The String Cheese Incident made its long-awaited return to Atlanta, GA’s The Tabernacle over the weekend for the band’s first shows at the church-turned-concert hall in 25 years. Over three nights, String Cheese managed to celebrate late reggae legend Bob Marley‘s birthday with multiple covers, play some of the jam scene’s most sonically diverse music across six sets plus encores, and generally lift the hearts and spirits of three separate sold-out crowds with three evenings of musical excellence.

The fun started nice and early Thursday night with a rollicking “Miss Brown’s Teahouse” and never looked back. Using a fan-favorite tune as the weekend stand opener was a good sign for the long-time faithful hoping for a solid mix from all of Cheese’s many, multi-faceted eras. String Cheese has given Hotlanta some memorable shows in the past and the mix of old and new fans in the audience had high hopes and expectations.

After using the visit to the “Teahouse” to do a final tuning check, guitarist and de facto frontman Bill Nershi greeted the crowd and noted that it was the late Mr. Marley’s birthday, which got a solid additional cheer from the revved-up crowd. Properly warmed, Cheese took the audience on a sweet journey with a well-paced three-tune explorative jam that included “Black and White” before detouring for a most filling “Birdland” into “Remington Ride” back into “Birdland” sandwich.

The String Cheese Incident — “Miss Brown’s Teahouse” > “Mercy Mercy Mercy” > “Miss Brown’s Teahouse” [Pro-Shot] — 2/6/25

The “Birdland” reprise that closed out the jam saw some triumphant picking work from multi-instrumentalist Michael Kang and just the briefest of hints of psychedelic disconnect before grounding itself for a roundly cheered conclusion. After an always enjoyable and suitably bouncy sing-along version of “Get Tight” from bassist Keith Moseley it was time to just get down and “Enjoy The Ride”.

Keeping the upbeat and sunshiney vibe going, Kang made sure the fans were feeling it and reminded everyone to not just enjoy the ride but to try and experience the “Best Feeling In The World”. The reggae breakdown in “Best Feeling” seemed extra appropriate in honor of what would have marked Marley’s 80th birthday. Taking advantage of that beat’s flow, Cheese wedged a most welcome take on the late legend’s “Exodus” before transitioning back into the closing jam of “Best Feeling” leaving the crowd smiling ear to ear.

The String Cheese Incident — “Best Feeling” > “Exodus” (Bob Marley) — 2/6/25

[Video: whereshaynes]

That smile didn’t have a chance to fade as Cheese went straight into the second tribute of the non-stop runaway jam by dropping a second homage, this time the most loved rock and roll group the fine state of Georgia has ever produced, The Allman Brothers Band. The first strains of “Revival” were met with a deafening roar from the crowd and the Cheese-ified take on the ABB classic did not disappoint. The energy and vibes Cheese produced had the lucky crowd that filled the Tabernacle to the point of bursting and the guys from Cheese wisely used that crescendo to take a well-earned set break.

Having played it relatively straight through much of the first set, it was clear that The String Cheese Incident was more than ready to get loose and trippy. The second set-opening “Roll Around The Sun” and “Bumpin’ Reel” pairing clearly reflected that with sky-high organ chords and ascendant psychedelic jams from Kang and keyboard guru Kyle Hollingsworth backed by some stellar beats from the rhythm section of Jason Hann and drummer Michael Travis. Matching that rising energy, the “Outside and Inside” that followed and the proceeding pairing of Weather Report’s “Black Market” and “Tinderbox” urged on the towering work of the foundation-crafting percussive duo.

A neatly fitted “Lands End” into ”Glory Chords” nearly brought the evening to a close but not before Cheese squeezed in its always-welcome takes on Talking Heads fave “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) and Old & In The Way‘s “Midnight Moonlight” to close out the second set and serve as the encore, respectively. The more or less straightforward “Moonlight” helped the star-lost crowd regain their faces and sanity before having to hit the brisk Atlanta streets and get some rest for the fun yet to come.

The String Cheese Incident — “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)” (Talking Heads) — 2/6/25

[Video: whereshaynes]

The String Cheese Incident — “Midnight Moonlight” (Old & In The Way) — 2/6/25

[Video: whereshaynes]

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | The Tabernacle | Atlanta, GA | 2/6/25

Set One: Mrs. Brown’s Teahouse > Mercy Mercy Mercy > Miss Brown’s Teahouse, Black and White > Birdland > Remington Ride > Birdland, Get Tight, Enjoy The Ride, Best Feeling In The World > Exodus (Bob Marley) > Best Feeling In The World > Revival (Allman Brothers Band)
Set Two: Roll Around the Sun, Bumpin’ Reel, Outside and Inside, Black Market (Black Market) > KevMo Jam > Tinderbox, Land’s End > Big Tabernacle Jam > Glory Chords, This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads)
Encore: Midnight Moonlight (Old & In The Way)

Fans who were chomping at the bit to get down were happy to hear Friday night show opener “Can’t Wait Another Day” because it meant their wait was over. With the vaguely Caribbean undertones of “Wait” behind Cheese, it was time to sail on with a sweet treat, “Little Hands” straight into “One Step Closer”. The trio of tunes, aided by Hann’s percussive work, did a wonderful job of evoking a lazy relaxing afternoon on a sun-kissed beach far from the urban metropolis outside The Tab.

