Photo by DeWook via @YonderMountain on IG


Last weekend at Oregon’s Northwest String Summit, Yonder Mountain String Band took the opportunity to honor the past and appreciate the present, performing a special tribute set to late mandolinist and co-founder Jeff Austin.

Their single July 19 set celebrated the 20th anniversary of their debut LP Elevation with a surprise full album recreation featuring a slew of special guests.

“We listened to [Elevation] again for the first time in a while and, you know, it’s a pretty good record,” bassist Ben Kaufmann said at the beginning of the set.

Highlights included Jay Cobb Anderson adding vocals to “At The End Of The Day” (which was written by Austin), YMSB cohort Benny Burle Galloway on “To Say Goodbye To Be Forgiven” and a Jagermeister toast in Austin’s honor.

The band’s second set – on July 20 – was stacked with covers, including a twangy, opening take on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” followed by Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop.”

The first sit-in came with singer Lindsay Lou adding her flair to Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams.”

Lou stuck around and was joined by singer Anna Moss of Handmade Moments and singer-mandolinist Mimi Naja of Fruition for versions of “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye and “Think” by Aretha Franklin.

Tyler Grant jumped onstage for some pickin’ on the Grateful Dead’s “He’s Gone,” and later, YMSB riffed on a pair of David Bowie tunes, namely “Space Oddity” and “Starman,” with Moss and her Handmade Moments bandmate Joel Ludford.

Finally, to end the celebratory set, YMSB welcomed Fruition, Handmade Moments, Tyler Grant, Ben Larsen, Austin Quattlebaum and Jack Kloonan for The Band’s “The Shape I’m In.”

Watch YMSB collaborate with Handmade Moments on Bowie’s “Starman,” honor Jeff Austin with “one more Jagermeister shot” and check out the band’s full NWSS setlists below:

Yonder Mountain String Band
July 20, 2019
Northwest String Summit, North Plains, Ore.

Half Moon Rising, Mental Breakdown, Bolton Stretch, Left Me In A Hole, Darkness & Light(1), On The Run, 8 Cylinders, 40 Miles From Denver, This Lonesome Heart, At The End Of The Day(2), Mossy Cow, High On A Hilltop, To Say Goodbye To Be Forgiven(3), If There’s Still Ramblin In The Rambler(4), Waijal Breakdown, Complicated(5), Traffic Jam(6)

Notes:
Elevation album recreation
(1)= Dan Rodriguez on vocals & Bevin Foley on fiddle
(2)= Jay Cobb Anderson on vocals
(3)= Benny Burle Galloway on vocals
(4)= Joel Ludford on vocals
(5)= Jay Elliott on drums & Asher Fulero on keyboards
(6)= Tyler Grant on guitar

Yonder Mountain String Band
July 20, 2019
Northwest String Summit, North Plains, Ore.

Fortunate Son, Misty Mountain Hop, Sweet Dreams(1), What’s Going On(2), Think(2), He’s Gone(3), Flagpole Sitta(4), Space Oddity(5), Starman(5), Rock And Roll, Drift Away(6), The Shape I’m In(7)

Notes:
(1)= Lindsay Lou on vocals
(2)= Anna Moss, Lindsay Lou & Mimi Naja on vocals
(3)= Tyler Grant on guitar
(4)= Brad Parsons on vocals & guitar
(5)= Joel Ludford & Anna Moss on vocals
(6)= Mimi Naja, Jay Cobb Anderson & Kellen Asebroek on vocals
(7)= Fruition, Handmade Moments, Tyler Grant, Ben Larsen on guitar, Austin Quattlebaum on cello banjo & Jack Kloonan on guitar