As the sun dropped behind the thick timberland's of the northwestern mitten, Umphrey’s McGee came out as cool as the air.  Kris Myers and Joel Cummins were facing a double-header of music that evening, as they had just wrapped up another amazing set with their other project, Digital Tape Machine, ...view article

Red Rocks Amphitheater was built for Umphrey’s McGee.  Well, more likely, in their 12th year as a band, Umphrey’s has meticulously groomed themselves to the point that the fruits of their labor are best understood within the walls of  the naturally acoustic canvas provided at The Rocks.  Nestled ...view article

The excitement can be seen on every one of the other 49 faces in the Crystal Ballroom's waiting area as the anticipation for the Umphrey's McGee's second StewArt event reaches it's peak. After a few moments, the door opens and pianist Joel Cummins enters the room first, followed closely by the rest ...view article

Get it while it’s hot people!  Yep, Umphrey’s McGee is as fiery as ever, and was hot as blazes in the ragin’ cajun and cool as a cucumber House of Blues in New Orleans.  After a wild day and a half of Bourbon Street seafood, cover band, stripper and overdosed slushy shenanigans (I’m talking ...view article

Fourteen months ago, on Halloween, Umphrey's McGee played one of the most impressive shows I'd ever seen.  The buzz surrounding the event was undeniable and the actual show was religious.  At the time the band was on the precipice of some major changes.  Light design artist Jefferson Waful was ...view article

It is nearly 2 a.m. in a gleaming warehouse perched at the Northeast edge of the San Francisco Bay.  On the dock, infernos rage from steel barrels, spewing molten fireflies by the dozens with the wind’s every frigid breath as the building’s vibrations and rumbles only hint at the possibilities ...view article

A good friend of mine tells me that he has always experienced any troubles getting to a show as a good omen that said show is going to be a barn burner.  This could all be in his mind, but the adage has rung true for me over this past week while following around Umphrey’s McGee.  I’m a bit ...view article

My first exposure to the avant-garde jazz trio Medeski Martin and Wood (conveniently known as MMW) was at the State Palace Theater during a Jazz Fest weekend in 1999 New Orleans.  MMW was still relatively new, but had the distinction of opening for Phish in 1995, which stamped them with the Phish ...view article

An acoustic moe. show at the Belly Up Tavern possesses a certain double dose of rarities.  On the one hand,  just to have moe. play there is downright unique in its own right.  Their first visit here wasn’t until about seven years into their career in 1997, but they haven’t returned since ...view article

Anticipation builds as we wind through the mountains along highway 70 from Denver to Aspen on the way to see arguably the best live band on the circuit today: Umphrey's McGee.  It is somewhat trademark of Umphrey's to not just play these remote venues, but to make everyone who came all the way out ...view article