Yonder Mountain String Band are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album Elevation with a special edition vinyl release.

The double LP is pressed onto 180g vinyl, and is released by the band’s independent label Frog Pad Records.

At the 2019 Northwestern String Summit, YMSB recreated Elevation in its entirety in memory of late mandolinist Jeff Austin.

“We listened to [Elevation] again for the first time in a while and, you know, it’s a pretty good record. I personally can’t stand the way that I sound on it because you can tell that I’m from Massachusetts,” bassist Ben Kaufmann jokingly told the crowd.

Click here to purchase the 20th anniversary vinyl of Elevation.

Listen to all of Elevation via Spotify and read Van Meter’s full statement below:

Twenty years ago, over a good meal and margaritas, a pivotal moment in acoustic music transpired and forever changed the face of acoustic and bluegrass music. That moment was the agreement to produce Yonder Mountain String Band’s first studio recording, Elevation. YMSB’s Elevation broke past traditional bluegrass music boundaries, opening the door for acceptance of the next generation’s take on a new style that audiences would fully embrace. YMSB had something special about what they played, and how they played it. Their songs showed that it was not just jamgrass party time. No matter what they played, they did it with a full musical heart—both familiar and new concert attendees fell in love with them. Young and old listeners together could feel that this first recording was a wind-direction change in acoustic music that had not been felt possibly since the 70s with Tony Rice and David Grisman. 

When YMSB came to me to produce Elevation, they told me, “We want to make a studio recording that will show people we are serious, and that we can make a studio recording that is professional.” What emerged from that conversation was near equal to a paradigm shift in the Bluegrass Universe. At Rancho De Ville recording studio in Boulder, we shared laughter, disagreements, commitment, and hope. We recorded a great album in the way YMSB members and their fans approach life in general: we had fun and worked hard together. I am still thankful that I took them at their word and accepted the job as their producer. 

With the 1999 release of Elevation, YMSB brought their new music and songs into folks’ living rooms, weddings, parties, and more prominent concert venues. The new fans earned from Elevation are fans that understood they had become part of the magic that is YMSB. The band always worked together as one unit; no one offered more than the other and all remained true to their vision and audience. YMSB’s gift to the music community remains evident.

Now, upon the 20th Anniversary of the release of Elevation, it is good for me to remember and to celebrate this recording for what it was and still is: full of heart, great music, and the best of times for so many.