Review — The String Cheese Incident Celebrates 30 Years With Glorious Three-Night Run at Red Rocks

String Cheese Incident took to Red Rocks this past weekend to celebrate 30 years as a band with a host of special guests. They played epic sets with special themes each night and Colorado’s largest drone show over the Rocks.

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Friday July 12

For the first night, the theme was “The New Orleans Incident.” Fans donned their colorful beads and were dressed in shades of purple, gold and green. As you walk around the field (as one tends to do at a String Cheese show), you might find fans lining up, drinking Hurricanes—the classic New Orleans drink—and even sharing a crawfish boil with friends.Excitement was running high as people prepared for the first night of three.

New Orleans funk jam band Dumpstaphunk opened the night. After their set, The String Cheese Incident appeared on stage, half of the crew wearing glittery feathered masquerade masks to match the theme of the night. Bill Nershi addressed the crowd before launching into the opening song, “Best Feeling,” which led to two more of their favorites, “Outside and Inside” and an upbeat “Joyful Sound.”

After a few more jams, the crowd’s energy came alive when a New Orleans parade featuring The Brothers of Brass entered the show, coming from about row 35 on the right of the stage and marching down to join the band. Special guests George Porter Jr., Ivan Neville & Phunky Friends and Tarriona “Tank” Ball of Tank and the Bangas also joined the stage throughout the night, bringing the “Nawlins” sparkle.

A wave of funky music washed over the crowd and the dancing was accelerated, with plenty of boos and shouts. The stage was packed with talented musicians and the crowd was full of bright-eyed smiles as they ended the first set with a collaborative “Fire on the Bayou.”

The scorching sun of the 100-degree day finally sank below the horizon and a wave of cool air cheered the crowd. The band plucked the first strings to announce their arrival for the second set and brought out Tony Hall for his opening performance of “Get To You,” keeping the funk alive.

It wasn’t long before a few flashing purple lights appeared to the left of the stage above the rocks, giving a hint of what was to come. The band once again brought in Tank on vocals as they performed their song “Last Train.” Nova Sky Stories’ drones grew from a few to many and danced around the stars in the clear sky as they gathered into position. The crowd erupted as a real train appeared in the sky, rolling to the beat of the train song playing below. It was short, sweet, and incredibly epic, as well as the first drone show to ever take place at Red Rocks.

As the band wrapped up their set, Kang couldn’t help but bring out his violin for a classic “BollyMunster” before the band finished with “Colliding.” You never have to wait too long for a String Cheese encore, as the boys weren’t done playing yet. They came back to cap it all off with a jam-packed “Miss Brown’s Teahouse” to create a perfect ending to a perfect start to the weekend.

Saturday July 13

After a quick night and another warm sunrise, it was time for The String Cheese Incident on the Rocks on the second night. The fans were enthusiastic, even though it was a historically hot day of the year, and it was nice to see spectators encouraging them to drink water (in between sips of other beverages) as they made the hike up to the amphitheater.

The theme of the night was The Colorado Incident, so it’s interesting to note that they started the night with an opening track called “Texas.” Nevertheless, fans were just as eager as the night before to spend a night with The String Cheese Incident, as Saturday is usually dedicated to their solo sets. Everyone was decked out in their finest Colorado gear, mostly in the form of lots of Chacos, tie-dye, and smiles.

The band performed a cover of Post Malone’s song “Sunflower,” surprising and delighting the crowd, as they do with their interpretations of pop culture. Big Gigantic’s Dominic Lalli joined them on stage to play saxophone. They also brought in longtime friend and musician Liza Oxnard on percussion and vocals for a few songs, including the highly anticipated “Rosie,” to close out the first set.

Once again the sun has setand the stage lights came up as the band appeared for the second set of the night. They opened with “Valley Of The Jig,” a tried and true number that had the crowd roaring. They played a remarkable “Roll Around The Sun,” which brought smiles and hugs from the audience — and maybe a few tears — while positivity and good vibes were flying high.

Kang donned his violin once more and the crowd applauded as he played the first notes of “Bhangra Saanj.” David Satori of Beats Antique, with whom the song is a collaboration, joined the band on stage with his electric saz, which is always a fun sight to see. They ended Saturday’s Colorado Incident second set with an epic “Kashmir,” a Led Zeppelin cover. The jam leaned toward the dark side as they shocked the crowd with beams of intense red light and some slight undertones of bass reminiscent of an EDM show.

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The boys weren’t done yet, as they returned for an encore, starting with the fan-favorite classic, “Sirens,” and ended the night with a cover of “Just One Story.” The cover, which finished off the end of “Just One Story” that they began playing during their second set, only left the crowd eager for more of the night.

Sunday July 14

In the finest jam band tradition, The String Cheese Incident once again proved the mantra: “Never miss a Sunday show.” As some much-needed clouds formed over the Front Range, the evening air cooled as the band warmed up for their third and final show of the weekend. Moseley’s smooth, sultry vocals kicked off the first set with “Sweet Spot.” Kang, sporting one of his signature sleeveless outfits, took over for “Eye Know Why” before moving on to one of the band’s newest tracks, “Talkin’ About Tonight.”

Following Nershi’s lead on their beloved rendition of Billy and Liza’s “Smile,” the band enlisted Sam Bush, Sierra Hull and Jerry Douglas for the evening’s highly anticipated main event, dubbed “The Nashville Incident.” With Bush on mandolin and fiddle, Hull on mandolin and Douglas on dobro, The String Cheese Incident was set to perform a series of covers, including the Del McCoury Band’s “I Feel the Blues Moving In,” the Steve Miller Band’s “Take the Money and Run,” Wendy Waldman’s “Can’t Stop Now,” John Hartford’s “I’m Still Here” and Strength in Numbers’ “Duke and Cookie.” Bush then took over vocals on New Grass Revival’s “Reach” to close out the first set.

It was only at the start of the second set that we realised why the break had been so long: with the show starting earlier on Sunday, the sun had to be completely down for the thousand drones that were going to light up the sky.. As the band played the opening minutes of “Rivertrance,” the second of two drone shows of the weekend formed the iconic SCI logo above Red Rocks and the crowd’s happy heads. With special guests The String Cheese Incident performed versions of Bill Monroe’s “Wheel Hoss” and Weather Report’s “Birdland,” the latter of which was noticeably fragmented throughout the set.

The remainder of the set saw Hull lead the band on his own track, “Poison,” and Bush return to vocals for New Grass Revival’s “Revival.” To close their 30th anniversary of performing at this legendary venue, the band treated their fans to three original tracks that showed just how vast and diverse their musical abilities and creativity are. The psychedelic storytelling of “Jellyfish,” the bass-heavy groove of “Beautiful,” and the anthemic vocals of “Colorado Bluebird Sky” capped off another perfectly adventurous and unpredictably epic show from five of Colorado’s hometown musical heroes.