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At 25 years old, Yonder Mountain String Band continues to exist at the forefront of the progressive bluegrass scene as undeniable innovators and pioneers of the modern jamgrass movement. Blending bluegrass with elements of rock, alternative, psychedelic and improvisational music, Yonder Mountain String Band brought their high-energy acoustic sound and light show into rock n’ roll settings with tremendous success, proving it was possible for a bluegrass band to not only exist but excel in a rock world, without drums. The inroads they made created opportunities for like-minded acoustic bands to perform at festivals, rock clubs, theaters and stadiums previously considered off-limits for string bands. Yonder Mountain's high-energy sound, compelling original music and anything goes attitude cultivated a spirit of collaborative improvisation that continues to fuel today’s progressive bluegrass and jamgrass scenes.
It is a testament to the legacy of Yonder Mountain String Band that their original songs and unique interpretations of covers are regularly performed by next generation bands in the scene.
Yonder Mountain String Band celebrates their quarter century mark with a Grammy Nomination for their 2022 release Get Yourself Outside. Band members Adam Aijala (guitar, vocals), Ben Kaufmann (bass, vocals), Dave Johnston (banjo, vocals) and Nick Piccininni (mandolin, banjo, fiddle, vocals) co-wrote all tracks on the album over zoom sessions when Covid shut down the music touring industry. Yonder Mountain was recently honored with an induction into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame alongside friends and legends Leftover Salmon, Hot Rize, The String Cheese Incident and The Fox Theater (where they played their very first show as a band in 1998). Yonder Mountain was officially inducted during a long-awaited, but meaningful ceremony that took place on stage after their set at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival’s 50th anniversary in June 2023.
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Yonder Mountain String Band are much more than your typical North American bluegrass ensemble, with their incorporation of everything from jazzy reggae, rock and even metal influences- hello, Ozzy Osbourne cover- into their unique brand of string-driven, energetic jams. Aside from it being quite a rare treat in itself to see contemporary musicians play instruments like the banjo, mandolin and double-bass, the highly attuned band show their skills in every frantic burst of notation in their live sets.
While the band's four core members are led by bassist and frontman Ben Kaufmann, each member sings vocals in a choral, call-and-response style, and the jam band nature of their music is a guarantee that every set they play on a tour will be different from the last. This makes for an immensely entertaining and unique live show, as it isn't often that bands deviate from their strict tour agendas and now- mandatory 3 song 'encores'.
YMSB are notorious for bringing other musicians onstage with them as well, and when I saw them at a New York theatre in 2011, they were joined by the high energy, high fun Infamous Stringdusters and Noem Pikenly for several songs towards the end of their set. You can genuinely always expect something different each time from Yonder Mountain String Band, and their onstage humour, charisma and musical prowess is something unique in music today.
louise_h
You may wonder where the appeal lies of seeing five musicians onstage with a small selection of string instruments. Anybody with scepticism I urge to go and see the Yonder Mountain String Band as they have an entrancing, almost hypnotising effect when onstage. There is a strange curiosity when watching somebody with clear talent performing before you and that is what these five artists have. The speed in which they pluck their instruments is baffling and there does not seem to be a note dropped all evening.
As there are five musicians all performing together too it must have taken countless hours of practice in order to harmonise to this level. The Colorado musicians also have great stage presence as they venture from within their zones of concentration and delight the crowd with great interaction and a humble manner. After a fifteen song set comprising of tracks from all the albums and a couple of brilliant covers, the crowd does not want the night to be over.
sean-ward
Such a friendly, talented and enjoyable band. Have seen them in CO a few times, and it was just as great here- except inside the Gillioz, the sounds seemed much louder. And it was more difficult to hear the independent instruments, during each song. This could have been just due to our aging- we recognize this. But maybe there needs to be a little adjustment with the sound system in there? Just an idea.
But Yonder Mountain rocks. They have fabulous talent and the lights were perfect to go with. Love the abilities of each player- with special attention to the fiddler/singer and the mandolin player; each of these really stood out nicely.
writerlu
They are very talented but my ears hurt more than they should have for a string band show. They are at their best when playing bluegrass, which they do a good chunk of the time. That they veer off into psychedelic episodes is ok. I guess it depends on the show how creative they are. They played the classic rock hit "Frankenstein" with bluegrass instruments but they didn't really interpret it or play a bluegrass version (like Bella Fleck playing Paganini at the end of Perpetual Motion- check it out).That would have been amazing. They may yet. Young crowd, SRO- my feet hurt, but I'd see
them again, if I had seating and ear plugs.
artmansz
Great bluegrass entertainment. The band was fantastic and so much fun. Great group of talented artists. Venue also attributed to a wonderful experience. Friendly staff and enjoyable for the whole family. Will definitely go back and hopefully Yonder Mountain String Band will too.
Jmrotach56
