A mountain of musical style

By GINA VIVINETTO
Published February 4, 2005

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The Yonder Mountain String Band doesn't fit easily into a musical category, but if you're a lover of bluegrass, acoustic and jam band music, chances are you'll dig what YMSB does.

What does YMSB sound like? Like a traditional acoustic folk band -- say, the Kingston Trio -- that has decided to go the Grateful Dead route, letting loose and improvising, crisply picking out peppy melodies while inspiring hard-core fans, which the band calls "kinfolk," to groove along.

YMSB also slips in covers from an array of genres including Talking Heads, Frank Zappa, Willie Nelson and Ozzy Osbourne.

The Yonder Mountain String Band performs with the Del McCoury Band at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Jannus Landing, 16 Second St. N, St. Petersburg. $20 advance, $25 day of show. (727) 896-2276.

- GINA VIVINETTO vivinetto@tampabay.com