Mandolinist Brian Oberlin’s intoxicating mix of classical, bluegrass and swing

While Brian Oberlin has long embraced the infectious, mandolin-peppered romps of bluegrass and swing that tantalize audiences, he’s always harbored a fondness for classical music, too.

And we’re talking classical music with a mandolin twist.

“I love classical mandolin, and for years, I focused on some Italian stuff,” said the Grand Rapids musician and instructor who’s part of the award-winning Full Cord bluegrass band, which is playing several northern Michigan shows this summer.

“Then I got into some modern classical mandolin, and there isn’t a lot for mandolin.”

So, Oberlin dove into the task of arranging quintessential classical compositions by Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Dvorak for mandolin — pieces that form the core of his new solo album, “Troubadour Anew,” that officially gets released on Friday, May 1.

“The harmonic interest is just so cool, and the composers are just amazing,” Oberlin offered.

But he also realized that a collection focused entirely on these classical gems might be too “heavy hitting.” So, “Troubadour Anew” — recorded at La Luna Recording and Sound in Kalamazoo — also features some of his own bluegrass and swing tunes, as well as a take on the Silesian folk song, “O Schnittke Tree.”

Oberlin said the result is a “more playable” roster of songs. “I had the idea of just mixing them up together, which is very similar to my solo shows,” he said. “If you ever go to my solo show, I kind of mix it up and do some different things there.”

That’s certainly the case for his upcoming album-release shows, which will feature solo performances, as well as contributions from his wife, Sallie Bacon, on upright bass, and guitarist Dee Sutton — both of whom are part of the band Sweet Dee & The Wild Honeys. “It’s a varied night,” Oberlin said.

The first concert takes place at 7 p.m. on May 1 at The Lit in downtown Grand Rapids; tickets are $23.18 for adults, $12.51 for students. He’ll follow that on May 2 with a concert at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts in Ludington ($15 advance, $20 day of show) and on May 9 at Northfield Mandolins in Marshall, Michigan ($23.18). He’ll also be hosting mandolin workshops at Northfield Mandolins.

Oberlin has released more than 20 albums over the years while serving as a mandolin instructor and leading mandolin orchestra performances. He also hosts a bluegrass jam on Wednesday nights at Chicago Beefjoint in Grand Rapids and performs on Thursdays with a variety of musicians at Testa Rossa Italian Ristorante in Grand Rapids. 

While he’s focused a lot of his energy in recent years as a member of Full Cord — which recently recorded two of his songs with guitar powerhouse Billy Strings at Glenn Brown’s studio in East Lansing — Oberlin also formed a new funky jazz trio called Silveroot with Justin Wierenga on electric guitar and Steve Harris on drums.

“I do whatever I can to keep my mandolin boat afloat,” Oberlin said of juggling all these varied projects. “Over COVID-19, I had some awful part-time jobs and really realized that I’m just best at playing mandolin.”

That busy mandolin-playing schedule includes a Full Cord performance as part of Billy Strings’ star-studded Ionia Freak Fair at the end of August. To further promote that, Full Cord hopes to release the two songs recorded with the bluegrass guitarist ahead of that festival — at the end of May and end of July. 

Find more Michigan music news and concert listings at LocalSpins.com. Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.