20 For 20: Live Music Traditions

Among the well-known and productive music scenes in America, Athens, Georiga has been called home by such influential bands as R.E.M., The B-52’s, Widespread Panic, Bloodkin and the Elephant 6 collective populated by of Montreal, Neutral Milk Hotel, Elf Power and several others. Another band that is synonymous with the Athens music scene is Drive-By Truckers, who formed there in 1996.

Also synonymous with Athens music is the 40 Watt Club, which after relocating several times, secured its fifth and current residence on Washington Street in 1991. The Athens music scene hub gestated many of the above-listed bands, including Drive-By Truckers, who formed there in the mid-1990s.

The first DBT show at the 40 Watt listed under the Past Tour Dates section of the band’s official website is a performance on April 4, 2000. According to co-founding guitarist Patterson Hood, the most recent HeAthens Homecoming, held over three nights in February 2020, was the 20th edition of the annual events that raise money for the Athens-based musician support center Nuçi’s Space.

“Looking forward to Homecoming,” Hood wrote in January. “Our 20th, I think (kinda hard to count as they were a little erratic in the first few years but by my count we started in 2000 and possibly skipped 2007).”

HeAthens Homecoming lineups over the years have seen DBT joined by Alabama Shakes, Centro-Matic, The Whigs, Bloodkin, Futurebirds, Free Mountain, T. Hardy Morris, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Lydia Loveless, Will Johnson, David Barbe, Lilly Hiatt and several others. HeAthens Homecoming 2020 saw support from The Dexateens, Camp Amped Band, Grand Vapids and Jerry Joseph and the Stiff Boys.

[Audio Credit: HeAthens Homecoming on February 15, 2020. Taped by Gordon Wilson.]

[Video Credit: Dave Matthews Band – Live from The Gorge on September 1, 2018.]

The closest thing Dave Matthews Band fans have to a home field is The Gorge Amphitheatre near Quincy, Washington. The majestic outdoor amphitheater has hosted DMB over Labor Day Weekend nearly every year since 2001.

DMB made their debut at The Gorge — which is 2,633 miles from the site of the former Trax nightclub in Charlottesville, North Carolina where the band debuted in 1991 — on August 4, 1996 during a stop on the H.O.R.D.E. Tour. The band returned to the venue for single-night headlining shows in 1997 and 1998, holding their first two-night stand in 1999. Their first three-night run at The Gorge took place in 2000.

On August 24, 2000, Dave Matthews Band played the first of three concerts at The Gorge, establishing the group’s Labor Day Weekend tradition at the venue that’s continued at the end of each summer ever since (save for 2003 and 2005 when they appeared earlier in the month and in 2017 when they were on hiatus).

According to 20 For 20 Fan Site dmbalmanac.com, Dave Matthews Band has performed 63 gigs at The Gorge over the past two decades. Here’s part of the site’s entry for The Gorge:

The Gorge Amphitheatre is one of, if not the, most famous venues in DMB history. Aside from Trax and Floodzone, it is the most often visited venue by the band and has been sold out every show they’ve played.

It is located on the picturesque edge of a cliff overlooking the Columbia River gorge in the remote deserts of central Washington state. The majestic view is enough to take anyone’s breath away let alone the experiences of camping with friends underneath a crystal clear view of the Milky Way’s spiral arms as well as swimming in the refreshing Columbia river.

Nevertheless, impressive scenery and great camaraderie is not the only attraction for DMB fans to this venue. Shows in the past have consistently featured the rarest setlists of the tour and are performed with exceptional zeal and energy. So when the band decided to release their first box set, the choice was obvious.

All things considered, it is no surprise that the band’s annual runs at the Gorge have become not only the best place to see both DMB and mother nature at their finest but also a mandatory pilgrimage for any enthusiastic DMB fan.

Songs that made their debut at [The Gorge]:

• Blackbird (8.21.05)
• Stay or Leave (full band) (8.30.08)
• Road (9.4.09)
• Caveman (9.4.09)

Song Liberations

• 9.8.02 – Halloween (after 1363 days)
• 9.4.10 – Fool to Think (after 1074 days)
• 9.5.10 – I Did It (after 2192 days)
• 9.2.11 – American Baby (after 1858 days)
• 8.31.13 – #34 (after 2160 days)
• 8.31.14 – Steady As We Go (after 2947 days)
• 8.31.18 – Spaceman (after 1024 days)
• 8.30.19 – Drunken Soldier (after 1388 days)

Longest Performance:

• 09.01.06 – Bartender (23:22)

At time of publication, DMB is scheduled to return to The Gorge on September 4 – 6 with Mavis Staples, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Allen Stone and Dumpstaphunk supporting throughout the weekend.

[Video Credit: Yo La Tengo with Jeff Tweedy perform “Eight Day Weekend” at Maxwell’s on December 3, 2010. Posted by Rich Schneider.]

In December 2001, Yo La Tengo started an annual run of shows coinciding with the eight nights of Hanukkah. The initial run of shows was held in the band’s hometown at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Maxwell’s, a storied live music venue that hosted many early Yo La Tengo concerts, closed its doors in July 2013. With its shuttering came an end to Yo La Tengo’s yearly run of guest-filled holiday concerts.

The band made up of Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew revived their 8 Nights Of Hanukkah With Yo La Tengo in 2017 at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. The traditional run of shows has continued at The Bowery each subsequent year.

Yo La Tengo typically enlists opening musical and comedy acts, an after-show party DJ and a curator of a mix CD handed out to attendees. The benefit shows for non-profits and charity organizations often feature special guests sitting-in, rarities and covers of songs written by Jewish songwriters.

[Video Credit: Tour D’Amour XII February 1, 2018 at Soho in Santa Barbara, posted by grunzy.]

In 2005, ALO embarked on a five-show run through their home state of California they dubbed “Tour D’Amour.” While the quartet didn’t repeat the feat in 2006 and 2007, they hit the road for Tour D’Amour II in 2008 and have continued the tradition each year since. The runs take place in February and generally have included shows on Valentine’s Day, hence the name.

