Last night, the String Cheese Incident played their first of three nights at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, and their fifth show of a seven-night Colorado run. The band’s midweek shows at the newly reopened Dillon Amphitheater in Dillon, Colorado were extremely well-received, and SCI kept the momentum going into their hometown throwdown. JJ Grey and Mofro took care of the opening duties for the night, getting the near sold-out crowd moving and grooving under the Colorado bluebird sky.

The String Cheese Incident kicked off the show with a cover of New Grass Revival’s “Cant’ Stop Now”,  a fitting start to the night, and a perfect attitude coming into their highly-anticipated three-night Red Rocks run. Up next was “Song In My Head”,  the title track off of their 2014 album. Keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth was firing off on all cylinders, leading Michael Kang into an explosive solo, before handing it back to Hollingsworth before he tickled the first notes of “Way Back Home”. Building on the opening riff, the Barefoot Boys slowly joined together, showcasing their beautiful harmonies and impressive vocal talent. Guitarist Bill Nershi took the jam into spacey-territory, as he laid down some acoustic, psychedelic-Cowboy sounds, leading the rest of the band with him into deep-jam territory.

The opening notes of “BAM!” rang out, and Hollingsworth brought the venue to funky-town, grooving as percussionist Jason Hann laid down some elegant beats on the congas. All night, each respected member was intently listening to each other as a band, allowing for the precision and preciseness that has been shining over the last week throughout their Colorado run of shows. The Kang-led “Black and White” segued into a trancey “Bumpin’ Reel”, with Kang laying it down on the fiddle, as the rest of the band got things heated up around him. Set one came to a close, with a roaring Red Rocks crowd begging for more.

After taking a brief set break, the band invited up Beats Antique’s David Satori to lend a hand on “Egyptic”, and that was just the start of the guests for the evening. Frequent collaborator and hometown hero Lyle Divinsky of The Motet got the invite next, helping Cheese out on vocals with “Get To You”. Divinsky’s soul, blended with String Cheese’s feel-good music, is a match made in heaven.

“On The Road” gave way to an elegantly placed cover of Old And In The Way’s “Midnight Moonlight”, as a bright and full moon shed its light over the ecstatic Red Rocks crowd. Bassist Keith Moseley nailed it on vocals, as Kang and Nershi played off of each other as a tightly-knit unit. The highlight of the set was next, as the band dove head-first into a massive “Dirk”> “Rivertrance” > “Colorado Bluebird Sky” sequence. The “Rivertrance” went deep, as Kang stirred things up on fiddle, with Hann and drummer Michael Travis laying down a mean backbeat for the rest of the band to soar deep into space-trance territory. Ending night one of their three-night Colorado run with “Colorado Bluebird Sky”, was an absolutely perfect selection, and the crowd’s huge response and singing along with the band portrayed that precisely.

For their encore, the String Cheese Incident invited up Lyle Divinsky and JJ Grey for a cover of The Meters classic hit, “Hey Pocky Way”, an extremely fitting choice and nod to the legendary New Orleans funksters, who received their Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award last weekend.

The String Cheese Incident returns to Red Rocks tonight for night two of their three-night run. Tickets for tonight are still available for purchase here!

Setlist: String Cheese Incident | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO | 7/20/2018

Set One: Can’t Stop Now, Song In My Head> Way Back Home, BAM!, Sweet Spot, Black and White> Bumpin’ Reel

Set Two: Egyptic*, Get To You^, On The Road, Midnight Moonlight, Dirk> Rivertrance> Colorado Bluebird Sky

Encore: Hey Pocky Way%

*= w/ David Satori (Beats Antique)

^= w/ Lyle Divinsky (The Motet)

%= w/ Lyle Divinsky & JJ Grey (JJ Grey & Mofro)

Check out the full gallery from Friday night below, courtesy of Brittany Teuber.