Emotions were high and heavy on Friday as The String Cheese Incident launched the 2024 edition of its long-running Suwannee Hulaween festival at Live Oak, FL’s beloved music mecca The Spirit Of The Suwannee Music Park. With Thursday’s tragic loss of one of the improvisational music scene’s iconic forerunners, Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, the recent damage to the beloved Suwannee Music Park by back-to-back hurricanes, and the general jittery state of the world, it’s difficult for people to even to catch their breath, much less be able to forget their troubles long enough to have the chance to even try.

With the Suwannee once again forced to clean up storm damage in a frenzy after having the same issue the year before, the staff must have felt a surge of pride seeing tens of thousands of fans flowing freely through the gates and into Hulaween. For the fans, getting somewhere safe, beloved, and even sacred was a sigh of relief. This space, to many music veterans, is a sanctuary, particularly after the recent devastation. Even before yesterday’s tragic news, the expectations for this weekend and the literal need for this release were palpable, and into that mix came the finest folks for the job: The String Cheese Incident.

Kicking the first set off with “One Step Closer” was a smart choice for Cheese, the first of many shown by the band Friday night. The tune’s positive message about persistence in the face of hardship initiated the tone perfectly, and set the stage aptly for a non-stop, four-song, “Enjoy the Ride”, “MLT”, “Suwanee Jam”, and “You Wreck Me” run that made up the heart of Cheese’s first sonic stanza. Guitarist Bill Nershi was, as always, a smiling force of positivity that acted as de facto on-stage general and cheerleader at the same time for his brothers-in-arms’ musical efforts.

The String Cheese Incident — “One Step Closer”, “Enjoy The Ride” > “MLT” [Pro-Shot] — 10/25/24

“Vertigo” and “Desert Dawn” were their fun and funky selves as ever but the cover of The Police’s“Synchronicity” was an impressive standout. It showed both the versatility of String Cheese and the insane skills of Stewart Copeland, drummer of that legendary trio. It took percussionist Jason Hann and drummer Michael Travis exerting themselves at full force just to keep up with the magic Copeland laid down solo more than 40 years ago.

The rhythm section, alongside the multi-instrumental skills of Michael Kang on fiddle and mandolin/guitar hybrids, gave the set-closing “Bollymunster” and its Indian modalities a crowd-pleasing instrumental turn. The crescendo left the audience wanting more as the crowd eagerly awaited the second set while up-and-comers Mildlife played on the other side of the concert field during the extended set break.

Related: How To Livestream The String Cheese Incident & The Bobby Weir Incident At Hulaween 2024

The String Cheese Incident opened the second set with the Grateful Dead’s “Ripple”, a short, sweet, and simple acknowledgment of the loss of Phil Lesh that kept things light, if a little melancholy. Speaking of positive vibes and energy, keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth’s “Can’t Wait Another Day” and “Lend Me a Hand” came and went with their usual nigh-impenetrable air of hope and happiness that has yet to fail in lifting the spirits of those in attendance.

After a quick vibe check from Nershi, the various parts of Cheese came together to illustrate the magic this six-man band can make when working together. Bassist Keith Moseley, the unsung hero of the evening, kept the lower end and veritable bouncing pulse of “Bumpin’ Reel” thundering in the crowd’s collective ears while Hollingsworth and Kang took memorable melodic turns at organ and violin respectively.

Closing out night one with a rousing “All We Got”, the wild mix of drummer Travis’ chanted portions and Kang’s more sing-song vocal stylings gave the packed and smiling fans at the Suwannee’s Meadow Stage one last chance to enjoy their Cheese before the sad but inevitable end. Reminding the crowd that there was still plenty of fun to be had with each other this weekend, String Cheese departed from the stage to rest up for Saturday night’s always-memorable themed sets and Sunday’s sure-to-be emotional closer look at the vast Dead catalog with special guest Bob Weir, Nershi turned the fans loose.

The key takeaway from Friday’s set was the need to feel and be in the moment, to celebrate life as it happens and not spend too much of our short time on Earth mourning our losses. In each life, hardships will befall us all that none of us can predict or prepare for. It’s our job to react to our troubles and overcome these obstacles as best we can, to love and help each other to the best of our abilities. The members of the String Cheese Incident, wise men that they are, know this and understood the assignment as well as anyone could.

With Sunday’s “Bobby Weir Incident” on the docket, The String Cheese Incident knew it would have a true opportunity to celebrate the life and honor and lament the loss of Phil Lesh. Sure, the band gave the bottom-end bomber’s sad departure a nod with the single tune but Cheese chose to make its Suwannee Hulaween opening a joyful ode to simply being alive.

In the end, Cheese got where it is by being one of the most positive bands on the jam band circuit. The String Cheese Incident leaned hard into that aspect of its musical persona on Friday night and didn’t just do that out of habit. It was a conscious decision to give the people who have gone through so much the chance to catch their breath, have a night of joy, and take that energy to push on against the darkness.

The String Cheese Incident returns to Hulaween for a marathon, three-set performance kicking off at 5 p.m. nugs.net subscribers can tune into a complimentary livestream of all three sets here. Not a nugs subscriber yet? Sign up for a seven-day free trial here. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | Hulaween Music Festival | Live Oak, FL | 10.25.24

Set One: One Step Closer, Enjoy the Ride [1] > MLT > Suwanee Jam > You Wreck Me (Tom Petty), Vertigo, Desert Dawn [2] > Synchronicity (The Police) [3] > Bollymunster
Set Two: Ripple (Grateful Dead) [4] > Can’t Wait Another Day, Lend Me a Hand > Shine, Bumpin Reel, All We Got

[1] “Norweigan Wood” tease
[2] Unfinished
[3] LTP 1/31/15
[4] LTP 9/28/19