ALO uses the opportunity of Tour D’Amour to dig deep into their catalog for diehard fans, as often shows will include a bevy of rarities. The four-piece also fits in cover debuts, with most having the theme of love. While Tour D’Amour started as runs through California, the band has since expanded the excursions to include other West Coast states.

The band has also given dozens of other acts opportunities to perform in front of their audience. The Groove Syndicate, Latch Key Kid, Big Light, Tea Leaf Green, Poor Man’s Whiskey, Nathan Moore, The California Honeydrops, Ben Morrison and Nicki Bluhm & The Gramblers are among the artists that have opened for ALO during Tour D’Amour.

ALO began this year’s Tour d’Amour XIV on February 6 in Chico, California. The band went on to play shows in the California cities of Morro Bay, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Solana Beach and San Francisco as well as gigs in Nevada and Colorado. Unfortunately, the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic brought an early end to the run before a pair of co-bills with Twiddle in Seattle and Portland.

[Video Credit: Jeff Tweedy performs “Airline To Heaven” on January 26, 2008. Posted by TheBigBHang.]

On March 4, 2005, Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy performed a solo concert at The Vic Theatre in Chicago. The show was a benefit for the Kawasaki Disease Research Fund for Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Jeff’s son and Tweedy band mate, drummer Spencer Tweedy was diagnosed with Kawasaki disease, a rare disorder that affects infants and children.

Jeff returned to The Vic in April 2007 to play a benefit concert for Chicago’s Near North Montessori School, where Spencer and his brother Sammy Tweedy attended. In January 2008, Jeff staged another benefit at The Vic, with proceeds going to the Youth Scholarship Fund for Near North Montessori.

The following February, Jeff held two concerts at The Vic in support of the Youth Scholarship Fund, as well as Chicago’ Emanuel Congregation synagogue and the Kawasaki Disease Research Fund for Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Two-night Youth Scholarship Fund benefits, with Jeff traditionally taking requests from the first 30 fans in line each night, continued in March 2010, April 2011, March 2012, March 2013, February 2014, May 2015 (one night only), May 2016, April 2017, April 2018 and March 2019. Tweedy announced annual benefit concerts would be held at the Vic in May 2020.

[Video Credit: A History of Tunes For Tots and hightlights of Widespread Panic’s October 9, 2011 benefit concert.]

“This is our charity endeavor where we play a smaller club for a high dollar ticket and all the cash goes to some local high schools, junior high schools — we’ve done as early as pre-school — for getting some instruments in their hands,” Widespread Panic’s John Bell said in a 2013 interview regarding the band’s Tunes For Tots concerts. “So it was actually our agent’s [Buck Williams] idea to say, ‘hey let’s do this concert, over-priced ticket, minimal tickets, it’s all for charity, do a meet-and-greet, make some cash, spread it out,’ so that’s what we’re doing.”

More officially, here’s how the Tunes For Tots section of the band’s official website details their charitable arm:

Widespread Panic believes that art education, and in particular music education, is integral to the overall education and advancement of children. Art allows for personal expression, appreciation of ideas, celebration of cultural awareness, sharing emotions, and gives purpose to life. Widespread Panic agrees with research findings that art education supports more traditional academic subjects as well as being a worthy pursuit in its own right.

Tunes For Tots began in 2005. Widespread Panic held their first Tunes for Tots charity VIP cocktail party and concert at Atlanta’s Roxy Theater, raising over $100,000 to purchase musical instruments for Georgia Public Schools. To date, the organization has raised over $2,000,000.

Venues

• 2005 -2007– The Roxy in ATL
• 2008 – Tabernacle in ATL
• 2009 – No Event held
• 2010 – The Center Stage ATL
• 2011 – Georgia Theatre ATH
• 2012 – The Fillmore Charlotte, NC (proceeds went to NC public schools)
• 2013 – The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra ATL
• 2014 – The Fillmore Charlotte, NC (proceeds went to NC public schools)
• 2015 – No Event Held
• 2016 – The Ryman Auditorium Nashville, TN

While WSP discontinued the specially priced Tunes For Tots concerts with limited VIP offers after 2016, they offer special tickets to their concerts with proceeds going to Tunes For Tots.

[Video Credit: The Mother Hips performing “Lady Be Cool” at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco on September 9, 2008. Video by John Chapman, audio by Fast Atmosphere.]

In 2008, JamBase contributor Andrew Quist reviewed the first “Ultimate Setlist” show performed by The Mother Hips, opening his review with this description of the evening’s events:

This Friday was the prime example of why it is a good time to be a Mother Hips fan. The first word went out on The Mother Hips’ message board The Grotto months ago. The post was titled “Ultimate Setlist Show.” The idea was that fans build their dream setlist and submit it to The Mother Hips. The band would then pick a setlist at random and play it in its entirety. There were few criteria: the list could not be more than 36 songs, it needed to be two sets and the band had to have played all of the songs in the show at least once over its near two-decade-long history. There was no real publicity, but word spread from The Grotto like the tendrils of a grapevine. Those of us that needed to be at [San Francisco’s] Café du Nord that night would get there. Fans that spanned the band’s full history gathered and discussed the impressive possibilities of this “ultimate” idea. No matter whose list was chosen, it would be an epic show.

The band chose a setlist written by Craig Wright, who Quist described as an “old college buddy of the band that has been on the scene since ’92.”

Five years later, The Mother Hips performed their second Ultimate Setlist show. Held on December 21, 2013, the special performance was the second of two annual “Hipsmas” shows at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

The Mother Hips held another Ultimate Setlist show on December 17, 2016. Again coming at the end of a two-nighter at Great American Music Hall here’s how the submission process worked that year:

This year will be slightly different than years past. This year we will have everyone send in their submission by December 4th. The band will then choose five set lists. Everyone will see the set lists and have a chance to vote on them the next couple of days and voting will end on December 9th.

