Adam Aijala’s band doesn’t play pop. Or hip-hop. Or punk rock. Nonetheless, Yonder Mountain String Band has become a concert favorite among Generation X-ers all across the country.

This quartet’s trend-defying won’t be heard on MTV or VH1, and most people probably aren’t bumping it in their cars.

Val Air Ballroom, 301 Ashworth Road in West Des Moines, will host Yonder Mountain’s take on traditional bluegrass Friday.

In fact, Aijala says, the band’s current tour, on the heels of a new live release, has been composed of nothing but packed shows.

“We’re getting a good following happening,” Aijala says. “Every show has been either sold out or really well attended. We’re definitely psyched.”

Although it may be surprising that a band playing bluegrass music with traditional instruments and no drummer has developed a cult following among young people, Aijala has a simple explanation: Yonder Mountain String Band shows are fun.

“I don’t think it’s so much the medium, but the energy,” Aijala says. “Young kids in general have a lot of energy, and we put a lot out. People come to have fun.”

Yonder Mountain is known for its improvisation-heavy live concerts. Because of this, the band allows audience taping and trading of its concerts in the spirit of bands such as the Grateful Dead and Phish.

The string band also tapes its own concerts, and has released three live albums to date, which rival its three studio albums in overall sales and popularity among fans. The latest of these, “Mountain Tracks Vol. 3,” came out in mid-September and features two CDs of songs recorded during the band’s 2003 Kinfolk Celebration, an event held in honor of Yonder Mountain fans.

Aijala says the live albums will keep on coming.

“We’re going to release one a year, maybe two a year. As the shows happen, we’ll make note if it’s a really good show, then we’ll compile the best songs from those shows,” he says.

The band’s appearance Friday is the second-to-last stop of its current fall tour. For a band that’s been on the road constantly since its inception, Aijala says he feels lucky to be able to do a shorter, more condensed tours like this one.

“Our goal three years ago was less shows, more money. We just don’t want to burn out,” Aijala says. “We would rather jam a bunch of shows into a month or five weeks or so and then take a month off.”

The band still enjoys playing live and doesn’t plan on quitting any time soon.

“We’re not going to stop,” Aijala says. “If it keeps going the way it’s going, it’s just going to be bigger.”

Who: Jim Lauderdale & Yonder Mountain String Band

Where: Val Air Ballroom, 301 Ashworth Road, West Des Moines

When: 8 p.m. Friday

Cost: $17 in advance, $20 at the door