Yonder Mountain String Band is firing on all cylinders as they announce a slew of Winter and Spring 2015 tour dates throughout the South, Midwest, and West Coast. Jake Jolliff(mandolin) and Allie Kral (fiddle) will be along for the ride on both tours. First off in January 2015 & February 2015, YMSB headlines the following venues: Lincoln Theatre (Raleigh, NC: Jan. 21), The Orange Peel (Asheville, NC: Jan. 22), Cannery Ballroom (Nashville, TN: Jan. 23), Bijou Theatre (Knoxville, TN: Jan. 24), Vogue Theatre(Indianapolis, IN: Jan. 28), Canopy Club (Urbana, IL: Jan. 29), Ann Arbor Folk Festival (Ann Arbor, MI: Jan. 30),Barrymore Theater (Madison, WI: Jan. 31), State Theatre (State College, PA: Feb. 3), House of Blues(Cleveland, OH: Feb. 4), Buster’s Billiards and Backroom (Lexington, KY: Feb. 5), Variety Playhouse (Atlanta, GA: Feb. 6), The Music Farm (Columbia, SC: Feb. 7), The Music Farm (Charleston, SC: Feb. 11), The Social(Orlando, FL: Feb. 12), Jannus Live (St. Petersburg, FL: Feb. 13), Revolution Live (Fort Lauderdale, FL: Feb. 1), and Freebird Live (Jacksonville Beach, FL: Feb. 15).
In March 2015 & April 2015, YMSB hits the Pink Garter Theatre (Jackson, WY: Mar. 24), Wilma Theatre(Missoula, MT: Mar. 25), Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR: Mar. 26), The Neptune (Seattle, WA: Mar. 27),McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR: Mar. 28), Van Duzer Theatre (Arcata, CA: Mar. 30), Park City Live (Park City, UT: Apr. 1), Whitney Peak (Reno, NV: Apr. 2), Fox Theater (Oakland, CA: Apr. 3), House of Blues (Los Angeles, CA: Apr. 4), Wareham Opera House (Manhattan, KS: Apr. 8), Cain’s Ballroom (Tulsa, OK: Apr. 9),Granada Theatre (Dallas, TX: Apr. 10), Stubb’s BBQ (Austin, TX: Apr. 11), George’s Majestic (Fayetteville, AR: Apr. 12), Bourbon Theatre (Lincoln, NE: Apr. 15), The Gillioz Theatre (Springfield, MO: Apr. 16), and The Pageant (St. Louis, MO: Apr. 17).
Lots of fun can be had prior to Yonder’s 2015 extensive touring with the band appearing at the Boulder Theater (Boulder, CO) for a 4-night NYE run with violinist Allie Kral and mandolin player Jake Jolliff. Additional special guests at the Boulder Theater include harmonica virtuoso John Popper (Jan. 1), GRAMMY®-winning instrumentalist Shawn Camp, hometown Colorado keyboardist Joey Porter and drummer Dave Watts from The Motet (Jan. 1), trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick and trombonist Natalie Cressman from the Trey Anastasio Band(Jan. 2), and dobro player Andy Hall and guitarist Andy Falco from the Infamous Stringdusters (Jan. 3). Tickets are now available via YMSB’s Tour Page and the Boulder Theater box office and online. Leading up to the New Year’s Eve run, YMSB hosts Strings & Sol (Puerto Morelos, Mexico) from December 11 – 15, 2014, which is now sold out.
Bluegrass is a music steeped in tradition, but over the past decade and a half — much of it spent on the road — Yonder Mountain String Band has spearheaded a renegade movement to rewrite the definition of the genre. Alongside other neo-bluegrass friends such as Leftover Salmon, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, The Travelin’ McCourys, and Railroad Earth, YMSB has thoroughly revitalized and contemporized bluegrass and introduced it to many thousands of new fans. Rolling Stone said that YMSB “liberates bluegrass’ hot-shit riffing and blue-sky harmonies from its hidebound formalism,” while Paste Magazine wrote, “The Yonder Mountain boys have found a formula that works: take rootsy bluegrass influences, add in some rock ‘n’ roll, and seek out an adventurous audience.”
Yonder Mountain String Band is comprised of Adam Aijala (guitar, vocals), Dave Johnston (banjo, vocals), Ben Kaufmann (bass, vocals), and select special guest artists who will appear with the band throughout 2014 & 2015. Two standout musicians regularly performing live with YMSB are Jake Jolliff (mandolin, vocals) and Allie Kral (fiddle, vocals). Jolliff is an award-winning mandolin player (First Place, National Mandolin Championship 2012, Walnut Valley Festival), and was a founding member of the disbanded Americana outfit, Joy Kills Sorrow. Kral is well-known as the former fiddle player for Cornmeal (2003 – 2013), and she’s worked alongside various notable artists including moe., Railroad Earth, Warren Haynes, and others. For confirmed line-up information, please see the tour dates listed below.
