The bluegrass is always greener

Looking for something new to check out? Try the Yonder Mountain String Band. They are four-piece band that play bluegrass with a mix of classic rock. At a glance, they look like a traditional bluegrass band, but the Yonder Mountain String Band have countless other influences and some say that they have really pioneered a sound of their own. Yonder Mountain describes their sound as, "play[ing] music by its own set of rules. Bending bluegrass, rock and countless other influences that the band cites, Yonder has pioneered a sound of their own. With their traditional lineup of instruments, the band may look like a traditional bluegrass band at first glance but they've created their own music that transcends any genre." Bluegrass music may sound funny to recommend, but it is a type of music that has deep American roots. Bluegrass, with its strong influence of blues and jazz music, was created by immigrants of Scottish and Irish immigrants as well as ones from the UK inspired is now considered a sub-genre of country. Yonder Mountain String Band caters to all types of music lovers. The band is from Colorado and the members have been playing together the past eleven years. They have played multiple venues from festivals to rock clubs. Yonder Mountain recently played at the Democratic National Convention in Denver at Mile High Stadium, opening for president Barack Obama. On Tues., Sept. 1st, Yonder Mountain came out with a new album entitled, "The Show." This album spent the first two weeks as the number one selling album in the bluegrass category. This week, the third week the album has been out, the album is still hanging on as number three on the charts. This album, produced by Tom Rothrock, is the band's fifth studio album. "The Show," has instrumentation similar to previous albums and features Adam Aijala on the guitar, Dave Johnston on the banjo, Jeff Austin on the mandolin and Ben Kaufman on bass. All four-band members participate in singing and in some tracks drumming and wrote all of their songs on the album. In some tracks Pete Thomas, of Elvis Costello and the Attractions, is featured on the drums. With the release of "The Show" Yonder Mountain String Band will also be conducting a nationwide tour. There are a few tour dates in New England nearby including locations in Mass. and V.T. After creating "The Show", Yonder Mountain went back into the studio one by one and created a "The Show" solo album. The CD is ultimately the band members? studio recorded and separated version of each song off the album. The songs that each individual performs are one that the member originally wrote. This makes this CD very personal and different. If this sounds intriguing check out The Yonder Mountain String Band site for tour dates as well as the discography at Yondermountain.com/main.html