GSBG-HR.jpg

After a year off the road due to COVID-19, Greensky Bluegrass has been back on tour for about six months. Virus-related protocols aside, the job has gradually begun to feel more normal, said Mike Devol, bassist for the Michigan-based bluegrass band. And yet the whole operation rolls forward with a sort of nagging sense of uncertainty, he said.

“We get our schedules that say we’re coming to Bend. And in any other year, I’d be like, ‘Oh yes, there’s nothing that would keep Greensky from being in Bend on this date,’” Devol said. “But right now, the whole climate of the industry feels more like, yeah, we’re going to be in Bend … unless we can’t because of COVID.”

To be clear, Devol is speaking hypothetically as a way to illustrate the unpredictability of traveling around the country playing concerts during a global pandemic. Greensky’s legion of local fans need not worry: The band is scheduled to stop in Bend Wednesday night, and they’ll bring their forward-thinking string-band sound with ’em.

They’ll also, presumably, bring a batch of new songs from their eighth full-length studio album, “Stress Dreams,” slated to be released in January. At 13 tracks long, the new release is classic Greensky: expansive, easygoing and effortlessly melodic, with roots in traditional bluegrass and an affinity for exploring the genre’s more modern and progressive side.

After a bunch of albums built largely around the songs of mandolinist Paul Hoffman and guitarist Dave Bruzza, “Stress Dreams” is the first to feature tunes written by Devol and Dobro player Anders Beck, Devol said. With more time at home than usual last year, Devol found himself not only writing songs but, for the first time, finishing them to a point where he felt comfortable presenting them to his bandmates when it came time to get together and record.

Not that they were way outside the band’s wheelhouse, mind you. Quite the opposite, Devol said.

“When I’m writing songs, I’m very much writing Greensky songs. This is not about my new voice as a writer or trying to create a new sound for the band. It’s not about that for me,” he said. “It’s about knowing these guys after having played music together for 20 years and knowing our strengths and being able to hear how they’ll play the things that I hear in my head. So I wrote these songs for my band, and I also think that I learned a lot about how to write from my band.”

As Devol talks about the growth of his own songwriting, you can hear his appreciation for Greensky Bluegrass — the band members, the music, the fans — coursing through his words. He has always felt grateful for the opportunity to make music for a living, but after the past couple of years, that feeling is stronger than ever.

“Greensky can only happen when we’re all together, and not being able to do that for a long time really gave me a renewed appreciation for what we’ve built and the fact that we’re able to continue to do this,” Devol said. “It’s a special thing.”

What: Greensky Bluegrass, with Holly Bowling

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Midtown Ballroom, 51 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend

Cost: $34.50

Contact: midtownballroom.com.