Photo: Facebook
The bluegrass musician leaves behind a wife and three children.
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on Jun 27, 2019
One of the greats of modern bluegrass music has died. Jeff Austin was scheduled to play several gigs in Seattle with his band this week before suddenly canceling the shows over an unexplained medical emergency. Social media leapt to the conclusion that he had died and death rumors circulated for much of the day on June 22nd, only to be refuted by the mandolin player and his wife. Then, in a shocking twist, his family announced that he had passed away on June 24th.
Austin married his wife Devlyn in 2013 when they had their first child together. Since then they have added two more kids to the family and Devlyn was encouraging his latest musical plans. His loss is a terrible shock to his family and his fans.
Who is Jeff Austin's wife and how did he die?
1. Music Career
Jeff Austin grew up in Illinois and started playing music in college. According to his official bio “Austin began playing music during a sojourn from college. He had been attending the University of Cincinnati but had headed down to Urbana, Illinois, where he met Bluegrassholes banjoist Dave Johnston, who wound up urging Austin to play mandolin and sing in the band. This band didn’t last long and Austin soon moved to Nederland, Colorado, where Johnston and Austin would form Yonder Mountain String Band with Ben Kaufmann and Adam Aijala.” The band toured for close to 15 years, recording and performing prolifically, before Austin decided to part ways with them and focus on his family and a solo career. In 2014, he started performing with the Jeff Austin Band.
Austin was a bluegrass musician.
2. Family
In 2013, Austin left the Yonnder Mountain Sting Band. He and Devlyn got married that year and had their first child. While the split with the band was initially considered a leave of absence, by 2014, Jeff and the band pated ways amicably so that he could focus more on his family. In 2018, he told Westworld, “Yes. I have three kids. I took a break from touring with Yonder Mountain in 2014 when my daughter was born. You make a lot of wrong decisions and some right ones. And the most right decision I ever made was to stay home with my newly born little girl. I didn’t grow up with a father, so I thought I should stay home and be a dad.”
The Jeff Austin Band.
3. Focus
Staying close to family become a goal of Austin’s in the last years of his life. In 2018, he told Tahoe Weekly, “When it all kind of came to head and I was no longer in the band anymore, I took the majority of the year off. I started to think about my life, the anniversaries I’ve missed, the birthday parties I’ve missed. I don’t miss those things anymore.” He planned his tours to allow him time with his wife and kids. He also credits his family as one of the reasons he was able to stay sober after quitting drugs in 2012. He told Second Story Garage in 2015, “I had a lot of people who I had to be held accountable to. When you take the step to stop, you’ve got to have those people.”
His family loved his music.
4. Jeff Austin Band
It took several years to really get the Jeff Austin Band launched and he spent a few years playing small shows and finding the personal for his new endeavour. In 2015, he spoke to Second Story Garage about finally gaining success as a solo act and planning his first tour, saying: “The main thing that’s changed is that I don’t have to consult anybody anymore. There’s one voice that builds the tours, one voice that decides when I’m gone and when I’m home. It’s also been a long time since I’ve put any number of substances in my body. That part has been a noticeable change. I’ll get home from a week of touring and actually feel good.”
On June 25th, a message posted on his social media channels announced his death. The statement read: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of a beloved family member, mandolinist, singer, songwriter and founder of The Jeff Austin Band, and Yonder Mountain String Band, Jeff Austin. Austin passed away June 24, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. He was son of Eileen Austin, husband to Devlyn, and father to Lily Rose (12), Penelope (5), and Jude Patrick (2). He was a dear friend whose music touched the lives of so many, and will be sorely missed.” The announcement followed a day of death rumors earlier in the same week when Jeff cancelled upcoming performances for unexplained medical reasons.
Fans will miss him.
Fans can donate to a fund to support Jeff's family here.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. Her work has been seen at Ravishly, Babble, Scary Mommy, The Mid, Redbook online, and The Broad Side. She is the creator of the blog Stay at Home Pundit and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.