RIP Jeff Austin

[PIE-GUY]

After the rumors of his death followed by the "hospitalized, not dead" it seams it's true now. Sad day. I know he was respected and loved by many.

https://www.jambase.com/article/jeff-austin-death

Jeff Austin, the former co-founding member of Yonder Mountain String Band and current leader of the Jeff Austin Band, has died. Austin's death was confirmed by his representatives, who issued the following official statement:

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of a beloved family member, mandolinist, singer, songwriter and founder of The Jeff Austin Band, and Yonder Mountain String Band, Jeff Austin. Austin passed away June 24, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. He was son of Eileen Austin, husband to Devlyn, and father to Lily Rose (12), Penelope (5), and Jude Patrick (2). He was a dear friend whose music touched the lives of so many, and will be sorely missed. If you would like to make a contribution to help his family, please visit https://sweetrelief.org/jeff-austin-fund/.

A message recently posted to Austin's Facebook referenced a "medical emergency." Yonder Mountain String Band responded to the post asking for prayers for Austin and they later addressed the situation during their set Saturday the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which included a performance of "Half Moon Rising" dedicated to Austin.

Austin was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. In the mid-1990s, Austin met banjo player Dave Johnston who was a student at the University of Illinois in Urbana. Johnston encouraged Austin to pick up the mandolin and the two formed a short-lived band.

Austin and Johnston separately left Illinois and moved to Colorado. In 1998, after meeting bassist Ben Kaufmann and guitarist Adam Aijala, the four musicians formed Yonder Mountain String Band. Austin remained a member of Yonder Mountain String Band through 2014 when he left the group to pursue a solo career.

Austin and The Big Wu's Chris Castino recorded an album together in 2004 that featured Noam Pikelny, Darol Anger and others. In 2006, Keller Williams and The String Cheese Incident's Keith Moseley formed Grateful Grass with Austin and recorded an album of live Grateful Dead covers.

Umphrey's McGee's Brendan Bayliss and Austin formed 30db and released the album One Man Show in 2010 while continuing to periodically perform together as recently as last weekend. Prior to forming the Jeff Austin Band, the mandolin player was part of The Here And Now project with Danny Barnes, Larry Keel and Jenny Keel.

Recent years saw Austin joining The Travelin McCourys for "Grateful Ball" bluegrass tributes to the Grateful Dead. In 2015, Jeff Austin's solo album, The Simple Truth, featuring members of the Jeff Austin Band was released.

[Bobafett]

Yeah I hadn't heard anything about this.   I saw some amazing shows with him and YMSB hasn't been the same without him.

[aphineday]

Fuck. This sucks.

[PIE-GUY]

I know he and Fish were close. Wouldn't be surprised to see some form of tribute pop up tonight.

[Gundo]

This is really sad. Jeff and the rest of the guys in Yonder really made a huge impact on my life. My heart goes out to his wife and three daughters.

[alcoholandcoffeebeans]

 :|

Always so much fun to see him on stage.
bummer.

[mistercharlie]

Fuck. This sucks.

This.

I saw so many great Yonder shows and Jeff was always the star. He was a helluva great musician and had an amazing stage presence. I'm sad to never get to see him preform again.

[aphineday]

Does anyone have any idea what happened to him?

[emay]

RIP
A pioneer in the jam grass world for sure. Dude put all his emotions into every song he sang

[emay]

Does anyone have any idea what happened to him?

Heard about his attempted suicide on Friday night/early Saturday morning. I think it might have been a little too late. They ended up putting him into a medical induced coma.

[rowjimmy]

Sad news indeed. Austin worked with a lot of folks and deservedly stood shoulder to shoulder with many extremely talented folk. Especially heartbreaking that he leaves a wife and children behind on top of so many people who's live he's touched.

[mistercharlie]

Does anyone have any idea what happened to him?

Heard about his attempted suicide on Friday night/early Saturday morning. I think it might have been a little too late. They ended up putting him into a medical induced coma.

Wow, I did not know that's what they meant by 'medical emergency'. That makes this all the more saddening. His personality was happily explosive and a lot of times that comes with extreme lows too.  :shakehead:

[aphineday]

Does anyone have any idea what happened to him?

Heard about his attempted suicide on Friday night/early Saturday morning. I think it might have been a little too late. They ended up putting him into a medical induced coma.

How terrible. Vibes to the whole family.

[Bobafett]

Does anyone have any idea what happened to him?

Heard about his attempted suicide on Friday night/early Saturday morning. I think it might have been a little too late. They ended up putting him into a medical induced coma.

How terrible. Vibes to the whole family.

Yeah sad news.  I had just talked about him with my gf on Thursday or Friday of last week.  Mountain tracks vol 2 popped up on Spotify suggestion while we were having dinner.

[PIE-GUY]

I'm not crying. you're crying!