Despite a long night of miscues including car troubles and torrential rain, I made it just as Yonder Mountain String Band was taking stage last Friday night. As I was approaching the Music Farm in downtown Charleston, I felt the buzz of excitement and anticipation from a block away. People, dripping wet, desperately asked me if I had tickets to spare. The show had been sold out for two days, but that clearly wasn’t going to dissuade them. Being from Colorado, I was familiar with the Boulder County based group, but I had no idea that they would be so well embraced in the South.

I pushed my way through the doors and was taken back by how packed the venue was. It was comparable to a Tokyo subway during rush hour. There were over 1300 concertgoers packed into the Music Farm’s modestly proportioned music hall. One of the many unique qualities of this band that I noticed throughout the night was the wide range of people they attract. There was everything from rowdy college kids to grandparents square dancing in the back.

Their sound transcends the traditional definition of bluegrass music. Lead singer and mandolin player Jeff Austin recounts how over the years many people have said to him, “I hate bluegrass, but I love whatever the hell you guys do.” The same goes for me. Although I am not the biggest fan of bluegrass, I really enjoyed what Austin and everyone else was creating on stage. Their distinctive blend of rock n’ roll with the old banjo twang created a contemporary, progressive style of bluegrass. Dave Johnston, who plays the banjo, believes that, “You shouldn’t try to recreate the 1940s. I like to think of us as informed by the past and all the great performers before us. But we also want to look forward rather than give people something that has already been perfected.”

This mindset has worked well for the band. Through eleven years of touring the nation, they have slowly been building their fan base as well as their resume. Yonder Mountain String Band has performed the music festival Bonnaroo, headlined the prestigious Red Rocks Amphitheatre and played at the Democratic National Convention for Barack Obama. It’s clear that their sounds are beginning to catch on with the masses. I highly recommend Yonder Mountain String Band to anyone looking for a new spin on bluegrass and rock. If you act fast enough, you don’t even have to make a trip to Colorado to see them. Jeff Austin and company will be at the Freebird Live in Jacksonville on February 11^th.

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Written and Photographed by Elliot Ross