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Progressive bluegrass act Yonder Mountain String Band celebrates 25 years together with its first Grammy nomination as well as induction into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. While both accolades are welcome, what's most important to the band members remains a full touring schedule that plays to crowds at indoor venues and outside at numerous music festivals.
That includes this Friday at the bluegrass-centric Grassfire 2023 at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park. Leavittsburg native Jerry Douglas also is performing Friday, along with Del McCoury Band, Travelin' McCourys, Donna the Buffalo, Brown Chicken Brown Cow and Sam & Rumpke. Saturday's lineup is headlined by the Sam Bush Band and includes Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Fireside Collective and Sam Grisman Project.
"Outside is the most fun," said bassist / vocalist Ben Kaufmann. "That's the best. Any chance to play music, wherever it is, is a good day but outside in the summertime and at festivals is great because that's also the time we get to be around our friends in other bands.
"If you're playing clubs and then you get on the bus and you go to the next show, you don't see anybody. You just see yourself, but at a festival you get to hang out all day. Depending on who's playing the same day, you get to see music and see people. We've been around this gig for so long, we've met, basically, everybody here. Been friends with most people. So, we get to see our friends and that's just the best."
YMSB has played Nelson Ledges multiple times. Kaufmann recalled a particular incident involving a skydiver who was meant to entertain the crowd.
"We were getting ready to play our show and, I don't know if this was arranged or if it just happened, but all of a sudden everybody in the crowd started looking up over the water, and you can see someone skydiving.
"The parachute hadn't opened and they got closer and closer and closer. You could feel this energy shift in the audience. Every single person there thought we were about to see somebody hit the water. Then, at the very last moment, they pulled the cord and the chute opened and they landed on the beach. It was so close that I thought for sure we're about to witness like the worst accident ever."
A more upbeat refection, he noted Nelson Ledges' special setting for bands and live music fans. "It's a super unique venue. I'd love to go see a show there because you get the music and...they still let you go swimming and cliff jumping and stuff, right? That's awesome. Almost every time we've been there, we had a bunch of friends and other bands there, too. It's a good place to hang out."
Wherever the quartet -- Kaufmann; Adam Aijala, guitar and vocals; Dave Johnston, banjo and vocals; and Nick Piccininni, mandolin, banjo, fiddle and vocals -- plays, variety remains a consistent characteristic of Yonder's setlists. Originals culled from its 14 studio and live releases combine with a selection of covers from a wide range of genres by more than 200 artists, including bluegrass (Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs, John Hartford), rock (Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads), folk (Todd Snider, J. J. Cale), R&B (Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding), country (Waylon Jennings, Kenny Rogers) and punk (Misfits, The Minutemen).
The 11 tunes on YMSB's first album in five years, "Get Yourself Outside," should be included in that lengthy list of performance options.
Turning a negative into a positive, Yonder progressed from being homebound and unemployed during the COVID-19 music industry stoppage to using that idle time to write its latest album via online Zoom meetings.
Kaufmann acknowledged that because of the little money derived from music streaming services, recording and releasing new material becomes more of a creative endeavor than a commercial one.
"It sure would be nice to sell records, but it's not a thing anymore. So, why do you make a record? For us it's like a business card. You make a record, and you show promoters of festivals and venue owners and your peers and fans that, first of all, you're alive. Second of all, you're making a stamp or calling card for this moment in time.
"We knew we hadn't made a record in five years and that's primarily because we're always touring. And if you're always touring, you don't have the time or the creative space to make a record. At least we didn't. So, the pandemic, one of the blessings in it was that we had a whole bunch of time, and we were able to write, and we were able to find time to record the record."
Satisfied with the method used to write "Get Yourself Outside," Kaufmann said that work already has started on its next studio effort. In the meantime, Yonder will continue with what has worked for a quarter of a century.
"We've always toured and played live, sell tickets to shows and sell T-shirts at the shows. That's always been our model and something that we love to do. Playing live music is one of my happy places in life."
If you go …
WHAT: Grassfire 2023
WHEN: Friday through Sunday
WHERE: Nelson Ledges Quarry Park, 12001 Nelson Ledge Road, Nelson
HOW MUCH: $90 advance and $100 at gate and $65 for Saturday arrivals with children ages 4 to 14 admitted for $15 a day or $25 for weekend. Tickets are available online at www.nlqp.com and by calling 440-548-2716.