With the band having one of the strongest touring bases in the industry, fans and critics alike have been drawn to both their live shows and singular studio albums. Reporting from the All Good Music Festival (2009), journalist Jarrett Bellini from CNN Showbiz Tonight notes, “The trophy for best musical set goes to Yonder Mountain String Band who, as the sun began to set, left it all on the stage for an hour and a half. The pickers from Colorado had the audience dancing and shaking, kicking up a joyful storm of dust into the cool summer sky.”
YMSB has evolved into something of a phenomenon on the concert and festival circuit. The band has sold out Colorado’s famed Red Rocks several times, and played sold-out shows with Grateful Dead and Furthur bassist Phil Lesh at his Terrapin Crossroads venue in August 2012. They also host three singular music festivals every year — Northwest String Summit (now in its 14th year and hosted by YMSB every year), Harvest Music Festival (where they will host for the sixth time in October 2015), and Strings & Sol (Yonder hosts for the third year-in-a-row in Mexico in December 2014) — and have consecutively sold out runs of shows at Telluride Bluegrass Festival year after year. Every other year, YMSB also hosts Kinfolk Festival @ Planet Bluegrass. In all, Yonder Mountain logs over 100 live dates per year.
Yonder has always played music by its own design. Bending bluegrass, rock and countless other influences, they’ve come to pioneer a sound that they alone could only champion. With a traditional lineup of instruments, they may appear to be a traditional bluegrass band at first glance but they’ve taken the customary old-timey instrumentation to new heights, transcending any single genre. Yonder has become a regular performer at major music festivals like the iconic Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Summer Camp, and DelFest as well as massive multi-stage events like Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits Festival.
YMSB is currently working on a new full-length studio recording; fans can expect a new album to be released in 2015.
For more information on Yonder Mountain String Band, please visit www.yondermountain.com.
YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND WINTER & SPRING 2015 TOUR DATES
12/11 – 12/15 – Puerto Morelos, Mexico – Strings and Sol
12/31 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater*^
1/1 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater*^&
1/2 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater*^#
1/3 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater*^!
1/21 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre*^
1/22 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel*^
1/23 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Ballroom*^
1/24 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre*^
1/28 – Indianapolis, IN – Vogue Theatre*^
1/29 – Urbana, IL – Canopy Club*^
1/30 – Ann Arbor, MI – Ann Arbor Folk Festival*^
1/31 – Madison, WI – Barrymore Theater*^
2/3 – State College, PA – State Theatre*^
2/4 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues*^
2/5 – Lexington, KY – Buster’s Billiards and Backroom*^
2/6 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse*^
2/7 – Columbia, SC – The Music Farm*^
2/11 – Charleston, SC – The Music Farm*^
2/12 – Orlando, FL – The Social*^
2/13 – St. Petersburg, FL – Jannus Live*^
2/14 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live (Outdoor Stage)*^
2/15 – Jacksonville Beach, FL – Free Bird Live*^
3/24 – Jackson, WY – Pink Garter Theatre*^
3/25 – Missoula, MT – Wilma Theatre*^
3/26 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom*^
3/27 – Seattle, WA – The Neptune*^
3/28 – Eugene, OR – McDonald Theatre*^
3/30 – Arcata, CA – Van Duzer Theatre*^
4/1 – Park City, UT – Park City Live*^
4/2 – Reno, NV – Whitney Peak*^
4/3 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater *^
4/4 – Los Angeles, CA – House of Blues*^
4/8 – Manhattan, KS – Wareham Opera House*^
4/9 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom*^
4/10 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theatre*^
4/11 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s BBQ*^
4/12 – Fayetteville, AR – George’s Majestic*^
4/15 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre*^
4/16 – Springfield, MO – The Gillioz Theatre*^
4/16 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant*^
7/16/15 – 7/19/15 – North Plains, OR – Northwest String Summit
Special Guest Performers:
*Jake Jolliff (mandolin, vocals)
^Allie Kral (fiddle, vocals)
& John Popper (harmonica), Shawn Camp, Dave Watts (drums), & Joey Porter (keys)
# Jennifer Hartswick (trumpet) and Natalie Cressman (trombone)
! Andy Hall (dobro) and Andy Falco (guitar)
