The idea of bluegrass and Bavaria might not necessarily seem in sync, but the band that refers to itself as Johnny & The Yooahoos proves that the otherwise disparate notions can be compatible regardless. Having grown up in upper Bavaria in the south of Germany and close to the Alps, it’s the place where they all connected with the music they love to listen to and to play, which happens to be bluegrass.
The band consists of Basti Schuhbeck, banjo, dobro, lead and harmony singer and songwriter; Bernie Huber, guitarist, harmonica, and lead and harmony vocals; Joni Kollenda, bass, fiddle and bass vocals; and Johnny Schuhbeck on mandolin and lead and harmony vocals and song writing.
“Basti started playing music in a rock band as a drummer along side Joni on electric bass,” Johnny Schuhbeck explains. “That’s how these two met. Bernie joined their group on electric guitar after it was re-founded and re-conceptualized to a progressive rock band. They always knew that they all shared the same love for country and bluegrass music. So at some point, my brother Basti asked me whether I could learn how to play the mandolin so that the classical bluegrass band setup consisting of banjo (which Basti taught himself how to play), acoustic guitar, upright bass, and mandolin was complete. So I did as I was commanded. It was in 2016 when we first played together in that formation. And in 2018, we started to intensify playing live shows.”
Schuhbeck went on to say that the group began by covering the songs of their bluegrass heroes, including The Stanley Brothers, Bill Monroe, Doyle Lawson, and others, but it didn’t take very long until Basti came up with his first original songs, most of which did not consistently adhere to the traditional bluegrass song formula. “So in addition to sticking to the bluegrass roots, there was always the influence of other music genres that found their way into our original songs,” he continued. “That is, and has been the case for Basti and my songwriting approach all along. Bands and artists like Greensky Bluegrass and Billy Strings, who follow a similar approach, are, of course, huge inspirations when it comes to mixing jam, rock, pop jazz, and other elements into the classic bluegrass sound. So you could say that we mix traditional bluegrass and contemporary folk with dashes of other musical influences we gathered along our way.”
The Schuhbeck brothers, Basti and Johnny, were initially influenced by Creedence Clearwater Revival and the solo records of John Fogerty. “His first album, The Blue Ridge Rangers, was a huge influence and a door opener for our love of American country and bluegrass music,” Johnny explains. “From there, we dove deeper and deeper into country and bluegrass music. The Stanley Brothers had a huge impact on us. There was also a venue close by which featured many great American bluegrass bands, such as Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Balsam Range, Jeff Scroggins & Colorado, The Price Sisters, and the Chicken Wire Empire, which really left a mark and big impact on us, and ultimately inspired us to want to start a bluegrass band ourselves.”
The other band members quickly followed suit. “For Bernie and his guitar playing, it was a guitar picking camp where he saw and got to play with great flat-pickers like Beppe Gambetta,” Schuhybeck says. “That really influenced his playing and his love for acoustic music. Since then he was infected with the different techniques and styles of playing in Americana and bluegrass music. Of course the big guys in guitar picking like Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Norman Blake, Brian Sutton, and Billy Strings also had, and still have, a big impact on him. Besides the bluegrass pickers, there are also other styles of guitar playing that fascinate him and find their way into his playing. Gypsy jazz, for example. He adores guys like Django Reinhardt and Joscho Stephan. For our bass player Joni, it has always been Bob Dylan. He paved the way for his musical education and inspiration. Since there is a strong connection between Bob Dylan and traditional bluegrass and mountain music — he had a big admiration for The Stanley Brothers as well — the way for Joni into bluegrass music wasn’t very hard to find.”
The band started out by playing live shows, in many different venues and various festivals in their area, and gradually increased its touring radius. Since then, they’ve played shows and festivals in Austria (Free Tree Open Air), France (La Roche Festival), Ireland (Westport Bluegrass Festival), the Netherlands (Rotterdam Bluegrass Festival), and Switzerland (Dorneck Festival, Bluegrass i de Mueli). “The biggest tour we got to play was our five-week US tour last year, where we were given the opportunity to play some of the most legendary venues and festivals in the bluegrass world like The Grand Ole Opry, The Station Inn, Greyfox Bluegrass Festival, ROMP, the High Sierra Festival, and the Frankfurt Bluegrass Festival,” Schuhbeck notes. “We also got to play a sold out show in the most renowned venue at hour home town, which was very special for all of us too!”
In addition, the Yooahoos have also had the chance to appear with several other notable musicians. “We got to perform with the great Nashville bass player Andy Brown, who played the US tour with us,” Schuhbeck explains. “He also played with us at the IBMA World of Bluegrass in 2024, where we were also joined by the great banjo player Hank Smith from North Carolina, as well as the top-notch fiddle player, Tijmen Veelenturf, from Nashville. He also joined us for our La Roche set in 2025. In Nashville, we got to play a song with the great bass player and singer Shelby Means at Dee’s Lounge.”
Happily, they’ve also scored success on their home turf.
“I don’t think many people ever heard of bluegrass music before they came and heard us live. It’s great to open up and expand the musical horizons of people, which the audience seems to very much appreciate. Nowadays, it’s also great to see that more and more people from younger generations have gotten a hold of that sound and come to our shows. It’s cool to have a little impact and to contribute a little bit to spreading the bluegrass sound in areas where it is not that well known yet.”
Schuhbeck adds that the band plays a good mix of originals and covers when they play live. “Our records only contain originals and a few traditional songs with own arrangements,” he explains. “We enjoy the existing bluegrass, country, and folk songs so much that it always brings us a lot of joy to play the songs that also brought us into bluegrass. There are always a couple of Stanley Brothers songs in our set (Little Birdie, How Mountain Girls Can Love, Katy Daly, ‘If That’s the Way You Feel), sometimes some George Jones (White Lightning) or Buck Owns (Streets of Bakersfield) songs as well. We also like to ‘bluegrassify’ songs — for example, well known rock songs (for example, Get Back by the Beatles), sometimes a traditional Bavarian folk song like Hans Bleib Do or even a ’90s Euro dance song such as Scatman. The audience seems to enjoy these as well.”
Not surprisingly then, when asked, Schuhbeck offered his own thoughtful theory as to why bluegrass enjoys such widespread appeal.
“One reason I think is the simplicity of the music, as well as the realness and rawness,” he suggested. “I think in the times we live, surrounded by digital devices and screens, we seek devices that do not need electricity or wifi access. Acoustic instruments and a human voice represent opportunities to express one’s self, and to make one happy outside the often- depressing digital world. The simplicity that’s at the core of this music consists of just strings on wood creating a sound that’s rarely distorted or recreated by artificial intelligence.”
He continued from there. “Another aspect of our highly digitalized world is the active and passive induction of comparing ourselves to others. This is not a thing that you will generally find in bluegrass music. Our trip to the US reinforced this impression for us, as we experienced a scene where people just play and jam with other people, no matter if they are professionals or just beginners with what they are doing. That leads to another point which I think is important — the feeling of belonging together. As many people feel alone and scared despite being connected with the whole world through digital devices, the bluegrass scene offers a place and space to feel safe and welcome. And of course another big reason is that the scene is opening up and more and more integrating other different styles of music into the classic bluegrass style. It leads to a mixing of fan scenes too. It was awesome to see Del McCoury and his band at Greyfox being cheered on by a crowd ringing from young, teenage hippies to classic bluegrass lovers. Rock on bluegrass!”
