Finnders & Youngberg

In Finnders and Youngberg you get a veritable variety of voices and stories assembled together in an American West front-range melting pot. A truly rootsy musical soup, seasoned and thickened for your enjoyment, each member of the band brings a variety of influences and talent, having seen success in their own right before joining forces. They have toured the United States and been hired as producers, engineers, and session musicians on many of the West’s most note-worthy Americana Music projects.

Mike Finnders (guitar) is a two-time winner of the Merlefest Songwriting Contest, provided the band with richly original songs and lead vocals. Aaron Youngberg (pedal steel, banjo) gives the band lift and contributes lead/harmony vocals with his wife, Erin Youngberg (bass). Both Youngbergs were formerly with Hit & Run Bluegrass, winners of the Telluride and Rockygrass Band contests. Rich Zimmerman cranks on the mandolin, coming from hot Colorado bluegrass band Slipstream, while Rockygrass fiddle champion and much in-demand session player Ryan Drickey sets the strings ablaze.

Finnders and Youngberg have created a buzz amongst the mountain fests- “They stole the show. Incredible,” said David Smith of Durango Bluegrass Meltdown, as well as garnered the adoration of critics and DJ’s, with their first CD cracking the top five most spun CD’s on Colorado Radio in 2008. “Award-winning songwriting that makes you laugh, contemplate, sigh, drink, or dance,” says Nina Dropcho, host of KDNK’s Smokin’ Grass.

Together the band weaves their way through a maze of influences, never losing sight of the roots that inspire them. It’s this merging of old and new that keeps their music from being simply a gimmicky restoration of a vintage era, and their original vision has enough distinction that you’ll seek this sound out again and again.

Audio

From the new album, “FY5″ (2011)

Buy at CDBaby

From the album, “Keep Your Suitcase Packed” (2008)

Buy at CDBaby

Video

A Day in the Life of Finnders & Youngberg (recorded at KVNF and Paradise Theater April 2, 2011, Paonia, Colorado)

“Red Mountain Pass” at Pagosa Folk n Bluegrass, Pagosa, CO (June 4, 2011)

“Connie” at Folk Alliance (February 18, 2011)

“Driftwood” at the Fox Theater in Boulder, CO (August 27, 2010)

The Scuttlebutt

“This group will have appeal to people that enjoy a mix of styles tossed into their bluegrass salad. FY5 is casting a wide net with this release, and it’s got plenty of good picking and singing to go with the gritty songs Finnders and his gang have assembled here.” David Thom, Bluegrass Today

“Their performance breathes like an intimate porch jam, yet the tight arrangements, lilting harmonies, careful choreography around a central microphone, and instrumental precision display the group’s commitment to their music.” – Henri Deschamps, Acousticana Journal (May 06, 2011)

“The musicianship is intricately and beautifully crafted to deliver an unbelievable range of emotional content in a sonically beautiful and highly listenable way; the delivery of FY5 is -your-socks-off impressive!” – Jan Peterson, Pow’r Pickin’ (Apr 11, 2011)

“A quintet hailing from Fort Collins, CO, Finnders & Youngberg is making a name for itself in a thriving roots music community with a heady mix of largely original bluegrass, country and old-timey music. This, the group’s second album, ought to give it a leg up on the competition if good writing, solid picking, inspired vocalizing and a near-palpable enthusiasm for its music count for anything.” – David McGee, The Bluegrass Special (Jul 22, 2011)

“The straight-forwardness with which Finnders & Youngberg deliver bluegrass on the album is complimented delicately with large sprinkles of honkey-tonk steel and glorious folk harmonies; all layered with a coating of thick, rich lyrical delivery and songwriting.” – Charlie Englar, Scene Magazine (Jul 01, 2011)