There is ample reason why Yonder Mountain String Band has become one of the leading practitioners of modern bluegrass. An astute combination of melody and musicality make them an obvious example of the way today’s musical tastes inform bluegrass music’s contemporary impact. To their credit, they hold true to a traditional template, the sort of sound that’s as rousing and riveting as that delivered by their storied forebears, and yet, at the same time, they carve out a distinctive sound all their own, that opens the doors to universal appeal.
It all comes back to a selection of songs that retains their progressive posture, while also holding true to an essential instrumental regimen. Despite an occasional shift in membership, the current band — Adam Aijala (guitar), Dave Johnston (banjo), Ben Kaufmann (bass), Nick Piccininni (mandolin, fiddle, banjo, guitar), and Coleman Smith (fiddle) — operate assuredly in sync, with each musician taking the opportunity to make their own emphatic impression on their latest album, Nowhere Next, on Frog Pad Records/ Thirty Tigers.
Jerry Douglas embellishes the mix on certain songs with his trademark resophonic guitar, and yet the sway and sashay can be credited to the efforts of everyone involved. Songs such as the carefree Cruisin‘, and the decidedly determined attitude that marks Here I Go and Didn’t Go Wrong stay true to their respective titles while reflecting both verve and vitality. So too, the incessant energy shared on the title track, the optimistic overview of River, the riveting enticement of Come See Me, the robust feel of Outlaw, and the down-home delivery of Secondhand Smoke, all contribute to the buoyant sound that’s a constant throughout.
Those same qualities helped garner 2022’s Get Yourself Outside its well-deserved Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album.
In short, the positivity shared in each of these entries testifies to Yonder’s unabashed appeal, a musical mantra that’s summed up succinctly on the rousing opening track, The Truth Fits.
“If you follow your head and not your heart, and you’ll be satisfied…”
While some may argue that it’s the other way around, there’s no denying that Yonder Mountain String Band effectively mines their own mantra.