Everyone should send their set list to [email protected]. The rules are the usual rules in that these should be songs that the band has written or played throughout their careers. You can choose songs from either Tim or Greg’s solo careers as well. Your set list should contain 24 songs. All the band asks is that people try to be as creative as possible crafting their set lists. Even though they only choose 5 they love reading all of them and they definitely influence the bands set list making in the future. The last 2 songs will be used as an encore. The Ultimate Set list Show will be played Saturday, December 17th as part of a two set show by the Mother Hips.

Hipsmas 2018 featured another Ultimate Setlist show on the opening night at GAMH. Here’s how the Hips handled that year’s submissions:

Submit a setlist of your favorite Mother Hips songs by November 16th. Send your list to: [email protected].

Pick songs that the band has written or played throughout their career including Tim and Greg solo projects. Limit your setlist to 26 songs and separate them into two sets with the second set being slightly longer. The last two songs will be used as an encore. The guys are excited to see your submissions and to bicker over which one to choose.

Try to be as creative as possible in crafting your list. They love reading all of them and your list may influence the band’s setlist-making in the future.

The Ultimate Setlist Show will be played Friday, December 14th at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The winner will not be announced until the beginning of the second set on December 14th. Again, the deadline is November 16th. Good luck!

A setlist submitted by Dave Berman was selected for that Ultimate Setlist show. Check out this post The Hips made after the gig went down:

After 14 years of relentless touring, The Disco Biscuits went big when they made their headlining debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the storied outdoor venue near Denver, on May 30, 2009. Calling the show “Bisco Inferno,” the celebration kicked off the night prior at the intimate Ogden Theatre in Denver proper. Along with two sets by the Disco Biscuits, the inaugural Bisco Inferno lineup featured performances by Paul Oakenfold, DJ Z-Trip, Lotus, RJD2, The New Deal and the DJ collective Orchard Lounge (who also opened the Ogden show).

[Audio Source: the Disco Biscuits at Red Rocks, May 30, 2009. Taped by Matt Quinn.]

Bisco Inferno expanded to three days in May 2010. The Memorial Day Weekend event began at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado on May 27, followed by a return to the Ogden on May 28 and Red Rocks on May 29. Joining tDB at Red Rocks that year were The Glitch Mob, Booka Shade, The Crystal Method (DJ Set), Pnuma Trio and Aeroplane.

The following year saw two nights at the Ogden (with tickets only available as part of a three-night package), followed by a multi-band lineup at Red Rocks. Supporting the Disco Biscuits on May 28, 2011 were Big Boi of Outkast, Rusko, Emancipator and BoomBox.

In 2012, the Disco Biscuits started scaling back their touring schedule and did not play Red Rocks that year. Bisco Inferno: Winter Edition debuted over three-nights in January 2013. Shows were held on January 24 at the Boulder Theater, on January 25 at the Ogden and on January 26 at 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado. A three-night Colorado run took place in April 2013, once again seeing the Disco Biscuits performing two shows at the Boulder Theater and another show at Red Rocks featuring the members of Big Gigantic sitting-in.

Bisco Inferno: Winter Edition returned in January 2014. Two shows at the Ogden on January 23 and 24 came ahead of a night at 1STBANK Center with Infected Mushroom opening for tDB. While no Red Rocks show was held that year, Colorado fans were also treated to a three-night stand at the Ogden in September 2014.

Red Rocks and the Ogden hosted the 2015 installment of Bisco Inferno over four nights in April. A pair of Ogden shows came before a night at Red Rocks, which was followed by a finale at the Ogden. Grateful Dead drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann joined the Disco Biscuits at Red Rocks that year.

Bisco Inferno burned in June 2016 and consisted of three nights at the Ogden on June 1, 2 and 3 and Red Rocks on June 4. The Disco Biscuits tapped Ghostland Observatory and Twiddle for Red Rocks support sets.

The Bisco Inferno tradition continued over four nights in 2017. Following the previous year’s format, three intimate Ogden shows on May 31, June 1 and 2 preceded a Red Rocks blowout on June 3. Visa issues forced Shpongle’s Simon Posford off the Red Rocks lineup, which ended up featuring Desert Dwellers and Phutureprimative in his place.

The Disco Biscuits hosted Bisco Inferno 2018 at Red Rocks on May 27. Spafford and Organ Freeman were selected as that year’s supporting acts. The Disco Biscuits also appeared at the Ogden leading up to the Red Rocks gig with shows on May 24, 25 and 26.

Memorial Day Weekend 2019 was Bisco Inferno time as tDB played two Ogden shows on May 23 and 24. Red Rocks hosted the Disco Biscuits along with the recently reunited PNUMA on May 25.

[Video Credit: PBS NewsHour – A look inside the Newport Folk Festival after party.]

Prior to the cancellation of the 2020 Newport Folk Festival, it was announced it would be the final year Providence, Rhode Island-born rockers Deer Tick hosted after-party concerts following each day of the long-running festival held at Fort Adams State Park. Beginning in 2009, the Newport Blues Cafe has hosted Deer Tick’s post-Newport Folk Fest shows that over the years became known for their incredible collaborations.

The annual benefits raise proceeds for the Newport Festivals Foundation and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation — former Newport Blues Cafe general manager Kate Quinn was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Jackson Browne, Robyn Hitchcock, Jason Isbell, Tommy Stinson, Kurt Vile, Trampled by Turtles, Leon Bridges, Lucius, Jim James, Langhorne Slim, Bobby Bare Jr., Justin Townes Earle, Billy Bragg, Vanessa Carlton, Taylor Goldsmith, Hamilton Leithauser, T. Hardy Morris, Erika Wennerstrom and Robert Ellis are some of the artists that have joined Deer Tick during the run, among many others.

