Best described as an absurdist string band, the Yellow Dandies combine ace musicianship, distinctive humor, and authentic old-time and bluegrass stylings to create a manic, American fandango. Since 2016, the group has been on a mission to revitalize the irreverent and often strange humor that was once common in Old Time Music, while still taking the music as seriously as a funeral. The Yellow Dandies strive to pay homage to the stylistic precedents of Old Time Music and the icons of American traditional music (including the virtuosos that seldom left the front porch), but have no fear of experimentation with jazz, commercial music, and folk styles from across the world.
Bailey Hill is a multi-instrumentalist and experienced songwriter based out of Fultondale, Alabama. He first picked up the mandolin in 2009 at The Alabama Folk School and soon expanded his horizons to banjo, guitar, and fiddle. Bailey teaches and performs American Old Time, Bluegrass, and Celtic music and founded the neo-traditional band, The Yellow Dandies, with guitarist Ben Ayers in 2016. Bailey’s passion for teaching and performing comes from a fundamental drive of wanting more music in the world. Bailey views music as not just a great hobby or job, but an excellent way to build community and fellowship.
Ben Ayers grew up with the Old-Time, Bluegrass, Country, and Contest Fiddle traditions of his native Middle Tennessee and the Southern Cumberland Plateau, where he currently teaches K-8 Music at a number of local schools. Since 2011, Ben has played guitar, mandolin, electric and upright bass, Irish bouzouki ,and tenor banjo in everything from Jazz Big Bands to Rock Trios, but his main focus has consistently been Old-Time and Bluegrass. After several years of regularly performing and collaborating on educational music-projects with virtuoso fiddler, Jim Wood, Ben started the alternative Old-Time band, The Yellow Dandies, with mandolinist Bailey Hill and he continues to teach, write, compose, and explore the world’s traditional music.
Aerin deRussy first picked up the violin at age four for classical instruction but learned her first fiddle tunes from her Grandfather, a self-taught fiddler from Monroe County, Kentucky, when she was six. It was a rocky transition from classical to fiddle, but by the time she was in her late-teens, Aerin was winning fiddle contests throughout the Southeast and gigging with various Atlanta and North Georgia Bluegrass bands. She joined The Yellow Dandies in 2017 which rapidly expanded her understanding and appreciation of Old Time.
Ryan Brown is a full-time bassist & music instructor in Birmingham, Alabama. He learned to play electric & upright bass in his high school’s jazz band and started his music career before graduating. Since then he has played & studied almost every style of American music and some beyond, from Rock & Roll to the Avant-Garde, and began his journey into Appalachian Old-Time music in 2018 by joining the Yellow Dandies. He will talk for hours about the importance of rhythm & what it means to really play “in the pocket.” Get him started only if you have a little time!