Dave Matthews Welcomes Lukas Nelson, Molly Tuttle and More at Wildlands Music Festival, Watch All Artists Cover Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer” 

Over the weekend, Dave Matthews played a pair of solo sets during the Wildlands Music Festival in Big Sky, Mont. The occasions marked a relatively rare opportunity for the bandleader, who typically takes the stage with his self-titled ensemble or in duo form with collaborator Tim Reynolds, to deliver independent and stripped-down treatments of Dave Matthews Band classics, and selects from his one and only solo LP. During the event, the Seattle resident used the latter portion of his stage time to welcome fellow festival participants, Molly Tuttle, Lukas Nelson, and members of their respective bands to the stage for a slew of sit-ins. 

The first of two festival performances occurred just after 9 p.m., on Friday, August 1. From the jump, Matthews demonstrated an understanding of the ins and outs of his song bank by leading with the Busted Stuff cut, “Bartender,” followed by a pull from his only solo set on “Stay or Leave.” Returning to the DMB archive, Matthews performed “Walk Around the Moon” before covering Tex Ritter’s “Rye Whiskey.” “Little Thing” represented a substantial return, having been shelved and not played with the full band since 2015, and in solo form, ’06. 

The set’s mid-section flexed the solo might of the performer, Matthews’ ability to speak through his instrument, and pluck heartstrings in the process. Considering the limited run of guests participating in the event, sit-ins ran rampant during the second half of the frame, beginning with Tuttle’s aid on a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Oh, Sister,” played for the first time in eight years by Matthews. Members of Tuttle’s band arrived for the ensuing number, her song “Yosemite,” which was released as a Matthews featured track in 2023. During Friday’s performance, Matthews and Tuttle played the tune with help from fiddler Mary Meyer and bassist Vanessa McGowen. 

The group above stuck around and provided heat on “Tripping Billies,” before a solo Matthews played through his own “Dancing Nancies.” A new batch of guests arrived for fellow residents of the Emerald City, Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe,” which pulled in Nelson and members of his band, who remained and aided on the follow-up “Save Me.” Before the night’s encore, Matthews welcomed Tuttle back, and the big group of musicians cracked into the DMB fan favorite “Ants Marching.” 

Matthews resumed the same method during his second arrival on the festival stage, Saturday, August 2, and segmented the set into a tried and true solo performance before bringing out fellow event participants for the latter half. The musician’s first guest was fiddler and member of Nelson’s band, Jake Renick Simpson, who contributed to “Lie in Our Graves” and “Warehouse.” After returning to a solo format on “Singing From the Window,” Tuttle and members of her band returned for a pair of John Prine covers, “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness” and “Angel From Montgomery.” 

The Northern California-bred Tuttle maintained her position during Matthews’ solo rarity, “Spoon,” exiting the stage and leaving him to perform “Crash into Me.” Next, Nelson members of his Shadow band added to “Grace is Gone,” “Dodo,” Daniel Lanois’ “The Maker,” and a mainframe ending nod to Nelson one-time band leader, Neil Young, on “Cortez the Killer.” The latter also brought Tuttle back to the stage for a ripping edition of the Zuma feature. 

For his final move during Saturday’s Wildlands Music Festival set, Matthews performed the title track off his solo effort, which rendered an ideal capstone to the infrequent independent performance.

Watch a fan captured video of “Cortez the Killer,” below.