On Saturday night, Umphrey’s McGee offered up their second Red Rocks Amphitheatre performance of the weekend with help from Brooklyn-based funk outfit Turkuaz.

Umphrey’s McGee opened up their first set with “Unsung Hero”, a new original that the band recently debuted at Summer Camp Music Festival. “Unsung Hero” smoothly transitioned into “Andy’s Last Beer”, with Brendan Bayliss and Joel Cummins sharing the vocal lead. Jake Cinninger fired off some smoking hot guitar licks, backed by his hard-hitting rhythm section consisting of Ryan Stasik, Kris Myers, and Andy Farag. The sextet moved forward with a pairing of “Made To Measure” into “Crucial Taunt”, highlighted by some exploratory interplay between Bayliss and Cinninger.

Umphrey’s continued on with “Half Delayed”, which crashed into an explosive “Utopian Fir”. The band gave the Red Rocks crowd a taste of what’s yet to come during their special Sunday night Led Zeppelin set with guest drummer Jason Bonham, as the rockers teased “Fool In The Rain” in the midst of “Utopian Fir”. Following “The Fuzz”, Umphrey’s invited up the Turkuaz horn section—comprised of Christopher Brouwers, Greg Sanderson, and Joshua Schwartz—for “Comma Later”.  With the horns staying put and Turkuaz vocalists Shira Elias and Sammi Garett joining the mix, Umphrey’s McGee brought their first set to a close with a rousing rendition of The Beatles‘ “With A Little Help From My Friends”, last played on December 31st, 2008, a gap of 1088 shows. The song was dedicated to Jeff Austin who canceled a handful of upcoming shows on Saturday due to a medical emergency.

Following a brief setbreak, Umphrey’s returned to open up their second set with “Attachments”, which smoothly coasted into an improv-heavy take on “2×2”. With Myers and Farag laying down the foundation, Cinninger took the reigns and dazzled the crowd with a series of red-hot solos. The band continued on with “Day Nurse” and “40’s Theme” before the Turkuaz horn section returned to add their special touch on “Example 1”. Identically to the set-one closer, Umphrey’s welcomed Elias and Garett to close out the second set with a debut cover of Al Green‘s “Take Me To The River”, a song that was later recorded and popularized by the Talking Heads. Umphrey’s offered up a lone encore of “Remind Me”, off of their 2018 it’s not us studio release.

Umphrey’s McGee ft. Shira Elias, Sammi Garett, & Turkuaz horns – “Take Me To The River”

[Video: Ronknows]

Check out a beautiful gallery of photos from Saturday night’s show below courtesy of photographer Andrew Rios.

Umphrey’s McGee will wrap their Red Rocks weekend tonight, Sunday, June 23rd, with three sets, including a special Led Zeppelin set with guest drummer Jason Bonham. As with Friday and Saturday’s shows, the performance will be webcast via TourGigs. For more information on Umphrey’s McGee’s upcoming shows, head to the band’s website here.

Setlist: Umphrey’s McGee | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO | 6/22/2019

Set One: Unsung Hero > Andy’s Last Beer, Made to Measure > Crucial Taunt, Half Delayed > Utopian Fir[1] > The Fuzz > Glory, Comma Later[2], With a Little Help from My Friends[3]

Set Two: Attachments > 2×2, Day Nurse > 40’s Theme, Example 1[2], Take Me To the River[4]

Encore: Remind Me

[1] with Fool In the Rain (Led Zeppelin) tease
[2] with Christopher Brouwers on trumpet, and Greg Sanderson and Joshua Schwartz on saxophones
[3] with Shira Elias and Sammi Garett on vocals, Brouwers on trumpet, and Sanderson and Schwartz on saxophones
[4] debut, Talking Heads (Al Green); with Elias and Garett on vocals, Brouwers on trumpet, and Sanderson and Schwartz on saxophones

Notes: last With a Little Help from My Friends 12.31.2008 (1,088 shows); played for Jeff