Jeff Austin (1974 to 2019) was a mandolin player, singer, and songwriter from the Chicago area. In 1998 he co-founded Yonder Mountain String Band in Nederland, Colorado, and played more than 1,500 shows with them over 16 years. The band took bluegrass instruments to rock festivals and helped build the jamgrass scene. He left in 2014, formed the Jeff Austin Band, and died in 2019 at 45.
Why Austin matters
Austin played bluegrass like a rock frontman. His frenetic mandolin, wild energy, and long improvised jams made Yonder Mountain one of the biggest draws on the jam band circuit. Jeremy Garrett of the Infamous Stringdusters said Austin was “a huge part of presenting bluegrass as a rock show.” Many younger bands learned from Yonder that an acoustic string band could fill festival fields.
Life and career
Austin was born on April 25, 1974, and grew up in the Chicago area. In the mid-1990s he met banjo player Dave Johnston, a student at the University of Illinois in Urbana. Johnston urged him to take up the mandolin and sing in their band, the Bluegrass Holes. The band did not last, and both men moved to Colorado.
In Nederland in 1998, Austin and Johnston teamed with bassist Ben Kaufmann and guitarist Adam Aijala to form Yonder Mountain String Band. The band toured hard, headlined festivals, played Bonnaroo, performed at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, and hosted its own Harvest Festival in Arkansas. In 2004 Austin recorded an album with Chris Castino of the Big Wu, featuring Noam Pikelny and Darol Anger.
Austin left Yonder Mountain in 2014. He played in the Here and Now with Danny Barnes and Larry Keel, then formed the Jeff Austin Band with Barnes, bassist Eric Thorin, and guitarist Ross Martin. On his album The Simple Truth he played guitar on several songs. He was touring with his band when he had a medical emergency in June 2019. He died on June 24, 2019, in Seattle, at 45.
Playing style
Austin played with a fast, aggressive right hand and a love of tension. His solos built in intensity, more like a rock guitar solo than a fiddle-tune break. In Yonder’s long jams he stretched songs into new shapes with the band, trading ideas in real time.
He was also a strong singer and a funny, magnetic presence on stage. The energy he put into a show was part of the music.
Influences and legacy
Austin came to bluegrass from rock and jam bands, and he learned the mandolin with Dave Johnston’s encouragement. He played beside Johnston, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, Danny Barnes, Larry Keel, Noam Pikelny, and Darol Anger.
Jacob Jolliff replaced him in Yonder Mountain in 2014. His mix of bluegrass instruments and rock stage energy runs through the jamgrass bands that followed, and Sam Bush had blazed a similar trail with New Grass Revival.
Signature tunes and songs
Raleigh and Spencer Run Down What the Night Brings.
Essential recordings
The Simple Truth (solo)
Watch and listen
Yonder Mountain String Band plays Raleigh and Spencer at Red Rocks in 2009, with Austin on mandolin and vocals.
The Jeff Austin Band plays the Rolling Stones’ No Expectations at the 2018 Charm City Bluegrass Festival.
What to learn from Austin
Take a bluegrass song and jam on it with a friend, past the usual one break each. Keep the chords going and build your solo over three or four passes, starting quiet and simple and growing louder and busier. That is the jamgrass approach Austin championed. It teaches you to listen to the band and to build a solo with an arc.
Sources
Jeff Austin (1974 to 2019), co-founder of Yonder Mountain String Band, Legacy.com In memoriam: Jeff Austin, JamBase Remembering Jeff Austin: The Simple Truth, JamBase Yonder Mountain String Band founder Jeff Austin dies at 45, Westword Jeff Austin passed away, Live for Live Music Yonder Mountain String Band co-founder Jeff Austin has died, WTVR Jeff Austin news, Bluegrass Today Mandolinist and Yonder Mountain String Band co-founder Jeff Austin dies at 45, Glide Magazine Yonder Mountain String Band, Wikipedia
Related players
See the mandolin players hub and the mandolin guide. Jacob Jolliff took his place in Yonder Mountain. Sam Bush blazed the newgrass trail that jamgrass followed.