Six months after debuting on the summer solstice at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Toy Factory Project—the all-star tribute to Southern rock pioneers The Marshall Tucker Band—has shared pro-shot video from the group’s first public performance.
Named in honor of MTB co-founder Toy Caldwell, who passed away in 1993, Toy Factory Project features Southern rock torchbearers Marcus King and Blackberry Smoke frontman Charlie Starr at the helm, along with Dead & Company bassist Oteil Burbridge, multi-instrumentalist Josh Shilling of Mountain Heart, fiddle virtuoso Billy Contreras, and original Marshall Tucker Band drummer Paul T. Riddle.
The band’s debut performance drew primarily from The Marshall Tucker Band’s classic mid-1970s catalog, from the Southern rock anthem “Can’t You See” to the spiritually charged “Searchin’ for a Rainbow”, plus fan favorites like “This Ol’ Cowboy”, which featured special guest Béla Fleck on banjo, and “24 Hours at a Time”. Fleck returned to the stage along with mandolin virtuoso and new grass trailblazer Sam Bush for “Long Hard Ride” and sat in on “Blue Ridge Mountain Sky” toward the end of the set.
The only departure from the MTB songbook was a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Fire on the Mountain”, which the band cleverly paired with Marshall Tucker Band’s song of the same name. Oteil sang lead vocals while receiving supplemental oxygen to offset the effects of Telluride’s high elevation.
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The band shared two songs from the set to the Toy Factory Project YouTube channel. The first, “In My Own Way”, was released in 1974 on MTB’s double album Where We All Belong, which included both a studio album and a live album. The second, “Take the Highway”, opened the band’s self-titled debut, released in 1973, and capped the Telluride set, following the band’s most famous song, “Can’t You See”.
In celebration of the winter solstice, Telluride Bluegrass Festival also premiered the full set along with a full set from Punch Brothers. The Toy Factory Project set starts about one hour and 34 minutes into the video. Check out all three videos below, and scroll down to view the full setlist.
Toy Factory Project recently announced plans to reunite for a pair of shows at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY, on February 26th and 27th, 2026. Tickets are on sale now.
Toy Factory Project – “In My Own Way” (The Marshall Tucker Band) – 6/21/25
Toy Factory Project – “Take The Highway” (The Marshall Tucker Band) – 6/21/25
Toy Factory Project – Telluride Bluegrass Festival – Town Park – Telluride, CO – 6/21/25
Setlist: Toy Factory Project | Telluride Bluegrass Festival | Town Park | Telluride, CO | 6/21/25
Running Like the Wind (The Marshall Tucker Band), 24 Hours at a Time (The Marshall Tucker Band), Fire on the Mountain (The Marshall Tucker Band), Fire on the Mountain (Grateful Dead), This Ol’ Cowboy (The Marshall Tucker Band) [1], Searchin’ for a Rainbow (The Marshall Tucker Band), Long Hard Ride (The Marshall Tucker Band) [2], In My Own Way (The Marshall Tucker Band), Blue Ridge Mountain Sky (The Marshall Tucker Band) [1], Can’t You See (The Marshall Tucker Band), Take the Highway (The Marshall Tucker Band)
[1] with Béla Fleck
[2] with Béla Fleck & Sam Bush