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 bluegrass. Alongside other neo-bluegrass friends, YMSB has thoroughly revitalized and contemporized the genre and introduced it to many thousands of new fans. Yonder Mountain String Band is comprised of Adam Aijala (guitar, vocals), Dave Johnston (banjo, vocals), Ben Kaufmann (bass, vocals), Allie Kral (violin, vocals), and Jacob Jolliff (mandolin, vocals).

Three voices, a guitar and an upright bass: POCKETS FULL OF CHANGE play original groovy songs. Rollin' blues riffs with a touch of bluegrass and soulful vocals. PFOC are Stefan Link(Upright Bass), Jonas Puschke(Vocals) & Christopher Timm(Guitar)

“There’s this great duality to our band,” reflects Greensky Bluegrass mandolinist, vocalist, and songwriter Paul Hoffman. “We’re existing in a few different places at once: we’re a bluegrass band and a rock band, we’re song-driven and interested in extended improvisation.”

“We play acoustic instruments,” adds dobro player Anders Beck, “but we put on a rock’n’roll show. We play in bigger clubs and theaters, there’s a killer light show, and we’re as loud as your favorite rock band. It’s not easy to make five acoustic instruments sound like this – it’s something we’ve spent years working on.”

From these seemingly irreconcilable elements, the five members of Greensky Bluegrass have forged a defiant, powerful sound that, while rooted in classic stringband Americana, extends outwards with a fearless, exploratory zeal. The tension and release between these components – tradition and innovation, prearranged songs and improvisation, acoustic tones and electric volume – is what makes them so thrillingly dynamic, in concert and on record. “In theory,” Hoffman explains, “greensky is the complete opposite of bluegrass. So, by definition, we are contrasting everything that isn’t bluegrass with everything that is.”

In a career spanning thirty years, Phish became one of the most significant live music phenomena of all time. On the basis of word-of-mouth about their performances—with virtually no radio or video support—the band grew from playing club gigs along their native East Coast to drawing 100,000 music fans to remote corners of the country. At every turn, Phish managed to win over newcomers and casual fans as well as maintain the loyalty of their devotees with a singularly broad repertoire, virtuosity, and by making a unique event of each show.

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