HOP A (WOLF) JETT AT MILLPOND
Published in the September 13, 2025 edition.
This past weekend, June Lake Jam Fest celebrated its tenth annual weekend of peace, love, and music. A wide array of artists played on the picturesque stage to a crowd of enthusiastic dancers decked out in tie-dye. Among the bands, for the third year in a row, was Wolf Jett.
If you missed them, Wolf Jett will be back in the Eastern Sierra for the Millpond Music Festival in Bishop next week.
Hailing from Boulder Creek, Wolf Jett is a musical collaboration between lead singer Chris Jones and drummer John Payne. The pair met when they were 12. Jones was the new kid in town; Payne asked him if he liked Metallica. They started a band that week. The rest was history.
“Back then, life was simple,” Jones mused in an interview with The Sheet on Monday. “I was the only kid in town who could play guitar, and he was the only drummer.”
Jones and Payne are now in their mid-40s, and they’ve been playing music together for over three decades.
“You can’t make old friends,” Jones said, quoting Dolly Parton. “That’s how I feel about the whole thing. You can’t just manufacture that sort of connection.”
Wolf Jett currently includes the Santa Cruz based couple Allyson Makuch (vocals) and Rory Cloud (guitar). Jones described the band’s music as a mix between Americana, Southern blues, folk, and psychedelic rock. He pointed to an eclectic melding of inspiration, ranging from gospel church music to Elivs to Jimmy Reed, Norman Blake, Chet Atlkins, and Doc Watson, to Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin, the Allman Brothers and Little Feet.
But, he emphasized, “The band itself is about honoring my family, my friends. It’s about going on a journey in life. It’s not just about music. So I could name 10 artists that we like, but I don’t really think that’s the point of the band and why we did it.”
He named the band after his mother, Joan Jett (though not the famous one, he joked).
Jones, who was born in Tennessee and raised in Atlanta, credited his southern roots to his deep love and appreciation for music.
“I had a really cool musical upbringing,” he said. As a child, he listened to folk and country music, as well as jazz, which his father loved. “I just always been around music my whole life. And I really credit that to my family being southern. A big part of Southern culture is celebrating with music.”
It hasn’t always been easy for Jones and Payne. Prior to the pandemic, Jones lived in New York City, where he struggled to make it as a musician. During Covid-19, he moved back to California, into Payne’s home. They built a studio and prepared to make more music together. But then, disaster struck.
“Everything was burnt down essentially as soon as it was finished,” Jones recalled. The pair spent the next five years recovering. Together, they rebuilt the studio and Payne’s house.
Due to high rent prices and constant touring, Jones still doesn’t have a stable place to live. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in English and worked in the pharmaceutical industry for ten years. But Jones always felt drawn to music, and decided to leave his career to pursue it. He now relies entirely upon music, which is unique. The other members of the band all have a separate source of income.
Wolf Jett loves playing at June Lake Jam Fest, and the festival has become a destination for the band. Jones compared the festival to a summer camp. He raved about the hospitality of the hosts and the community between the other bands.
“June Lake is just like a family. They just treat us really well. ” he said. “It’s also one of the most beautiful stages I’ve ever played on.”
Each year, the members of the band take four or five days around the festival to spend time climbing, kayaking, and hiking in the area. As an avid backpacker, Jones especially connected to these mountains.
“To me, there’s nothing more incredible than coming out of the Eastern Sierras, [on a] backpacking trip, and looking behind you and seeing the Alabama Hills or Lone Pine,” he said. “My life has been so deeply affected by that. When I die, I want my ashes to be spread in Evolution Valley.”
“It’s an honor to get to play music anywhere on the 395. Thank you for supporting us and helping us grow as a band,” Jones said.