Deer Tick spoke with JamBase on New Year’s Eve 2019. Part of the interview touched on the band’s decision to discontinue the annual after parties. Here’s what they had to say:

John McCauley III: … We announced 2020 will be our last year of doing Newport Folk After Parties.

JamBase’s Andrew Bruss: I’ve had multiple people specifically tell me to bring this up. Why are you calling it quits on the Blues Café shows?

John McCauley III: We feel it’s run its course and we want to see what someone else does with it.

Ian O’Neil: Yeah, the slot is open for someone else now.

John McCauley III: There are certain requirements that we insisted that the Folk Fest maintained to get those weekends, which is donating a portion of the proceeds to the Multiple Myeloma Foundation, which is a cause very near and dear to the staff of the Blues Café’s heart.

Dennis Ryan: Ten is a nice round number. If we didn’t stop at 10 we’d have to do this for 15 years.

Ian O’Neil: At least.

Dennis Ryan: Yeah at least, if we did it for 15 years we’d have to go 20.

Ian O’Neil: We’re ready to start new things.

[Video Credit: Soulive with special guests Questlove, Karl Denson, Nigel Hall and others performing “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours,” March 2010. Posted by Relix.]

In 2010, Soulive hosted a guest-filled two-week residency at Brooklyn Bowl in New York City dubbed “Bowlive.” The venue has since presented Bowlive residencies each year since with the exceptions of 2016 and 2018. Soulive — consisting of guitarist Eric Krasno, keyboardist Neal Evans and drummer Alan Evans — serves as a house band every night with guests filing on and off-stage throughout each Bowlive show.

The idea for Bowlive came from Brooklyn Bowl co-owner Peter Shapiro before he opened the venue. Not only did Shapiro aim to fill the calendar for his fledgling venue but he also wanted to present magical events in which anything could happen. “Bowlive is New Orleans at three in the morning after Jazz Fest, but you’re just in New York City in Brooklyn,” Shapiro explained in the mini-documentary The Bowlive Story.

Bowlive’s first installment featured a total of 10 shows with such special guests as Oteil Burbridge, Questlove, Warren Haynes, Susan Tedeschi, Ivan Neville and Derek Trucks. The second edition in 2011 consisted of another 10 concerts. Bernie Worrell, Robert Randolph, Karl Denson, Matisyahu and John Scofield were among the musicians who sat-in with Soulive that year.

The tradition continued in 2012 with ten more nights but contracted to eight in 2013, 2014 and 2015. After taking 2016 off, Soulive brought Bowlive back for eight concerts in 2017 and celebrated their 20th anniversary with six Bowlive shows in 2019. The residency was held in March through 2015 with the 2017 edition held in June and last year’s in July. Brooklyn Bowl Nashville was slated to open on March 14 with a Bowlive concert featuring Soulive and frequent guest George Porter Jr. Unfortunately, the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has delayed those plans.

[Video Credit: Umphrey’s McGee: Fan Guided Improvisation – “S2” quarter from UMBowl VI at Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, May 1, 2015.]

Early adopters of innovative technology that connects musician with fan, in 2009 Umphrey’s McGee launched the “Stew Art Series” where fans guided the band’s improvised performance in realtime by texting votes to multiple-choice options projected on-screen inside the venue. The following year the band took the “S2” concept and expanded the crowdsourced innovation by launching UMBowl.

Held at the intimate Lincoln Hall in Chicago on April 24, 2010, the first UMBowl featured four “quarters” — sets of music — with each falling under a specific interactive theme. The first quarter was an acoustic set made up of songs voted on via ballots sent to ticketholders in advance of the concert. The second quarter was an improvised “Stew Art” set where fans selected what the band played while they were on stage performing. The third quarter was another all-request set voted on ahead of time by attendees. The fourth quarter was a “choose-your-own-adventure” set that was driven by realtime voting on what the band would play throughout the quarter.

Chicago’s Park West hosted UMBowl II the following April. The four quarters that year consisted of a “choose-your-own-adventure” first quarter, another improvised S2 second quarter, a “special teams” third quarter that had different configurations of the band performing together and the fourth quarter was an “all requests” set. UMBowl III returned to Park West in April 2012 and was made up of an “all requests” first quarter, another S2 second quarter, a “choose-your-own-adventure” third set and the premiere of a “Raw Stewage” fourth quarter consisting of fan-voted, previously played “Jimmy Stweart” improvisations.

UMBowl II took place at Park West in Chicago on April 2, 2011. “Choose Your Own Adventure” returned as the first quarter, Stew Art came back for the second quarter, the third set was a “Special Teams Quarter” that saw different lineups on each song performed and the fourth set was of the all-request variety. UM returned to Park West for UMBowl III on April 28th, 2012. The first set was an all-request quarter, the second set was a Stew Art event, the third set was a “Choose Your Own Adventure Quarter” while the UMBowl III finale was the “Raw Stewage Quarter” in which the band weaved together the top vote-getters from a list of past “Jimmy Stewart” passages distributed to attendees before the show.

In April 2013, UMBowl IV was held for the final time at Park West. “Raw Stewage” returned for the first quarter, “all requests” made up the second quarter, S2 moved to the third quarter and “choose-your-own-adventure” was back for the fourth quarter. Staged for the first time outside of Chicago, UMBowl V moved to The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, where the rescheduled UMBowl VIII is slated to return in September. The May 2014 show’s quarters followed the same format as UMBowl IV.

Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas hosted UMBowl VI in May 2015 and UMBowl VII in May 2016. The themes of the four quarters remained the same, save for the UMBowl VII third quarter which instead of S2 was a purely improvised set. After taking 2017 – 2019, UM announced the return of UMBowl VIII, which originally was to be held over two nights (two quarters each night) at The Cap in May, but was postponed to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Video Credit: Phish performs “Fuck Your Face” at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on August 31, 2012.]

Phish loves Dick’s.

