LOCKN’ Festival is for built around the concept of collaboration. The non-stop music and top-notch musicians make the environment ripe for fun and unique moments, and on Thursday night, the festival’s opening night, LOCKN’ placed Umphrey’s McGee and Ween in back-to-back slots, giving fans an almost inevitable feeling that a cross-over would happen.

Back in 2012, when Aaron Freeman (aka Gene Ween) announced his departure from Ween, the frontman famously threw some shade at Umphrey’s, saying that Ween “was/had turned into some Umphries McGee bullshit and I love Ween too much to see that happen.” Of course, all was forgiven in 2015 when Gener sat in with Umphrey’s at Summer Camp Music Festival for a set as God Boner, which saw UM backing GW for a full set of Ween classics. Gene Ween also spent time during his Ween hiatus performing the music of Billy Joel, as he truly has the vocal range to master the pianist’s catalog.

One year later, the love fest between Gene Ween and Umphrey’s continued, as Gener made an awesome appearance on stage with Umphrey’s at LOCKN’ Festival over the weekend. GW hit the stage towards the end of Umphrey’s set, appearing mid-way through a “Puppet String” sandwich to lead the band through a cover of “The Stranger” by Billy Joel. The choice made sense, as UM wasn’t going to play a Ween song right before their set, and God Boner had covered “The Stranger” in their last performance.

To say it felt triumphant is an understatement. Umphrey’s impressed the LOCKN’ masses on Thursday night, and Gener’s appearance with Umphrey’s showed that he shares in the collaborative spirit of LOCKN’ and made for a great way to kick off the weekend.

Watch full video of “The Stranger” into “Puppet String” below, courtesy of YouTube user William Corcoran