member of the country/folk band was lacking a hat, to my relief the audience had not adopted this Wild West-themed attire. What they lacked in cowboy credentials, they made up for in enthusiasm: the venue was full to bursting and the crowd were clearly having a fantastic time. There was even a very insistent foot-tapper sat behind me whose every knee twitch sent me a few centimetres out of my seat.
Regaling the audience with their own material alongside covers of bluegrass and country western classics, the five multi-talented band members delighted with some energetic and truly infectious tunes. Each member of Goldrush introduced a bandmate, which was a nice touch. There was also plenty of banter between songs which never outstayed its welcome and their anecdotes were genuinely funny.
For diehard country-western fans, Goldrush offers a fantastic set with a mixture of covers and their own original material which stood up admirably next to established songs. Meanwhile, for bluegrass first-timers, Goldrush give a great introduction to the genre.
