Following an electric, guest-filled run at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado jamgrass veterans The String Cheese Incident completed a triumphant victory lap around the Rocky Mountains with shows in Vail and Grand Junction.

The Colorado conquest began with SCI’s annual visit to Morrison, where the band returned to the legendary Red Rocks stage with support from The Wood Brothers on Friday, July 18th and Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country the following night. Each night featured predominantly original material, highlighting SCI’s vast catalog, along with inspired improvisation underscoring the band’s elevated position in the jam band pantheon. It was the nightly onstage collaborations, however, that left fans buzzing.

The String Cheese Incident – “Carnival” – 7/18/25

The String Cheese Incident – “Howard” – 7/19/25

Friday’s kickoff witnessed a memorable sit-in at the start of set two, as The Wood Brothers returned to the stage to join in on a cover The Band‘s “Ophelia”. The roots rock cut highlighted SCI’s impressive stylistic versatility, which showed again on Saturday when cosmic country cowboy Daniel Donato sat in on The Allman Brothers Band‘s Southern rock staple “Blue Sky”. The cover culminated with a fiery exchange between Donato and Michael Kang, who traded licks before ultimately harmonizing in a soulful homage to the ABB.

The String Cheese Incident With Daniel Donato – “Blue Sky” (The Allman Brothers Band) – 7/19/25

The String Cheese Incident — Red Rocks Amphitheatre — Morrison, CO — 7/18/25 — Full Audio

[Audio: frasca]

The String Cheese Incident — Red Rocks Amphitheatre — Morrison, CO — 7/19/25 — Full Audio

[Audio: frasca]

A few weeks off gave The String Cheese Incident time to refuel before continuing the Colorado run at Vail’s Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater. The two-night stand kicked off Friday, August 8th with the geographically appropriate “Colorado Bluebird Sky”, which flowed directly into a swirling, improvised “Vail Jam” that ultimately unfolded into “Close Your Eyes”. Another seamless segue bridged “Sometimes a River” into a second ABB cover, “Revival”, which flowed nicely into a set-closing “Rivertrance”, keeping with the river theme.

For set two, SCI dug up the Grateful Dead‘s “Brown-Eyed Women” for the first time since Hulaween before stacking “Come As You Are”, “Jellyfish”, and “Colliding” up like a rich and satisfying, jam-filled layer cake. A three-song encore once again demonstrated the band’s stylistic range, combining Bob Marley‘s reggae classic “Could You Be Loved” with “The Remington Ride” and The Stanley Brothers‘ bluegrass standard “How Mountain Girls Can Love” (which Billy Strings coincidentally covered on the same night during his summer tour opener in Milwaukee).

Night two in Vail saw SCI warm up with “Sweet Spot” and amp up the crowd with a “Group Hoot” before delving into covers of “I Saw the Light” and “Midnight Moonlight”. Somewhat surprisingly, the band reprised “Colorado Bluebird Sky” for the second night in a row and then returned to the Grateful Dead repertoire to retrieve the traditional “Cold Rain and Snow”. “Let’s Go Outside” provided a fitting close to SCI’s two-night stay at the outdoor shed.

Finally, on Sunday, The String Cheese Incident finished its homecoming trek at Grand Junction’s Amphitheater at Las Colonias Park. After sneaking Tom Petty‘s “You Wreck Me” into the first set alongside yet another Allman Brothers cover (“Jessica”), the band emphasized its wide array of influences once more by inserting a cover of Vassar Clements‘ “Lonesome Fiddle Blues” into Weather Report‘s jazz fusion masterpiece “Birdland”.

The String Cheese Incident — Amphitheater At Las Colonias Park — Grand Junction, CO — 8/10/25 — Full Audio

[Audio: barrettphisher]

Spanning three cities and numerous genres, SCI’s Colorado run proved once again why the band remains a cornerstone of the jamgrass scene. Even within the eclectic world of genre-blurring jam bands, few acts could so seamlessly shift between styles while maintaining their signature sound. It’s no wonder why, after more than 30 years, The String Cheese Incident continues to draw devoted fans back night after night and inspire new generations of musicians.

Click below to view photos from The String Cheese Incident at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail, CO courtesy of David Gray.

Next up, the band will head to the Midwest before working its way down the West Coast. Find a full list of tour dates and secure your tickets here. The entire tour is also available to stream live and on demand via nugs. [Editor’s note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your subscription via the links on this page helps to support our work covering the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]

The String Cheese Incident – “Restless Wind”, “Get Tight” – 7/19/25

The String Cheese Incident – “Rivertrance” – 8/8/25

The String Cheese Incident – “Sweet Spot” – 8/9/25

The String Cheese Incident – “Song In My Head” – 8/10/25

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | Red Rocks Amphitheater | Morrison, CO |  7/18/25
Set 1: Rosie > Black Clouds, Can’t Wait Another Day, Way Back When, Water, Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan), Eye Know Why, All We Got
Set 2: Desert Dawn > Ophelia (The Band) [1], Desert Dawn, Carnival, Group Hoot, Roll Around the Sun, Smile (Billy & Liza) > Joyful Sound > I Know You Rider (Traditional) > Swamp > Desert Dawn
Encore: Swingtown (Steve Miller Band), Valley of the Jig
[1] With The Wood Brothers.

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | Red Rocks Amphitheater | Morrison, CO |  7/19/25
Set 1: Restless Wind, Get Tight, Solution, Born on the Wrong Planet, 45th of November, Outside and Inside, The Ocean (Led Zeppelin), Rosie, Big Reveal
Set 2: Blue Sky (The Allman Brothers Band) [1], Rollover, One Step Closer, Texas Town, Sirens, Howard, Hi Ho No Show
Encore: This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads)
[1] With Daniel Donato.

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater | Vail, CO | 8/8/25
Set 1: Colorado Bluebird Sky > Vail Jam > Close Your Eyes, Talkin’ About Tonight, Bhangra Saanj, Sometimes a River > Revival (The Allman Brothers Band) > Rivertrance
Set 2: I Will Follow You, Best Feeling (Keller Williams with The String Cheese Incident) > Shantytown (Billy & Liza), Brown-Eyed Women (Grateful Dead), Come As You Are > Jellyfish > Colliding
Encore: Could You Be Loved (Bob Marley & The Wailers) > The Remington Ride > How Mountain Girls Can Love (The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys)

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater | Vail, CO | 8/9/25
Set 1: Sweet Spot, Little Hands, Turn This Around, Group Hoot, I Saw the Light (Hank Williams With His Drifting Cowboys), Midnight Moonlight (Old & In the Way), On the Road, Trip the Light Fantastic
Set 2: Shine, Lend Me a Hand, Colorado Bluebird Sky, Cold Rain and Snow (Traditional), Valley of the Jig, Don’t Say (Kyle Hollingsworth), Just One Story
Encore: Let’s Go Outside

Setlist: The String Cheese Incident | Amphitheater At Las Colonias Park | Grand Junction, CO | 8/10/25
Set 1: Song in My Head, Black and White, Eventually, Enjoy the Ride, You Wreck Me (Tom Petty), Jessica (The Allman Brothers Band), Round the Wheel, Bumpin’ Reel
Set 2: Can’t Wait Another Day, Sirens, Birdland > Lonesome Fiddle Blues (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) > Birdland (Weather Report), Unknown, Hi Ho No Show
Encore: Space Cowboy (Steve Miller Band)