In 2011, the band started a tradition of playing three shows over Labor Day Weekend at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Each summer tour held in subsequent years has seen Phish return to Dick’s where, as of the publication of this article, they are slated to return this Labor Day Weekend for the 10th consecutive year.

Dick’s initial entry into the Phish history book was a memorable show on September 2, 2011. Every song played that night began with the letter “S.” The following year, Phish started the run by performing a setlist that made up of song whose first letters spelled out “Fuck Your Face” ahead of a performance of “Fuck Your Face.” The “You Enjoy Myself” played in the first set that night contained a “We love Dick’s” chant during the vocal jam with each band member getting called out.

Setlist shenanigans continued on opening night of the 2013 Dick’s run. The first letter of the songs performed that night spelled out — in reverse order — “Most Shows Spell Something.”
More shenanigans came in 2014, as the first night’s setlist started with songs whose initial letters spelled out “Lushington,” which was followed by “Ha Ha Ha.” A Rolling Stone readers’ poll of Phish’s 10 Best Songs that summer was topped by “Lushington” following what the outlet recognized as “Phish phans phucking with us” and after “Ha Ha Ha,” guitarist Trey Anastasio told the crowd, “You asked, we delivered. Simple as that.”

Opening night of Phish 2015 Labor Day Weekend Run at Dick’s was absent setlist wordplay. Night two was also sans setlist shenanigans, and when the band reached the encore on the third night, it seemed the tradition had ended. Instead, the tradition continued during the encore that ended up spelling “Thank You,” which went down like this:

Though “Tweezer Reprise” was expected at some point in the encore, opening with it was a bit out of place. When “Harpua” was played next the placement made more sense as a weekend at Dick’s wouldn’t be right without a proper dose of antics. “Harpua” featured Trey’s narration first mentioning their fondness of playing the song in Colorado as he imagines the song’s protagonist old man residing in the mountains of the state. After explaining to setlist keepers “Harpua” only need be listed as “Harpua” once, Trey continued the narration, picturing Jimmy – an East Coast transplant now living in Colorado – sitting on his couch, eating edibles and using his vaporizer surrounded by his record collection. Due to the altitude, Jimmy has trouble breathing and – as demonstrated by Trey – needs the help of an oxygen tank. Jimmy is surrounded by his record collection and fires up an LP — as the band dove into “After Midnight.”

While still playing “After Midnight,” Trey explained Jimmy started not feeling well, realizing the oxygen tank he bought in a parking lot of a Phish show might not be oxygen — and a brief performance of “N02” was then followed by another major bus tout in the form of “Keyboard Army.” Coming to from the drug-induced dreamlike state, Jimmy starts thinking about his cat, Poster Nutbag, wondering how long people have been keeping cats as pets and triggering the start of “Your Pet Cat.” As the narration continued, Mike explained a dream where he ate the dead Poster, leading to another huge bust out, a cover of Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime” (played for the first time since Halloween 1996). The end of “Once In A Lifetime” included the conclusion of “Harpua.“ Trey then took moment to express the band’s gratitude for their fans and the community that has grown around them while the band seamlessly transited to their debut cover of Brotherhood of Man’s “United We Stand,” bringing a truly epic encore to a moving end.

The setlist antics ceased in 2016, but the Labor Day Weekend tradition of Phish showing their love for Dick’s carried on — even last year in the face of ongoing cases of plague found in prairie dogs in the area that prevented on-site camping and limited parking at the venue.

[Video Credit:Railroad Earth Horn O’ Plenty on November 26, 2011. Posted by Marty Dougherty]

In 2011, New Jersey-based jamgrass veterans Railroad Earth established their now annual Hangtown Halloween festival in California, as well as their now annual Gorn O’Plenty multi-day music and art event in Strousbourg, Pennsylvania.

Here’s JamBase’s coverage of the 2011 Horn O’Plenty announcement:

Set to take place on November 25-26 in the Pocono’s town of Stroudsburg, PA, the event features an incredible weekend of music, art and poetry, along with local food, drink and hotel specials. There’s even a parade planned for Saturday evening with roving brass band! Railroad Earth’s idea was to bring everyone into one place and offer a cornucopia of events to choose from …

Just one month from their highly successful, inaugural West Coast festival, The Hangtown Halloween Ball, the six-piece Americana band has planned their East Coast counterpart, with host of all-day activities to whet the cultural appetite of their fans.

The two-day, Thanksgiving Weekend celebration will feature Two Nights with Railroad Earth at the Sherman Theater, along with local venue performances featuring: Cabinet, Yarn, Slavic Soul Party, Mike Miz, Boris Garcia, Damian Calcagne Band, Joey Mutis and Bovine Social Club, along with the rare appearance of Tim Carbone, John Skehan and Andy Goessling‘s own side project, the Shockenaw Mountain Boys.

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Each day and night will highlight a range of happy hour and late night shows, an acoustic brunch, a RRE open mic contest (best performance of a RRE song), spoken word performances, and even a procession through the streets of Stroudsburg, led by the Slavic Soul Party, where costumes are encouraged. All two-night wristband holders get free access to the entire Horn-O-Plenty Getaway experience, along with special discount deals offered to fans throughout the weekend from participating local establishments.

Railroad Earth and their fans have continued to ascend upon Stroudsburg each year around Thanksgiving for subsequent Horn O’Plenty immersive events. In 2013, Peter Rowan joined RRE for a special Old & In The Way performance. In 2014, RRE were joined by a horn section as well as saxophonist Bill Evans. Keyboardist Danny Louis of Gov’t Mule sat-in with Railroad Earth for a large portion of one of the Horn O’Plenty show in 2015.

Fellow New Jersey-native, late guitarist Neal Casal, sat-in with Railroad Earth after opening with his band Circles Around The Sun on opening night of Horn O’Plenty 2016. Railroad Earth treated 2017 Horn O’Plenty goers to a debut performance of Bela Fleck’s instrumental “Slipstream” and bust out cover of the Grateful Dead opus “Terrapin Station.”

