As the end of his 2025 summer tour grows near, Dave Matthews followed up his first show at L.A.’s Kia Forum since 1998, which saw a surprise guest appearance from keyboardist Cory Henry, with a return to a more familiar haunt, Mountain View, CA’s Shoreline Amphitheatre.
DMB’s history with the outdoor shed dates back to 1996, when the group performed two nights as part of Blues Traveler‘s seminal HORDE Tour alongside the festival hosts, Lenny Kravitz, Leftover Salmon, Medeski Martin & Wood, and Rusted Root. The band made its headlining debut at the venue the following summer before returning in the fall to perform acoustic sets for Neil Young‘s annual Bridge School Benefit. Matthews would participate in the event several more times, including its final installment in 2016, sometimes with the full band, sometimes solo, and sometimes as a duo with guitarist Tim Reynolds. Saturday marked his 34th visit to the venue, per DMB Almanac, and his first since 2022.
Drummer Carter Beauford‘s percussive clacking on the rim of his snare drum signaled the start of “You Never Know”, kicking off a powerful 18-song main set. In a nod to his history playing acoustic sets at the venue, Tim Reynolds swapped out his electric axe midway through the set and played acoustic guitar for the first ever outside of purely acoustic shows on “Proudest Monkey” > “Satellite” and “Black and Blue Bird”, and again at the end of the set on “Crash Into Me”.
Photo: Ryan Myers – Carter Beauford
When Dave returned to the stage for the encore, he addressed the crowd and spoke out against cruelty and greed in governments around the world, highlighting the current conditions in Gaza and declaring, “I just imagine what it would be like to see my own children emaciated and hungry, and I can’t bear it, and I won’t stand for it. I’ll never say, ‘Oh, I understand,’ because I don’t understand, and I think it’s truly evil.”
He continued, “I think that in our government—and governments all over the world—there’s too much willingness to be cruel and there’s too much tolerance for greed. I think greed and cruelty are just two versions of stupidity. But then the proof that things can be better is when [we come together] like this, or when we take care of our neighbors. … And I’ve really been inspired by the way that y’all here in California have reacted to the foolishness coming out of the White House.
“Sometimes even politicians that I for the most part admire, sometimes they speak in circles …. When I look at [what’s happening in Gaza], there’s no way I can get my head around how that in any way can be defensible, you know? I think it’s just horrific.”
He then introduced “a new song” he debuted earlier this year entitled “Peace on Earth” before welcoming the rest of the band back to finish the encore with “Pantala Naga Pampa” > “Pig”.
Dave Matthews Speaks Out On Gaza, Performs “Peace On Earth” – 8/23/25
[Video: Wild Succulent]
Check out fan-shot video highlights from Dave Matthews Band at Shoreline Amphitheatre, and click below to view a gallery of photos courtesy of photographer Ryan Myers.
Dave Matthews Band will return to the stage tonight, August 26th, at Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic in Stateline, NV before heading to The Gorge Amphitheatre to close out the tour with the band’s annual three-night Labor Day Weekend run featuring support from Southern Avenue and Kaleo on Friday (8/29), Oskar & Julia and Béla Fleck & The Flecktones on Saturday (8/30), and Louis Cato and Goose on Sunday (8/31). The three-night run will be DMB’s final shows of 2025 before Dave and Tim go on to perform at Farm Aid alongside Willie Nelson & Family, Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts, John Mellencamp, and Margo Price on September 20th and host their annual destination festival in Cancun, Mexico on January 21st–24th, 2026. Find more information and tickets here.
Dave Matthews Band – “Bartender” – 8/23/25
[Video: Gregory Goodman]
Setlist [via DMBAlmanac]: Dave Matthews Band | Shoreline Amphitheatre | Mountain View, CA | 8/23/25
Set: You Never Know, Bartender, Joyride, Dancing Nancies, Monsters, Spaceman, Jimi Thing, Hunger for the Great Light, Proudest Monkey [1] > Satellite [1], Black and Blue Bird [1], Word Up! (Cameo), The Dreaming Tree, Gravedigger, So Damn Lucky, Louisiana Bayou, Crash Into Me [1], Rapunzel,
Encore: Peace on Earth [2], Pantala Naga Pampa > Pig
[1] Tim on acoustic guitar.
[2] Dave solo.
