Raised in Madison County Virginia and currently splitting his time between Floyd, VA and Brooklyn, NY Joseph “Joebass” DeJarnette brings years of musical experience to the stage, studio and classroom. As a founding member of Brooklyn’s roots band The WIYOS, he toured the US, Canada, and Europe full-time for 8 years, concluding with 29 dates on the 2009 Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson tour. During that time, he was an active member of the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series, teaching workshops and giving concerts in schools and neighborhood community spaces throughout New York City. Since returning to Virginia in 2010, he has opened Studio 808A, a “band and breakfast” recording studio in an old farmhouse. He is in demand as a recording and mix/mastering engineer for traditional music having recorded hundreds of oldtime stringbands in the last decade.

Joe is a veteran teacher at traditional music festivals and camps, and coordinated the Old-Time Music Week at the Augusta Heritage Center from 2015 – 2023. The Augusta program at the Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, WV is best known for intensive weeklong workshops that have introduced thousands of people to traditional music, crafts, and culture since it’s inception in 1973. These world-renowned workshops and festivals continue to bring together master artists, musicians, dancers, craftspeople, and enthusiasts of all ages.

At Studio 808A, DeJarnette has worked with many master Appalachian musicians in the studio such as Alice Gerrard, Bruce Greene, Eddie Bond, Gerry Milnes, as well as younger traditional musicians such as Anna and Elizabeth, Jake Blount, Laurel Primo, Tatianna Hargreaves, Viv Leva, and Bill and the Belles in addition to more mainstream acts such as Lake Street Dive, Sxip Shirey, Curtis Eller and Rhiannon Giddens. He has produced records for labels such as Nonesuch, Thrill Jockey, Signature Sounds, and Free Dirt.

Joe is also active in live sound and production. Experienced on both sides of the microphone, he is able to put musicians at ease, and able to achieve great sound with almost any sort of gear. He is a co-owner of Turn It Down Sound LLC in Floyd, VA. He runs sound at Seedtime on the Cumberland, The Baltimore Oldtime Gathering, Swamp in the City, The CROMA, the Floyd Small Town Summer series, the Rockbridge Festival of Music and Dance and many others. Joe’s thoughtful listening and tasteful bass playing, musical acumen, and joyous stage presence put him in a category all his own.