Special guests Andy Falco, Tony Trischka, Holly Bowling, Tom Hamilton and Amy Helm sat-in with Railroad Earth over the course of Horn O’Plenty 2018 which featured support from Ghost Light and the Amy Helm Band. For last year’s Horn O’Plenty, Railroad Earth tapped violinist Alex Hargreaves to accompany the band both nights at the Sherman.

[Video Credit: Tedeschi Trucks Band and Trey Anastasio perform “Moutain Jam” at the Beacon Theatre on October 13, 2017.]

The Allman Brothers Band held annual residencies at The Beacon Theatre in New York City almost every year between 1989 and 2014. The final Allman Brothers Band concert was held at the Beacon on October 28, 2014 — their 238th concert at the storied venue.

Guitarist Derek Trucks pulled double duty during the final years The Allmans were active, also co-leading the Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, guitarist Susan Tedeschi. Those dual roles brought Trucks to the Beacon for a pair of residencies in 2012 as TTB set up for two nights in September, following the by then annual March Allmans’ residency.

Tedeschi Trucks Band returned to The Beacon for another two-nighter in September 2013. They brought out Dickey Betts, the co-founding Allman Brothers Band guitarist forced out of the group in 2000, during the second show that year for the classics “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” and “Blue Sky.”

The final Allman Brothers Band March Madness residency at The Beacon took place in 2014. That September, before the final Allman Brothers Band show ever, Tedeschi Trucks Band expanded their yearly return to The Beacon to include a pair of two-night stands over consecutive weekends. The first weekend saw Jerry Douglas, Taj Mahal and Jimmy Herring sit-in with TTB and Jackie Greene joined the band the following weekend.

With Derek Trucks now singularly focused on Tedeschi Trucks Band, their 2015 Beacon Theatre residency took place over the final weekend of September and first weekend of October. Once again playing a pair of guest-filled, two-night stands, the opening weekend featured sit-ins by Jimmie Vaughan, David Hidalgo, Rosanne Casha and Charles Bradley. The next weekend saw Jon Batiste join Tedeschi Trucks Band on opening night, which was followed by a guest-free two set TTB show on night two.

In 2016, Tedeschi Trucks Band’s Beacon Theatre residency was six concerts held over nine nights, spanning September 30 to October 8. Guests that year were Amy Ray, Dave Mason, Luther Dickinson, Warren Haynes and Doyle Bramhall II.

A six-show residency at The Beacon was held over nine days in October 2017. Trey Anastasio, Norah Jones, John Medeski, The Wood Brothers, Jimmy Vivino, Nels Cline, Doyle Bramhall II, Luther Dickinson, and Marcus King joined TTB during that year’s residency.

Fully embracing the previous two years’ format, 2018’s six-show/nine-night residency again saw Tedeschi Trucks Band collaborating with an impressive roster of special guests. Jimmy Herring, Doyle Bramhall II, Warren Haynes and Ravi Coltrane were among the musicians sitting-in that year.

The 2019 Tedeschi Trucks Band Beacon Theatre residency spanned September 27 to October 5. Guests sprinkled over the six shows included Junior Mack, Robert Randolph, Eric Krasno, Nels Cline, Luther Dickinson, Amy Helm, Grahame Lesh, Allison Russell, Mark Whitfield, DeShawn Alexander, Joss Stone and others.

[Video Credit: Anders Osborne’s Holiday Spectacular on December 21, 2019 with Steve Earle, Alvin Youngblood Hart and more.]

In December 2012, New Orleans-based guitarist Anders Osborne took over famed NOLA night club Tipitina’s for a two-night Holiday Spectacular. Osborne’s guest-filled concerts called upon the likes of Stanton Moore, Luther Dickinson, Marc Broussard, The Bonerama Horns, Papa John Gros, Lee Oskar, Shannon McNally and more. MyNameIsJohnMichael and Billy Iuso & Restless Natives opened each night respectively. Osborne’s 2nd annual Holiday Spectacular took place over two nights in December 2013. Joining Osborne at Tips were familiar faces Dickinson, Iuso and Gros, along with Cyril Neville, Johnny Sansone, Little Feat’s Paul Barrere and New Orleans legend Irma Thomas.

Osborne’s pair of Holiday Spectacular shows in December 2014 were highlighted by an unannounced sit-in by Jimmy Buffett during the second night. Other guests that year included Dave Malone, Tommy Malone, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Galactic’s Stanton Moore and others.

The Holiday Spectacular shows hosted by Osborne in December 2016 featured special guests, Rich Robinson of The Black Crowes, Nicki Bluhm, Robert Randolph and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band Horns. Tipitina’s welcomed Osborne back the following December for another pair of Holiday Spectacular shows. John Popper, Jackie Greene, Sam Bush and JJ Grey were among the participants joining AO in 2016.

Guests for the 2017 edition of Osborne’s Holiday Spectacular at Tips were Rickie Lee Jones, Paterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers, Mike Dillon, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, Johnny Sansone, Deacon John and others.

Anders Osborne’s 7th Annual Holiday Spectacular in December 2018 featured guests appearances over the two nights by Joan Osborne, Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon, Mike Dillon, Billy Iuso, Theresa Andersson, Gina Forsyth, Lynn Drury and The South Austin Moonlighters. The most recent Holiday Spectacular took place in December 2019 and saw Anders joined by G. Love, Steve Earle, John Mooney, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Helen Gillet and Leyla McCalla.

The day after Thanksgiving 2013, New Orleans-funk ensemble Dumpstaphunk embarked on a run of shows with fellow NOLA resident Trombone Shorty that was dubbed “Phunksgiving.” The brief Texas tour included a Black Friday gig at House of Blues Dallas, followed by a show at House of Blues Houston and a final night at Stubb’s in Austin.

