An alumnus of celebrated progressive bluegrass bands Joy Kills Sorrow and the Yonder Mountain String Band, Jacob Jolliff is one of the genre’s top mandolinists and a sought-after collaborator, sharing the stage with Darol Anger, Tony Trischka, Sam Bush, David Grisman, Ronnie McCoury, Michael Daves, and many others.
In 2022, Jacob was called on by banjo master Béla Fleck to tour as part of My Bluegrass Heart. He performed around the country alongside Béla and some of the top musicians in the genre: Bryan Sutton, Cody Kilby, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz, Michael Cleveland, Stuart Duncan and Billy Contreras.
Now, the mandolinist’s main focus is The Jacob Jolliff Band, a group of virtuosic pickers – Jolliff on mandolin and vocals; Myles Sloniker, bass; Ross Martin, guitar; and George Jackson, fiddle – who play Jacob’s original instrumentals and songs. They tour nationally in the US, Scotland, and Australia, and have released two albums, “Instrumentals Vol. 1” in 2018 and “The Jacob Jolliff Band” in 2022.