Dave Matthews Band Open Gorge Run with Guest Fiddler and a Rarity

photo credit: Stevo Rood

Last night, the Dave Matthews Band kicked off their annual Labor Day weekend event at the Gorge in George. These three shows, which mark the close of the DMB summer tour, will all feature two opening acts. On Friday, Southern Avenue and Kaleo also appeared. Today will find Oskar & Julia and Bela Fleck & The Flecktones on the bill. Then the run will culminate on Sunday with support from Louis Cato and Goose.

DMB’s Friday show included a guest appearance by Jake Renick Simpson. The fiddler appeared midway through the set for “Lie In Our Graves” and “Ants Marching.” Simpson, who recently wrapped up a tour with Lukas Nelson, had joined Matthews earlier in the month during his two solo gigs at the Wildlands festival. Shortly afterwards, Simpson posted, “A beautiful weekend in Montana culminated in a dream realized. I’ll be reliving this day in my mind for the rest of my life,” thanking Matthews and his crew “for having me and for being so kind” as well as Nelson “for being the reason it all happened.”

Beyond Simpson’s guest slot, the evening offered some additional highlights. The group performed “I Did It” for the first time since July 21, 2015. In addition, DMB offered the tour debut of “Break Free.” This was followed by a sequenced sequence that began with “So Much To Say,” then led into the familiar pairing of “Anyone Seen The Bridge” and a “Too Much” fake, followed by a cover of Cameo’s “Word Up!” which DMB debuted at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in April. The encore featured Matthews solo on “Some Devil,” followed by a full-band version of “Two Step.”

Dave Mathews Band and friends will return to George, WA later today.