Umphrey’s McGee has released a brand-new music video for their it’s you track “Upward”. Filmed over four days at the 2018 Summer Camp Music Festival in Illinois, the video features plenty of live footage from the gathering, including some glorious slow-motion shots of the band’s members on stage (so prepare to see some top-notch guitar face).
Umphrey’s McGee – “Upward”
“Upward’s evolution took a very interesting path,” says keyboardist Joel Cummins. “The arrangement that we’ve played live for the past five years (originating from UMBowl’s ‘Onward & Upward’) arrived via an improvisational section Jake [Cinninger] started that Brendan [Bayliss] sang over. The new studio arrangement of Upward from it’s you is actually a hybrid of an acoustic demo Brendan made years ago and the UMBowl version. We combined our favorite elements of both to create a more dynamic studio arrangement of ‘Upward’, now with acoustic guitars, Moog bass, and, of course, a spectacularly powerful apex. To me, it’s the perfect way to close out an album.”
“The words and melody to ‘Upward’ were very much stumbled into by accident,” adds guitarist and vocalist Brendan Bayliss. “Both were the first thing that came to the surface after listening over and over to the two chords from the intro. Literally, the first pass on the demo was 90% improvised… and subsequently, there were a few touchups (for the sake of rhyme and reason).”
While “Upward” first got the studio treatment when Umphrey’s McGee’s surprise album it’s you dropped earlier this year, the song has been in the live rotation since it debuted at the 2014 Summer Camp Music Festival. Considering this history, it’s fitting that the band decided to team up with photographer/music video director C.J. Strehlow to turn their video into a tribute to the beloved event. (The video was also produced by longtime manager Kevin Browning and co-shot by Strehlow and Rahm Carrington).
2018 has been quite the prolific year for Umphrey’s McGee. In addition to multiple music videos, the jam titans have also released two full-length albums, the complementary it’s not us and it’s you. With Summer Camp now behind them, the band is gearing up for a few Northeast shows before they head to Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre for a three-night run from July 5th to 7th. You can check out a full list of Umphrey’s McGee’s upcoming tour dates via their website, and their newest album, it’s you, can be streamed here.