Watch Holly Bowling’s Paste Session at Northlands Music Festival

By Matt Irving  |  October 13, 2025 | 2:37pm
Music Features Holly Bowling
Watch Holly Bowling’s Paste Session at Northlands Music Festival

We had a packed weekend of music at the Northlands Music & Arts Festival, recording a wide range of sessions for Paste Studio’s “On the Road” series. Our home base was the Maple Barn, a cozy, rustic, structure once used for maple syrup production. For the sessions, the barn was transformed into a colorful, eclectic space that honored its roots with vintage syrup memorabilia, while adding a playful modern twist: neon signs, string lights, and even a life-size cutout of Danny DeVito. One of the most captivating sets we captured that week was with pianist Holly Bowling.

As a longtime musician and avid live music fan, I’ve seen improvisational jam music in just about every form imaginable. I’ve seen it played through the influence of bluegrass, funk, rock, and even electronic, but never had I seen it distilled into a solo piano performance. Bowling’s set was the perfect example of two musical worlds colliding in a way that, on paper, may seem unconventional, but in practice, makes the perfect pairing. She managed to channel the unpredictable energy and dynamic changes of a full jam band through just her piano, which she played with a level of precision and finesse that clearly displayed her classical upbringing.

We’re especially grateful that Holly took out the time to record this session with us, as she was due to perform on one of the festival’s main stages shortly after. Despite her hectic schedule she poured everything she had into this intimate set. Adding to the warmth of the moment was her four-year-old son, who proved himself quite the drummer during our off hours in the maple barn space. His presence in the room gave the session a beautiful familial energy.

She began her set with a detailed rendition of “Cassidy” by the Grateful Dead. Over the span of about ten minutes, her playing unfolded with countless dynamic peaks and valleys, and a sense of exploration you’d expect from a live Dead jam. Rather than a whole group playing off of each other, the creativity shown in the song came from her alone.

Between songs, Bowling spoke with us about her musical upbringing. Raised on the music of the Grateful Dead, yet trained in the traditions of classical piano, she feels most at home when these two worlds collide. Through the songs she played, Bowling proved herself as a musician who could work hard to find the logical meeting point between two seemingly opposite genres of music.

After the Grateful Dead tune, she transitioned into Phish’s “Taste.” If I closed my eyes, I could’ve sworn there were other pianists in the room, as the playing was meticulously spread out in dynamic range. Watching her perform was a privilege. She was completely absorbed in her music, her focus unwavering, her movements deliberate yet completely improvised.

Her keyboard setup was as impressive as her playing. A smorgasbord of digital effects that she could control in real time allowed her to expand her sound to something beyond a simple solo piano set. It was a full band experience built by one set of hands.

In a weekend filled with music of all kinds, Holly Bowling’s performance at the Maple Barn was a truly impressive show of skill. I had not seen many solo acts that weekend, so seeing what Holly could pull off on her own was truly a fun and fascinating experience.

 
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