The String Cheese Incident closed out the inaugural The Après music festival at the base of Buttermilk ski area in Aspen, Colorado on Sunday. The jamgrass act teamed up with ALO, busting out their cover of Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come” to kick off their second set of the night.
The Colorado-based band delivered an expansive take on Weather Report’s “Birdland” to open up their evening. The instrumental tune from the jazz-fusion act’s 1977 LP Heavy Weather featured “Wheel Hoss” dropped in its midst. The six-piece act then offered up rarities “These Waves” and “Djibouti Bump.” Setlist staple “Mouna Bowa” came ahead of the 2019 debut of “Gone Crooked,” a tune that bassist Keith Moseley wrote with Rayland Baxter. A run of “Rhythm Of The Road,” “Joyful Sound” and “Rumble” highlighted the back end of the frame.
The String Cheese Incident was joined by the members of ALO to kick off the second stanza. The two acts hooked up for a collaborative take on “The Harder They Come,” which had been sitting unplayed since a one-off back on March 11, 2016. The recently debuted original “All We Got” came ahead of “Howard.” The Michael Kang and Keller Williams collaboration segued into “Can’t Wait Another Day.” A pair of newer songs helped close out the set with “I Want You” and “The Big Reveal” leading back into “Howard.” A group hoot began SCI’s encore with the sextet delivering the location-appropriate “Colorado Bluebird Sky” to bring The Après music festival to an end.
Setlist (via The String Cheese Incident Facebook)
Set One: Birdland > Wheel Hoss > Birdland, These Waves > Djibouti Bump, Mouna Bowa, Gone Crooked, You’ve Got The World, Rhythm Of The Road > Joyful Sound > Rumble
Set Two: The Harder They Come*, All We Got, Howard > Can’t Wait Another Day, I Want You, The Big Reveal > Howard,
Encore: Group Hoot, Colorado Bluebird Sky
* = w/ ALO