Punksgiving was held on Thanksgiving Eve in 2014 and featured Dumpstaphunk joined by Eric Krasno, Brandon “Taz” Niederauer, Steeltown Horns, Todd Stoops and Nicki Richards. Billed as a “Throwback Punksgiving,” here’s a portion of JamBase’s review of the “Dancin To The Truth 1970s style” show at BB King’s in New York City:

What was Phunks4giving? Well, quite the throwdown for starters: two-and-a-half hours including g a set of pure Dumpstaphunk and then a longer, guest-dappled set of ’70s funk, soul, R&B and rock covers that, as Ivan Neville described them, were the kind of inspired tunes that you could hear on the radio and say, “Wow. What was that shit?”

Dumpstaphunk’s 2015 Phunksgiving Eve celebration saw the band joined by Cyril Neville of New Orleans funk legends The Meters, as well as former drummer Nikki Glaspie and Steeltown Horns. Held at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York, the bill that evening also featured Fishbone and The Roots guitarist Kirk Douglas’ band The Dust Rays.

Phunksgiving 2016 was held the night before Thanksgiving at American Beauty NYC in New York City. Dumpstaphunk brought back a familiar cast of special guests that year, again collaborating with Glaspie, Krasno, Taz and Steeltown Horns. The 2016 concert began with an opening set by Maurice “Mobetta” Brown.

Brooklyn Bowl hosted Phunksgiving 2017. Joining Dumpstaphunk on Thanksgiving Eve were Taz, guitarist Tash Neal and the French Wasabi Horns section, with Southern Avenue tapped to open the show.

[Audio Credit: Dumpstaphunk Live at Brooklyn Bowl on November 21, 2017. Taped by Eric McRoberts.]

In 2018, Phunksgiving returned to its Texas multi-day roots as Dumpstaphunk performed two post-Thanksgiving shows at Antone’s Night Club in Austin. The Peterson Brothers and A-Town Getdown opened each night respectively.

Dumpstaphunk’s Phunksgiving tradition continued in 2019 with a return to Antone’s for another two-night stand that started on Black Friday. NOLA vocalist Erica Falls and NOLA Mardi Gras Indian band Cha Wa were part of last’s year’s celebration in Austin.

[Video Credit: Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit’s October 13, 2017 complete concert.]

The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville is among the world’s most revered concert venues. The spiritual center of Music City, The Ryman’s history is detailed on its official website, which reads:

Our story starts with an 1885 tent revival led by fiery evangelist Sam Jones and attended by 5,000 people, including steamboat captain and prominent Nashville businessman Thomas G. Ryman. The captain was so unexpectedly moved by the experience that he dedicated his life and fortune to building and constructing the Union Gospel Tabernacle, a place where all people could gather and worship. When Ryman died, its name was changed to honor his legacy.

Home to the widely popular Grand Ol Opry from 1943 through the mid-1970s, the venue fell into disrepair and was close to be razed before a renovation in the 1990s brought the building back to prominence in the Nashville scene.

On August 17, 2014, Jason Isbell made his solo debut at The Ryman. The singer-songwriter and one-time Drive-By Truckers member has since tallied 27 sold-out concerts at The Ryman. A few months later, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit returned to The Ryman for a three-night residency on October 24, 25 and 26. The setlists varied dramatically each evening as Isbell worked through his catalog along with choice covers like Warren Zevon’s “Mutineer” and The Rolling Stones’ “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.”

Isbell and his band took up residency at The Ryman for four nights in October 2015. The third show began with a complete performance of his album, Something More Than Free. Night four featured John Prine coming out for his “Storm Windows” and photographer/harmonica player Danny Clinch also sitting-in. Different support acts were chosen for each night that year, with Amanda Shires, Parker Millsap, Hurray for the Riff Raff and Chris Stapleton appearing across the run.

Isbell did not hold a Ryman residency in 2016, but he did appear in May for the two-night Dylan Fest 75th birthday Bob Dylan all-star celebration.

On October 9, 2017, Isbell began a six-night residency at The Ryman. A different opening act was selected for each show: Secret Sisters, Bettye LaVette, Amanda Shires, Julien Baker, Lydia Loveless and The McCrary Sisters. In addition to the rotating openers, each night of the 2017 Ryman residency saw Isbell incorporate a cover a song by Tom Petty, who died days prior, during each evening’s encore. Monday saw “Refugee” and Tuesday’s show featured “You Wreck Me” while Wednesday night brought out “Room At The Top.” Friday’s concert saw a reprise of “American Girl”, Saturday’s show included “Listen To Her Heart” and the finale featured Jerry Douglas adding dobro to “You Got Lucky.”

Another six-night residency was held October 22, 23, 24, 26, 27 and 28, 2018. Openers for that year’s run were all Nashville-residents: Shires, Bully, JEFF the Brotherhood, Molly Tuttle and Melanie Faye. One of other openers was Nashville-based Diarrhea Planet, whose opening spot was the group’s final performance before disbanding. Isbell and Sturgill Simpson sat-in with the now defunct band.

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit played seven shows over nine days at The Ryman in October 2019. Openers consisted of Shires, Sharde Thomas, R.L. Boyce, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Jimmy Duck Holmes, North Mississippi Allstars and Blind Boys of Alabama. Over the course of the residency, Isbell led cover debuts of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Helplessly Hoping” and Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith‘s “Because The Night.”

[Video Credit: “Rosie – Hoppy Holidays Remix” Feat. Santa’s Elves.]

The String Cheese Incident keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth has been a craft beer lover and maker since he began homebrewing in the 1980s. Over the years, Hollingsworth has collaborated with several craft breweries to create special batches of beer such as Avery Brewing’s Winter’s Day IPA, Sierra Nevada Brewing’s Hop Bam! Ale, Sweetwater Brewing’s Ground Score IPA and others.

