Possessing a breezy style that belies his technical gifts, pianist Bruce Hornsby writes powerful songs that touch on several American traditions: pop, jazz, bluegrass, and soul. He had his first hit in 1986 with "The Way It Is," which he recorded with his backing band the Range. It kicked off a period when Hornsby straddled the line between heartland rock and adult contemporary pop. He ultimately rejected the musical mainstream, disbanding the Range so he could tour with the Grateful Dead in the early '90s, then exploring a variety of adventurous musical fusions on his own that decade and with the Noisemakers in the 2000s. His revival started in the 2010s when Justin Vernon cited him as an influence. Hornsby embraced the opportunities that arose with a series of electronic-inflected, unpredictable albums that ran through 2022's 'Flicted.