Holly Bowling returned last night to YouTube with another Wilderness Sessions video. Her latest destination—Bruneau Canyon in Idaho.

Holly’s Wilderness Sessions is by far my favorite project of 2020. With most musicians stuck inside, Bowling has ventured to the far ends of the earth with her keyboard rig. Her show at Bruneau Canyon is not for the faint of heart. Holly is literally inches away from a massive canyon, jamming on our favorite Phish and Grateful Dead tunes.

Here is Holly’s notes on the performance:

When choosing the locations for the Wilderness Sessions, one aspect we were searching for was really remote places where I’d have the solitude to play to the setting without distraction. That was one of the appeals of Bruneau Canyon, and it delivered perfectly. We had the whole place to ourselves and didn’t see another person once. We arrived in the dark, so we had no idea of the massiveness of the canyon besides the wind giving away a hint of its scale. We spent the night out there camped on the edge and woke up to an incredible view of the canyon and allowed ourselves some time to take it all in. Then we set up and I started playing. The ability to have a continuous experience like that, where you’re immersed in a place for a while before playing music (rather than being dropped into it suddenly after a day of travel) really made this session special. It changes the way you play. You settle into the place a little more and have a chance to listen before you speak.

Thanks to Holly Bowling for the wonderful footage!