The 9th annual Northwest String Summit featured multiple sets from Yonder Mountain String Band, the second performance of the current Rhythm Devils lineup and plenty of sit-ins all around. Friday kicked off with the band competition which featured a strong performance by the winning group, Pert Near Sandstone. Later on, host Yonder Mountain String Band brought out such guests as Darol Anger and Danny Barnes for a set that included strong versions of “My Gal,” “Whipping Post” and “Peace Of Mind.”

Saturday saw Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Billy Kreuztmann present the latest edition of the Rhythm Devils with Keller Williams, Davy Knowles, Sikiru Adepoju, and Andy Hess, performing a mixture of Grateful Dead material and songs from their 2006 tour. Yonder then took the stage and brought out Hart and Kreuztmann to close out their first set with “New Speedway Boogie,” and “Franklin’s Tower.” Yonder’s second set had sit-ins from members of The Infamous Stringdusters and presented a number of the quartet’s sheriff songs. The night then concluded with moe., which took a page from the bluegrass theme of the weekend and started out on acoustic instruments. The chilly night made it difficult for them to stay in tune, so after saying, “That’s why we normally play electric instruments,” they returned to their more standard sound. Yonder’s Jeff Austin later appeared for a set-closing take on “Zed Naught Z” and “Rise.”

With its band competition victory on Friday, Pert Near Sandstone kicked off the music on Sunday. Then after a set from Crooked Still, Danny Barnes delivered a performance that drew heavily on his latest release Pizza Box with help from all of Yonder as well as Scott Law and Anger. The String Summit then closed out with an extended performance by Yonder with Anger, Barnes and Law all joining in the action.

For an additonal look at the String Summit check out the videos that are posted to our blog, The Loop.

Additonal reporting by David Steinberg