Outdoor venue, cool weather, and two sets of kick ass bluegrass! Yonder Mountain String Band brought their Winter Tour 2016 through Florida and we were lucky enough to attend and photograph their show in St. Petersburg at Jannus Live. It was our first time at the venue and first time seeing Yonder in almost a year. Florida blessed us with nice crisp weather in the mid 50s. It was perfect temperature for a winter tour.
The band began their first set around 8:45 pm and got the crowd warmed up quick. About 3 songs in they announced that they were about to play a 70s song. Once they hit those first chords everyone cheered and smiles were unstoppable. “Dancing in the Moonlight” was a surprising cover not many were expecting and one that everyone seemed very pleased with. Continuing on the surprise theme Yonder brought out Keller Williams to close out set 1 with a cover of The Dead’s “Shakedown Street”. Set two brought even more energy and surprises. “Ever Fallen In Love” by Buzzcocks and “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield had the crowd full of energy and locked in on the band. Yonder delivered two beautiful sets of music. Tossing in covers always helps those with less bluegrass knowledge keep up. It was a great time for everyone. Bravo Yonder!
