Holly Bowling

Bowling began playing piano at age 5[3] under the Suzuki method.[4] In 1999, Bowling won the Norbert Mueller Concerto Competition for her performance of Vivace a Concerto for Piano in D Major. by J. Haydn. Bowling earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from San Francisco State University.[5] While there, Bowling studied under William Corbett Jones. She won both the Ross McKee award and the 2007 Michael Avalos award, the two most coveted prizes in the SFSU Piano Department.[6] Bowling transitioned from her job as a Suzuki Piano instructor for kids into fully dedicating herself to playing live shows in 2015.[7] As of 2017, she has attended over 300 Phish shows during the 2.0 and 3.0 era.[4] She currently resides in San Francisco, California with her husband, Jeffery Bowling, and their son.

Bowling's first live performance was in a San Francisco bar during Phish's 2014 Bill Graham Civic Center run.[8] The Tahoe "Tweezer" (Phish 7/31/13) published on October 28, 2014, has received over 95k views on YouTube.[9] On August 10, 2015, Bowling released her first album "Distillation of a Dream: The Music of Phish Reimagined for Solo Piano," a 14 song, 2 LP set. The 1st LP is recreations of Phish studio performances and the 2nd LP is composed of live Phish Jam Transcriptions. The "Distillation of a Dream" project took 9 months of development. Peter Smolin, of Hornblower Records, helped Bowling launch a Pledge Music campaign to raise $12,000 for funds to cover recording costs, marketing, and royalties which successfully raised $16,500.[7] A portion of album sales went to The Mockingbird Foundation.[10]

Bowling utilizes two approaches to adapt a full band's arrangement into a solo composition for the piano. “Jam Teases” are created by transcribing a small section of a song’s jam made famous by Phish or the Grateful Dead. More than 40 songs have now been transcribed as "Jam Teases."[7] One example is the "Beautiful Jam," played by the Grateful Dead within a “Dark Star” > “Wharf Rat” > “Dark Star” sequence at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York on 2/18/71.[11] In a “Jam Transcription,” Bowling takes the full live version of a song and transcribes it note for note.[12] To date, she has created four “Jam Transcriptions”: Phish’s "A Song I Heard The Ocean Sing," from SPAC in Saratoga Springs, NY on 6/19/04; "The Wedge," from Northerly Island in Chicago on 7/20/14; "Twist," from Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, NY on 10/23/13; and the Grateful Dead’s "Eyes of the World," from Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY on 6/18/74.[13]

In 2015, Jambase included Bowling in their "Songs of Their Own" video series featuring her rendition of "Eyes of the World," from Freedom Hall on 6/18/74.[13] In 2016, Bowling released her second album, Better Left Unsung, which is a collection of classical solo piano arrangements of the Grateful Dead. The album release party for Better Left Unsung was held on December 7, 2016, at Phil Lesh’s Terrapin Crossroads. The album was released on December 9, 2016.[14] The night of the album release, Bowling performed with Bob Weir at the Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina. Better Left Unsung reached its peak position on the Billboard Classical Albums charts at #25.[15]

On January 22, 2017, during her solo tour, Bowling performed an original composition, "Evolution," for the first time. Bowling has performed four original compositions on solo tours: "Proxima B," "You Are Not Are You," "Rocket’s Theme," and "Evolution."

In 2018, Bowling's focus shifted from her solo touring career to the formation of a band. The new five-piece band, Ghost Light, began touring in the spring, releasing their first album, Best Kept Secrets, on 3/22/2019[16]

In early 2018, Bowling, guitarist Tom Hamilton (American Babies/Joe Russo's Almost Dead), guitarist Raina Mullen (American Babies), bassist Steve Lyons (Nicos Gun), and drummer Scotty Zwang (Dopapod/RAQ) announced they were forming Ghost Light.[17] This improvisational rock jam band is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the hometown of Hamilton, Mullen, Lyons and Zwang.

Ghost Light began with laying down its foundation in the studio, often working in five-day blocks[18] to develop its improvisational, collaborative material prior to taking it on the road for a live audience. They originally assembled for a session at a recording studio in Hamilton, Mullen, Lyons and Zwang’s hometown of Philadelphia. Ghost Light’s aim was to “come to the project with fresh ears and no pre-conceived notions.” The quintet developed songs and a musical communication, which led to a bond and trust between the musicians.[19]

Ghost Light's inaugural tour[20] commenced with a sold-out show[21] on March 20, 2018, at Winstons in San Diego, CA.[22] The first half of 2018 saw the band playing well-known venues in major markets coast to coast, followed by heavy rotation on the festival circuit including the Peach Music Festival, Lockn’ Festival, Beanstalk Music Festival, Disc Jam, High Sierra Music Festival, and The Werk Out.[23] During the west coast leg of the tour, the band debuted playing an acoustic set as well as special guest Grahame Lesh joining them for a song on both nights at Terrapin Crossroads.[24] Along with band originals, the live shows have also featured songs of the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Van Halen, Derek and the Dominos, Tears for Fears, Bruce Cockburn, and Father John Misty. The debut record was released in the second half of the year and supported by an extensive tour.[25]

On December 6th, 2022, Holly announced that she would be leaving Ghost Light at the end of the year.[26] Her last show with Ghost Light was December 29th, 2022 in Denver, CO.

Yamaha CP4, Nord Electro 4 & 5

2015-08-10 Distillation of a Dream: The Music of Phish Reimagined for Solo Piano
2016-12-09 Better Left Unsung: The Music of the Grateful Dead Reimagined for Solo Piano
2019-08-23 Live at the Old Church: Solo piano recorded 9/21/2018 at the Old Church Concert Hall in Portland, OR

[45] 2020-11-20 Seeking All That's Still Unsung: Solo piano renditions of the music of the Grateful Dead

Holly Bowling: Distilling a Dream (April 14, 2016) produced by Conveniently Texan Pictures of her first east coast performance on August 10 at Philly's Howl at the Moon.[46]
Songs of Their Own created by Jambase in 2015 ft. Holly Bowling playing Eyes of the World from Freedom Hall in Louisville, KY on 6/8/74 [13]

'Beautiful Jam' at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA 12/7/16[47]
Old Church Concert Hall in Portland, OR 1/20/17 Set 2[48]
James Street Speakeasy in Pittsburgh, PA 3/14/17[49]
Tahoe Tweezer at The Cutting Room in NY 7/22/17[50]
Gamehendge Suite at The Cutting Room in NY 7/23/17[51]
Whisper Dome at Unitarian Universalist Society in Schenectady, NY 10/21/17[52]
City Winery in Nashville, TN 11/8/2017[53]
Ghost Light at Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, CA 3/24/18[54][24]
Ghost Light at The Acoustic in Bridgeport, CT 4/13/18[55]
Live at Jamcruise 18 01/10/2020

• Official website
• https://archive.org/details/HollyBowling
• Bowling, Holly in libraries (WorldCat catalog)