Hailing from humble beginnings at Castleton College in Vermont, Twiddle reached a point that many musicians dream of by making their headlining debut at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, on Saturday night. The group did not disappoint, dropping a rocking pair of sets graced with a host of surprises—including Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, Phil’s son Grahame Lesh, and keyboardist Todd Stoops—on a warm spring evening.

The Vermont quartet was supported by Florida outfit The Hip Abduction and the roots/reggae group Stick Figure, who hail from Duxbury, Massachusetts. After an energetic set from The Hip Abduction, Stick Figure capitalized on the building energy, further hyping the crowd with their reggae sounds, which built into surprisingly strong jams. Stick Figure’s set was highlighted by a wild sing-along cover of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, followed immediately by the popular “Weight of Sound” with singer TJ O’Neill.

Twiddle came onto the stage to meet an excited crowd after the sun had fully descended. Keyboardist Ryan Dempsey kicked off the show with the softly rolling piano intro of “Enter” that led into “Orlando’s”. Guitarist Mihali Savoulidis then broke into “Apples” where his scat style singing brought the crowd into a frenzy. The group was joined by Electric Beethoven keyboardist Todd Stoops, who traded fiery organ solos with Dempsey as the band fully hit their stride. Stoops departed, but the band hung in an electronic-tinged jam highlighting the bassist Zdenek Gubb, a sound that the band has been developing over the last few years and that has added a layer of depth to their style.

Next Twiddle played a “Blunderbuss” for the ages. A purple-and-green light show danced in synch with the jam from behind the stage, and the crowd roared as all of the band’s build-ups hit the mark perfectly. They ended the first set with a “Polluted Beauty”, that dove into another dark bass jam led by bassist Zdenek Gubb, before finishing out the set with a reggae-inspired rendition of fan-favorite “Lost In The Cold”.

Strange animal sounds played during the set break before a video broke the tension. The monitor to the right of the stage showed sportscaster and noted Twiddle fan Dan Patrick as well as a host of other musicians such as Keller Williams and Phil Lesh, asking the whereabouts of “Frankenfoote”. The song was formerly a staple of Twiddle’s catalog, though the tune has fallen off, having not been played since New Year’s Eve 2016. Twiddle answered their inquiries, both from the video and ongoing from fans over the past two years, with a powerful performance of their debut-album classic.

The wind picked up, and a fog machine cast a haze all around the stage as the band welcomed on Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh with his son and guitarist Grahame Lesh—a duo that the band first invited to play with them during Twiddle’s own Tumble Down festival in 2017. Chaos erupted in the seats as the musicians set into a Twiddle-style “Shakedown Street”. The crowd shouted the “Woo!” break of the chorus and danced, happy to be graced by the presence of a legend. Savoulidis and Grahame Lesh traded guitar solos that made everyone who had tickets to Saturday’s Phil Lesh and Friends show ecstatic, as the younger Lesh ripped off an amazing solo. The band jammed into Twiddle’s “White Light” and then back into “Shakedown Street,” to close out the surprise high-profile cameo.

Before Phil and Grahame even had time to get off the stage, Twiddle burst into the happy fan favorite “Beethoven and Greene”. At the song’s close, Savoulidis looked out at the packed venue and the glowing orange of the rocks, shook his head smiling and said, “Holy shit.” The group then played a soft “Hatti’s Jam” before jumping into the bouncing, bluegrass-inspired “Hattibagen McRat” that featured crowd-pleasing Colorado references and some excellent country-like, guitar-and-piano call-and-response solos.

“When It Rains It Pours”, a staple of the Twiddle repertoire, closed the second set, but everyone stayed awaiting more surprises. A second drum set was quickly erected, and the entirety of Stick Figure joined Twiddle on the stage for an encore. They set into Bob Marley’s “Jammin’”, with the double bass and double drum attack anchored the rhythm and both lead singers traded verses. As if that wasn’t enough, the groups then built into The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends” that rocked a little more like Joe Cocker’s version of the song at the end.

Setlist: Twiddle | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO | 5/4/2018

Set One: Enter, Orlando’s, Apples+, Blunderbuss, Lost In The Cold

Set Two: Frankenfoote, Shakedown Street& > White Light& > Shakedown Street&, Beethoven and Greene, Hattie’s Jam > Hattibagen McRat > When It Rains It Pours*

Encore: Jammin’^, Have A Little Help From My Friends^

+ with Todd Stoops | & with Phil Lesh and Grahame Lesh | * with Grahame Lesh and Eliot Peck | ^ with Stick Figure

Twiddle will be welcomed back to headline Red Rocks with open arms as they delivered an incredible debut. The appearances of all of the guest musicians, and especially a founder of the Grateful Dead, made all of the fans go home happy. You can check out a full pro-shot stream of Twiddle’s performance below, courtesy of the band, as well as photo galleries of Twiddle and Stick Figure, courtesy of photographer Alan Westman.