Yonder Mountain String Band

Lots of bands say their music transcends genres. Rarely does it. And contrary to what it says on the band's MySpace page, it doesn't really seem to be the case with Yonder Mountain String Band. Not really, anyway. The Colorado band doesn't transcend genres so much as it avoids being...

By Michael Escoto

August 19, 2010

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Lots of bands say their music transcends genres. Rarely does it. And contrary to what it says on the band's MySpace page, it doesn't really seem to be the case with Yonder Mountain String Band. Not really, anyway. The Colorado band doesn't transcend genres so much as it avoids being pegged into one in the first place. Depending on which song you're listening to on the band's latest album, The Show, you'll get bluegrass ("Out of the Blue") or country ("Fingerprint") or even rock ("Complicated"). Occasionally, there's a mixture of all three. As usual, when a band doesn't fit nicely into one genre, we just create a sub-genre for it. In the case of YMSB, the term "jamgrass" is a pretty good fit. Not only does jamgrass indicate what type of music the band plays, but it describes the band's live performances. Since forming in 1998, Dave Johnston, Ben Kaufman, Adam Aijala, and Jeff Austin have built a reputation for fun, high-energy shows that turn into a long, twangy jam session.

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