Watch Brendan Bayliss and Jeff Austin’s 30db Set from Shoe Fest 2018
At the tail end of this past summer, Shoe Fest returned to Manteno, IL’s Camp Shaw-Waw-Nas-See for its eight-annual festival, which featured a rare appearance from 30db, the acoustic duo composed of Umphrey’s McGee guitarist Brendan Bayliss and mandolinist extraordinaire Jeff Austin. Recently, pro-shot video from their set was released by Instrumental Motion, shared with Relix by IM’s Kevin Schwartz.
In the video below, Bayliss and Austin run through four cuts from their debut (and only) 30db album, One Man Show, which they released back in 2010: “One More,” the title track, “Liar” and “Backfire.”
While they usually only come together as 30db for Chicago shows around the December holidays, the duo played Shoe Fest and a few more dates around that festival this year. And even with their sporadic collaborations, the two veteran musicians continue to show how well their acoustic chops mesh in the pared-down setting—and how much fun they have on stage together. Ripping solos and strumming, traded vocals, and stage banter (plus an ever-present bottle of red wine between them) highlight 30db’s shows—along with a plethora of covers during their holiday shows, making their rare appearances something to be sought out.
Watch Bayliss and Austin at Shoe Fest below.