Yonder Mountain String Band takes every show seriously, but when they play a room as ornate and historic as Knoxville’s Bijou Theatre they always seem to want to make it a night to remember. As we recently noted, the building the Theatre is located in is celebrating it’s 200th anniversary, while the venue is in it’s 107th year of continuous operation. With that kind of prestige and gravitas as a setting, Yonder clearly felt it was a good time to go above and beyond the call of duty.

Boulder, Colorado’s own traditional bluegrass and Americana band The Railsplitters opened up the night with a fierce set of original and cover tunes that drew an impressive amount of early arrivers to the front of the Theatre to get down and dirty with them. Guitarist and lead vocalist Lauren Stovall showed off her hard earned skills and wide open range while the rest of the band took every opportunity to impress with their solid performance skills and affable charms.

The band showed their respects to Yonder, with Stovall crediting a summer following them as her personal inspiration to take to the stage. Their choice to throw a rousing take on the John Hartford masterpiece “Steam Powered Aeroplane” made it clear they were true students of the form. Between the reception given The Railsplitters after each song and the cheers when they announced they would be returning to Knoxville for their own show at another venue across town later in the year, it looks like their future is bright in the heart of Tennessee.

The rafters rang with the cheers of the Kinfolk as Yonder Mountain String Band took the venerable stage with smiles and the intent set to give the crowd their full measure and then some. Kicking it off with “Gilpin Swing”, they went on a three song tear that saw the tempos and styles vary but the intensity and deft precision stay steady as a rock. Flowing perfectly from “Gilpin” into a tasty “Pass This Way” “EMD” “Pass This Way” sandwich, the opening jams were both filling and full of chances for each member of the quintet. Thanks to our own Rex Thomson you can enjoy the glorious jams for yourself below:

As the crowd was still digesting the slab of bluegrass jams they had just ingested, fiery fiddler Allie Kral, banjo ninja Dave Johnston, and mandolin master Jacob Jolliff left languid guitarist Adam Aijala and bass-thumper Ben Kaufmann to knock out a pair of tunes as a duo. Ditching his bottom end duties, Kaufmann welcomed the chance to switch up from his bass to a guitar for a pair of tunes dedicated to his son who was celebrating his fifth birthday by watching his dad on a live stream of the show.  Check out their rendition of the youngsters fave tune “She Smiles Like She’s Always Been A Friend” below:

The rest of the band retook the stage and got back to the business at hand: delivering the best show they possibly could. Jolliff showed off his prodigious speed and dexterity on “Rambler’s Anthem” before taking the lead vocal on the Aijala penned “Far From You.” The tune was not only a crowd-pleaser, but it gave Allie Kral a chance to show off her comedic timing afterwards. You can check out the tune and the laughs below:

After her stand up debut, Kral had the opportunity to showcase another side of her performance skills with an impassioned take on the classic “Son Of A Preacher Man.” Her emotive and husky delivery was perfectly suited to the Dusty Springfield classic. While on the subject of classics, Yonder followed the Kral sultriness with a few of their own, including a second sandwich of the the night, going from “Only A Northern Song” into “Traffic Jam” on into “Fingerprint” before finishing “Traffic Jam” to a deafening reception.

The entire night saw incredibly sharp musicianship from the assembled players. Whether it was Kaufmann dropping low full and dirty, Aijala reeling off beautifully flowing leads, Johnston cutting through the sonic soundscapes the three founders clearly relished each moment. Jolliff’s low key demeanor completely belied the fury he unleashed on his mandolin’s fret board while Kral once again defended her crown as the queen of the jam grass fiddlers.

Since the theme of the night was variety, Yonder decided to keep the unpredictable vibe going by axing the cables and hearkening back to the roots of bluegrass with an all acoustic three song encore. Leading off with the Kinfolk fave “Criminal,” the band invited the audience to pack it in down front so they could bring the volume down while simultaneously raising the roof. “Loved you Enough” kept the energy high before Kral closed out the night with a second, heart wrenching cover, a desperate and powerful rendition of the Dolly Parton tune “Jolene.”

Though Yonder has decades of service to the music world behind them, shows like this clearly illustrate that the best is yet to come! Enjoy a full gallery below, with photographs by Rex Thomson!

Setlist: Yonder Mountain String Band | Bijou Theatre | Knoxville, TN | 2/1/17
Set 1: Gilpin Swing> Pass This Way> EMD> Pass This Way, Smiles Like She’s Always Been A Friend#, Lunasa#, Rambler’s Anthem, Far From You, Winds Of Wyoming> Mother’s Only Son> Winds Of Wyoming, Near Me, Finally Saw The Light, Son Of A Preacher Man, Only A Northern Song> Traffic Jam> Fingerprint> Traffic Jam> Only A Northern Song

Encore: Criminal*, Loved You Enough*, Jolene*

#Ben Kaufmann & Adam Aijala acoustic duo
*Full Band Acoustic