The String Cheese Incident took to Red Rocks this past weekend as they celebrated 30 years as a band together with a multitude of special guests. They played some epic sets featuring special themes each night and Colorado’s biggest drone show above the Rocks.
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Friday, July 12
For night one, the theme was the “New Orleans Incident.” Fans donned their colorful beads and were decked out in shades of purple, gold and green. Wandering through the lot (as one is inclined to do at a String Cheese show) you could find fans tailgating, drinking hurricanes — the classic New Orleans drink — and even sharing a crawfish boil amongst friends. The excitement was buzzing all around as folks geared up for the first night of three.
Dumpstaphunk, the funk jam band from New Orleans, opened the night. Following their set, The String Cheese Incident appeared on stage, with half of the crew wearing sparkly feathered masquerade masks to fit the theme of the night. Bill Nershi addressed the crowd before they jumped into the opening song, “Best Feeling,” which led into two more of their popular songs, “Outside and Inside” and an upbeat “Joyful Sound.”
After a few more jams, the energy in the crowd came alive as a New Orleans parade featuring The Brothers of Brass entered the show, coming from around row 35 on stage right and parading all the way down to join the band. Special guests George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville & Phunky Friends and Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangas also joined the stage throughout the night, bringing the ‘Nawlins flare.
A funky wave of music washed over the crowd and twirling was kicked into high gear with no shortage of hoots and hollers. The stage was full of talented musicians and the crowd was full of bright-eyed smiles as they ended set one with a collaborative “Fire on the Bayou.”
The hot sun of the 100-degree day finally sank below the horizon and a wash of cool air brought renewed spirits to the crowd. The band plucked the first few strings to announce their arrival for set two and brought out Tony Hall for their opening performance of “Get To You,” keeping the funk alive.
It wasn’t too much longer until a few blinking purple lights appeared stage left above the rocks, lending a clue as to what was coming next. The band brought out Tank again on the vocals as they jammed along to their song “Last Train.” The drones by Nova Sky Stories went from few to many and danced around the stars in the clear sky as they assembled into position. The crowd erupted as a literal train appeared in the sky, chugging along to the tune of the train song playing below. It was short, sweet and incredibly epic, as well as the first drone show to ever take place at Red Rocks.
As the band closed out, Kang couldn’t help but bring his fiddle out once more for a classic “BollyMunster” before the band closed with “Colliding.” You never have to wait too long for a String Cheese encore, as the boys weren’t done playing yet. They came back to close it all out with a jammed-out “Miss Brown’s Teahouse” to create a perfect cap to a perfect start to the weekend.
Saturday, July 13th
Following a quick sleep and another hot sun rising, it was time for The String Cheese Incident on the Rocks on night two. Fans came excited despite it being a historically hot day of the year, and it was good to see concert-goers encouraging the chugging of water (in between sips of other beverages) as they made their way up the hike to the amphitheater.
Tonight’s theme was The Colorado Incident, so, interestingly enough, they started out the night with a “Texas” opener. Nonetheless, fans were just as excited as the night before for an evening with The String Cheese Incident, as Saturdays are characteristically their solo sets. Everyone was adorned in their fanciest Colorado gear, mostly in the form of lots of Chacos, tie-dye, and smiles.
The band played a cover of the Post Malone song, “Sunflower,” surprising while also pleasing the crowd as they do with their pop-culture renditions. Dominic Lalli from Big Gigantic joined them on stage to slay the tune on his saxophone. They also featured long-time friend and musician Liza Oxnard on percussion and vocals for a couple of songs, including a long-awaited “Rosie,” to close out the first set.
Once again, the sun went down, and the stage lights came on as the band appeared for the second set of the night. They opened with “Valley Of The Jig,” a tried-and-true tune to get the crowd roaring. They jammed along into a notable “Roll Around The Sun,” which brought smiles and hugs around the venue —and possibly a couple of tears — as the positivity and good vibes flew high.
Kang donned his fiddle once again, and the crowd whooped into gear as they played the opening notes of “Bhangra Saanj.” David Satori, from Beats Antique, who the song is a collaboration with, joined the band on the stage with his electric saz, which is always a fun sight to see. They closed out the second set of the Saturday Colorado Incident with an epic “Kashmir,” a Led Zeppelin cover. The jam leaned towards the dark side as they shocked the crowd with intense red light beams and some slight bass undertones reminiscent of an EDM show.
The boys weren’t done quite yet, as they came back for an encore, starting with the classic fan-favorite, “Sirens,” and finished the night out with a “Just One Story” reprise. The reprise, which finished out the end of the “Just One Story” that they started playing in their second set, only left the crowd wanting more with much anticipation for the following night.
Sunday, July 14th
In proper jam band form, The String Cheese Incident proved yet again the mantra, “Never miss a Sunday show.” With some much-needed clouds forming over the Front Range, the evening air cooled as the band heated up for their third and final show of the weekend. The smooth, sultry vocals of Moseley kicked off the first set with “Sweet Spot.” Kang, rocking one of his infamous sleeveless fits, took over for “Eye Know Why” before transitioning into one of the band’s more recent tunes, “Talkin’ About Tonight.”
Following Nershi’s lead on their beloved rendition of Billy and Liza’s “Smile,” the band brought out Sam Bush, Sierra Hull and Jerry Douglas for the much-anticipated main event of the evening, dubbed “The Nashville Incident.” With Bush on mandolin and violin, Hull on mandolin, and Douglas on dobro, The String Cheese Incident were locked and loaded to perform a slew of covers, including The Del McCoury Band’s “I Feel the Blues Moving In,” Steve Miller Band’s “Take the Money and Run,” Wendy Waldman’s “Can’t Stop Now,” John Hartford’s “I”m Still Here” and Strength in Numbers’ “Duke and Cookie.” Bush then took over vocals on New Grass Revival’s “Reach” to conclude the first set.
It wasn’t until set two kicked off that we realized why the break had been a lengthy one — with an earlier show start time on Sundays, the sun needed to have fully set for the one thousand drones that proceeded to light up the sky. As the band ran through the opening minutes of “Rivertrance,” the second of two drone shows of the weekend formed the iconic SCI logo above Red Rocks and over the crowd’s gleeful heads. With their special guests in tow, The String Cheese Incident performed versions of Bill Monroe’s “Wheel Hoss” and Weather Report’s “Birdland,” the latter of which was impressively broken up throughout the set.
The remainder of the set saw Hull leading the group on her own tune, “Poison,” and Bush back on vocals for New Grass Revival’s “Revival.” To close out their 30th anniversary of performing at the legendary venue, the band treated fans to three original tunes that showcased just how vast and diverse their musical capabilities and creativities truly are. The psychedelic storytelling of “Jellyfish,” the bass-heavy groove of “Beautiful,” and the anthemic singalong of “Colorado Bluebird Sky” wrapped up yet another perfectly adventurous and unpredictably epic show from five of Colorado’s hometown musical heroes.