In the early-2010s, Kyle began holding “Hoppy Holidays” runs of shows in his home state of Colorado that benefited Conscious Alliance. Local breweries like Breckenridge Brewery made special beers only available at the mid-December shows. In 2014, Hollingsworth revamped the Hoppy Holidays concept, moving to a single-day event at The Fillmore Auditorium in Denver and enlisting over 30 craft breweries to pour their beers at the concert. The Infamous Stringdusters and Euforquestra performed alongside the Kyle Hollingsworth Band at the inaugural celebration in support of Conscious Alliance.

Hollingsworth’s 2nd Annual Hoppy Holidays returned to Denver’s Fillmore the following December. The Conscious Alliance benefit that year the featured Jennifer Hartswick joining Kyle’s band, as well as performances by Anders Osborne and John Brown’s Body. A lineup of over 30 craft breweries were also part of the festivities.

A similar array of breweries were back at The Fillmore for Hoppy Holidays in December 2016. SCI guitarist Bill Nershi teamed with Hollingsworth for a duo set, followed by performances by KHB and JJ Grey & Mofro. The event returned to The Fillmore in December 2017 with a lineup of KHB, Colorado’s own Yonder Mountain String Band and Dragondeer, plus the typical collection of brewers.

Kyle Hollingsworth’s Rocktoberfest debuted in October 2018 at Upslope Brewing in Boulder, Colorado which benefitted Conscious Alliance and presented another 30+ craft breweries. Hoppy Holidays in December 2018 moved to Cervante’s Masterpiece in Dever. Presented by Joyride Brewing Company, the musical lineup for Hoppy Holidays 2018 included Kyle Hollingsworth Band featuring Lyle Divinsky of The Motet, and sets by Casual Commander, Exmag, Tnertle and Nobide.

With no Hoppy Holidays held in 2019, it remains to be seen what’s on tap next.

On April 20, 2015, singer-songwriter-looping-one-man-band Keller Williams released an album entitled, Vape.

“High pressured life shot through my favorite original songs in a low pressured atmosphere,” Williams described the record in 2015. “Out comes a highly concentrated music that can be heated up and inhaled through your ears. Vape.”

A few months after releasing Vape, KW announced a special pair of “Thanksforgrassgiving” shows for which the grass to be thankful for was, of course, bluegrass music.

Williams put together a supporting band consisting of The Infamous Stringdusters’ Travis Book on bass and Chris Pandolfi on banjo, Larry Keel on guitar, and The Travelin’ McCourys’s Cody Kilby on dobro and guitar and Jason Carter (who also contributed to Vape) on fiddle. Cabinet opened both shows, which were held on Black Friday at The National in Richmond, Virginia the following night at Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club. The first night saw Love Canon’s Jay Starling sit-in on dobro and Cabinet’s Pappy and JP Biondo come out for the encore.

[Audio Credit: Thanksforgrassgiving 2015. Taped by taperjeff.]

Thanksforgrassgiving returned to 9:30 Club and The National (in that order) for post-Thanksgiving 2016 shows. Keller’s supporting band was made up of Jeff Austin on mandolin, Nicky Sanders of Steep Canyon Rangers on fiddle, Danton Boller of Keller Williams KWahtro on bass and and Starling on dobro. Love Canon opened the holiday shows that year.

Keller’s 2017 Thanksforgrassgiving shows were again held the two days after Thanksgiving at The National and 9:30 Club (in that order). Altering the format, that year’s edition began with solo KW sets, followed by all-star bluegrass collaborative sets with KDub on his “poser mando” along with guitarist Larry Keel and bassist Jenny Keel of The Keels, fiddler Jeremy Garrett of The Infamous Stringdusters, banjo player Danny Barnes and Starling on dobro.

Thanksforgrassgiving 2018 brought together Keller’s tribute to Tom Petty with The Hillbenders dubbed “PettyGrass.” The two-show run took place at The National and for the first time at the Neighborhood Theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina. Each night began with a solo KW set, followed by bluegrass arranged covers of Tom Petty classics.

Keller’s 2019 Thanksforgrassgiving returned to The National and another new venue, this time adding The Hamilton in Washington D.C. for night two. Headlining each show were performances by Keller & The Keels (Larry Keel and Jenny Keel) with Lindsay Lou opening both of the holiday concerts.

[Video Credit: Frendsgiving night two at The Captiol Theatre on November 30, 2019. Posted by Relix.]

“There ain’t no ‘I’ in Frends,” sings Twiddle guitarist Mihali in the band’s original song “The Frends Theme.”

The letter “I” does appear twice in “Frendsgiving,” what the Vermont-based quartet calls their annual performances the weekend following Thanksgiving.

The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York hosted the first Frendsgiving concerts on November 24 and 25, 2017. Twiddle debuted a cover of Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels” on the first night, while night two saw Twiddle collaborate with guitarist Brandon “Taz” Niederauer and Turkuaz vocalist Shira Elias on John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery,” with Taz also contributing to “Milk” and the Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street.”

Twiddle staged another pair of Frendsgiving shows at The Capitol Theatre on November 23 and 24, 2018. Opening night that year featured opening act Kitchen Dwellers sitting-in on collaborative performances their songs “Visions Of Mohr” and “Mountain” as well as Twiddle’s “Hattibagen McRat.” Night two was highlighted by “Tiberous” showing up throughout the fist set and Matisyahu sitting-in on “Latin Tang” during the second set.

The Frendsgiving tradition at The Cap continued in 2019 with shows on November 29 and 30. Old “frend” Brandon “Taz” Niederauer joined Twiddle during the first night’s encore, which also featured guitarist Mike Gantzer of opening act Aqueous sitting-in on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” Prior to the encore, Twiddle weaved in out of “Gatsby The Great” throughout the first set, and played a food-themed second set. Gantzer and fellow Aqueous guitarist Dave Loss joined Twiddle on night two, assisting on the second set opening “Latin Tang.” The second show also saw the debuts of Twiddle originals “Mistakes” and “Just Gravy.”