Mandolin Player Jacob Jolliff Returns Home for Concert at Cultural Center

NEWBERG, Ore. — Jacob Jolliff left Newberg when he was 18, returning only to visit family and friends, but never to professionally play the instrument that led him to the East Coast.

After 17 years, Jolliff returns to Newberg to play his first professional show in his hometown on August 7 at the Chehalem Cultural Center.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Jolliff said. “[The band and I] have hung out in Newberg so much so that we have lots of inside jokes and memories around town. But somehow we’ve never played a show.”

Jolliff started playing the mandolin at seven years old as part of a homeschooling rule from his parents, which required him and his siblings to learn a musical instrument. Starting with the required 10 minutes a day, Jolliff said he developed a love and appreciation for the instrument and, after six months, started putting in several hours of practice daily.

What is a Mandolin?

According to musicarts.com, a mandolin is a fretted musical instrument in the lute family with four courses of strings (eight strings total, with each set tuned the same). Think of a small guitar, somewhere between a guitar and a ukulele. The instrument is commonly plucked rather than strummed, but a variety of techniques can be applied.

Throughout middle and high school, Jolliff played his mandolin in a bluegrass gospel band with his father, who, Jolliff said, stopped trying to teach him how to play around age nine or ten as Jolliff’s skill progressed to such a level that training was no longer required. They played around the Pacific Northwest with various accomplished bluegrass artists, who helped Jolliff refine his technique.

At 18, Jolliff received a full-ride scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he honed his bluegrass technique while also refining some mandolin jazz techniques he picked up while training with renowned Portland jazz pianist Randy Porter.

“It just so happened that when I was in high school, he was an adjunct professor at George Fox,” Jolliff said. “It’s not an obvious mix—mandolin and jazz—but it is really interesting to try and complement the language of the horns and other players.”

Soon after graduating, he joined the New England-based roots music band Joy Kills Sorrow. He toured while completing his education, graduated in 2011, and won the National Mandolin Championship in Winfield, Kansas the next year.

Joy Kills Sorrow went on an indefinite hiatus, Jolliff said, and he received a call from progressive bluegrass jam group Yonder Mountain String Band. He toured with them for five years, releasing three albums with the group until 2019 when he turned his focus to his latest progressive bluegrass project: The Jacob Jolliff Band.

What is Progressive Bluegrass?

Progressive bluegrass, or “newgrass,” blends traditional bluegrass with elements from other genres such as rock, jazz, and classical music, introducing electric instruments and complex song structures. It emphasizes improvisation and innovative techniques, pushing the boundaries of traditional bluegrass. This subgenre emerged in the 1970s, with artists like Sam Bush and Béla Fleck as key pioneers.

“This ensemble is a group of virtuosic pickers that play Jacob’s original instrumentals, as well as showcase his singing,” states Jolliff’s website.

Jolliff has been touring with his band around the United States, with multiple shows per month spanning much of the country. In this latest stretch, he’s traveling from Colorado, landing in Oregon, playing a venue in Ashland, then Newberg, heading up to Washington for three shows across three cities, then back to New York, and then Arizona after a short break.

“It’s a real grind,” he said. “But I love it. There’s nothing else I’d rather do, you know? Especially when I have the opportunity to come play in my hometown like this. It’s really exciting.”

Jolliff said that, outside of performing in front of his friends and family, he’s most excited to debut an album the Jacob Jolliff Band released in May—Instrumentals Vol. 2: Mandolin Mysteries.

“We do sing live, play some traditional bluegrass, and a few covers,” he said. “But the feature of the set is always my instrumental writing. It’s fairly complex stuff, a little more arranged, etcetera. But since the new album is fully instrumental, we’re focusing on instrumental playing during this tour.”

Newbergundians can see The Jacob Jolliff Band perform live at the Chehalem Cultural Center on August 7. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for students and $30 for adults. Wine and snacks are available for purchase at the venue. The Jacob Jolliff Band will have a merch table at the event selling a collection of merchandise, CDs, and vinyl records. 

Learn more and buy tickets at the Chehalem Cultural Center website.