Pick me! Pick me!
You can’t pick a better time to go to the Newport Performing Arts Center than this Sunday, July 23 to see The Jacob Jolliff Band.
Fresh from an international tour with Béla Fleck, Jolliff is back in his native Oregon with his own genre-busting, effervescent ensemble. One of the country’s premier contemporary mandolinists, Jolliff, born in Newburg, has assembled a quartet of spectacular musicians and they’ll be bringing their fresh take on finger-picking bluegrass and vocal harmonies to Newport for one night only.
“We’re delighted,” said Oregon Coast Council for the Arts Executive Director Jason Holland. “This group travels all over the United States, Scotland and Australia. We’re honored they’re making a stop in Nye Beach, giving local audiences an opportunity to experience this exciting, infectious sound.”
At age 18, Jolliff was awarded a full scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, where he studied under the late mandolin great John McGann. In 2008, he joined the band Joy Kills Sorrow and spent the next few years touring extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with them. Despite the hectic tour schedule, Jolliff still managed to graduate from college in 2011. The following year he went on to win the National Mandolin Championship.
In 2014, Joy Kills Sorrow went on an indefinite hiatus after three albums, hundreds of shows and thousands of miles in a 15 passenger van. Almost immediately, Jolliff was contacted by the progressive bluegrass jam group Yonder Mountain String Band. He toured and played with them until the end of 2019, releasing three albums in the process.
Jolliff’s current focus is The Jacob Jolliff Band. This ensemble of virtuosic pickers plays his original instrumentals and showcases his vocals. The group has released two albums, “Instrumentals Vol. 1” and “The Jacob Jolliff Band.”
The concert begins at 2 pm. Tickets are $35. The Newport Performing Arts Center is located at 777 W Olive Street. For more information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-265-2787.