The String Cheese Incident — “Can’t Wait Another Day”, “Little Hands” [Pro-Shot] — 2/7/25

Keith Moseley took us laterally to the Southern-themed “Cottonmouth” for a fun dose of Americana before The String Cheese Incident got the funk down for a fun and frisky “Talkin’ About Tonight”. To close the first set, Cheese dished out an evocative “Dirk” before Nershi once again shared the well-worn tale of accidents and lucky breaks that is “Texas”. Speaking of breaks, the instrumental section that String Cheese broke off in the middle of “Texas” was some of the band’s finest work of the night, if not the weekend.

Opening up night two’s second set, the actual center of the entire experience, there was no more fitting song for that moment in time in the Cheese catalog than “Sweet Spot” for a welcome reminder of the zen of life. Cheese began the true back half of the run with a bust out “Valerie” from The Zutons (made famous by Amy Winehouse), ending a nearly six-year gap, much to song seekers and fans in the audience’s delight. Adding to the song’s significance was area resident and regular Suwannee Hulaween Cheese guest Rhonda Thomas who contributed vocals to the set’s first two songs.

A pulsating “All We Got” led into a tasty “I Know You Rider” sandwich with a spicy second Bob Marley cover of the weekend, “Stir It Up”, filling before finishing out the “Rider” in fine style. From there the rest of the set seemed to blow by in far too quick a manner with “Way That It Goes” and a three-fer “Vertigo”, “It Is What It Is”, and “Hi Ho No Show” bringing in a mix of wild lights and high spirits to the packed Tabernacle crowd. After a Nershi-led lesson in the dangers of overindulgence that is “Jellyfish” String Cheese at last relented and sent the crowd home to rest up for round three.

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | The Tabernacle | Atlanta, GA | 2/7/25

Set One: Can’t Wait Another Day, Little Hands > One Step Closer, Cottonmouth, Talkin’ About Tonight, Dirk > Texas
Set Two: Sweet Spot [1], Valerie [1] (The Zutons), All We Got > I Know Your Rider (Traditional) > Stir It Up (Bob Marley) > I Know You Rider, Way That It Goes, Vertigo > It Is What It Is > Hi Ho No Show
Encore: Jellyfish

[1] w/ Rhonda Thomas on vocals

By night three, Cheese was in fine form and needed little introduction from Nershi before launching into “Just One Story”. The second tune of the night was a stellar Kang-led take on The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Lonesome Fiddle Blues” that turned out far more expansive and psychedelic than that well-respected ’70s band ever intended.

The String Cheese Incident — “Just One Story” > “Lonesome Fiddle Blues” (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) [Pro-Shot] — 2/8/25

One of Cheese’s better mid-tempo jams, “Song In My Head”, set the stage for the centerpiece of Saturday’s first set, “Manga”, which was penned in honor of the night’s special guest from Cameroon, bassist Andre Manga. After the special guest departed, String Cheese evoked another special guest, in spirit only, with a go-for-the-gusto cover of Peter Rowan’s “Sweet Melinda”. After an appropriately joyous “Way Back Home” there was time for a last little reprise of set opener “Just One Story” to close out the penultimate musical chapter of the weekend.

Finally, it all came down to one set left to go of the marathon three-night run, and somehow The String Cheese Incident showed no signs of fatigue, though to help rally the troops Nershi led the audience in an always-welcoming “Group Hoot” rallying cry. Once Billy was satisfied, the band and crowd were on the same page as The String Cheese Incident unleashed a pert near “Greatest Hits” set of some of its most renowned tunes including “Born on the Wrong Planet”, “Trip the Light Fantastic”, “Lend Me A Hand”, “Restless Wind”, “Rivertrance”, and “Howard” in a relentless display of the love loop that is embedded in audience’s hearts and the players’ souls.

In that glorious stampede of its musical core tenets, String Cheese managed to slip in some of their more fun touchstones in the sound, Led Zeppelin (“Ramble On”) and Paul Simon ( “Under African Skies”) before finally closing out the night with a note-perfect “Colliding” that somehow put a fitting bow on the three-night display of a band somehow both decades into its storied existence and at the height of its prowess.

The String Cheese Incident — “Ramble On” (Led Zeppelin) [Pro-Shot] — 2/8/25

In thinking of The String Cheese Incident’s beginnings as a Colorado bluegrass act to now, watching this magnificent run of laser-lit musical genre-hopping and boundless energy, it’s astounding to contemplate that the best is likely yet to come for these six friends. That said, it’s safe to say that whatever Cheese has up its collective sleeves for the future is gonna be good and well worth the ride.

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | The Tabernacle | Atlanta, GA | 2/8/25

Set One: Just One Story > Lonesome Fiddle Blues, (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Song in My Head, Manga [1], Sweet Melinda (Peter Rowan) > Way Back Home > Just One Story
Set Two: Group Hoot, Born on the Wrong Planet, Trip the Light Fantastic, Lend Me A Hand > Restless Wind, Ramble On (Led Zeppelin), Rivertrance > Howard
Encore: Under African Skies (Paul Simon)
Encore Two: Colliding

[1] w/ Andre Manga on bass