[instagram id="Bc8v_CyHV3R"]A partnership born in a period of turmoil for former YMSB mandolinist Jeff Austin and Umphrey's McGee guitarist Brendan Bayliss, seems to have settled into a nice holiday tradition.The pair performed at Martyr's on Wednesday (their third area appearance in the last three Decembers), offering a rundown of...

Something's brewing at Jeff Austin Headquarters.About to set off on a Spring tour of the East and Midwest, he'sgoing digging through the closet of his songbook to bring back some old favorites. To hear him tell it on his Facebook page:Over the last few months I've been bringing back some older songs i...

By: Carmel O'Farrell (@carmelocorn) | Photo: Megan Sanders | Video: Charles IzenstarkOnce again, Tonic Room in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood brought a unique Umphrey's McGee side project to its intimate stage.On Saturday, December 19th,it came in the form of 30db, which consists of Umphrey's lead vocalist Brendan Bayliss and mandolinist Jeff Austin. It's been years...

With the closing notes of their set at the sold out House Of Blues, Greensky Bluegrass put an exclamation point on another edition of Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival.Starting way back in January, the series of shows under the CBB banner spanned some of our favorite city venues and showcased local and national acts...

By: Kelley Lauginiger - @peapodmcgeeThe Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival has expanded from one night of hoopla back in 2007, to a month-long jamboree spanning some of our cities finest venues, and delivered by a host of different bands. Each act brings some dust with them for us to kick up with our salt-laden boots here...

You can point to the first Bonnaroo as a potential Ground Zero for the music festival explosion that has gripped America in the dozen or so years since its inception. While many festivals that have emerged in its wake -- both big and small -- have chosen to replicate its key elements, very few, not...

Not even fatherhood can keep a good man down.While Jeff Austin sat out a recent Yonder Mountain String Band run to stay home with his newborn daughter, he couldn't resist just a small run of shows with The Here & Now at the beginning of March, marking some of the last scheduled appearances for...

Fact: there is outstanding music every weekend in Chicago.But sometimes you just have to shake your head, sigh, and realize how lucky we are to have this city as our playground.What's more, the highlights of this weekend's cavalcade of stars feature that are right smack in our wheelhouse. the jambands, supergroups, heavy funk,...

I was pretty disappointed that no significant audio or video came out of Jeff's Durty Nellie's gig in August, especially since I spent some time talking with him in advance of it. However, was pleased to find YouTuber MyTallTripod, who covers Indiana bluegrass and newgrass extensively, captured his full show at The Bluebird in Bloomington....

It seems you can always find good bluegrass around Chicago these days, but the end of August is getting particularly hot for the Rocky Mountain variety (mixed liberally with some Chicago flavor). Friday, August 23rd will find Head For The Hills headlining at City Winery and Wednesday, August 28th will see Jeff Austin kick off...