Jeff Austin, founding member of the influential bluegrass band Yonder Mountain String Band, has passed away at the age of 45, per an announcement today.
Austin was born in Arlington Heights, and spent time in Urbana, which is where he met Dave Johnston who was a student at the U of I at the time. Austin and Johnston performed in The Bluegrassholes prior to forming Yonder Mountain String Band.
Yonder Mountain String Band had performed many times here in C-U over the course of the last decade, as recently as last year.
Photo from Jeff Austin’s Facebook page
