Progressive jam titans Umphrey’s McGee have just finished up their 11th annual tropical getaway, Dominican Holidaze. Now, all eyes are on the band’s upcoming New Year’s Eve run at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, CO. This year’s three-night run marks the third time that Umphrey’s has brought their New Year’s run to the venue, having brought their NYE festivities to the Fillmore in 2013 and 2015.

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The band’s New Year’s runs are must-see affairs for hardcore Umphrey’s fans, as the band typically delivers standout performances on each night of their run—they are often joined by a horn section, and they tend to book some of the best up-and-comers that supported them on tour throughout the year. The band also uses New Year’s runs to workshop new songs, taking the opportunity to debut new material or showcase material that they’ve been workshopping over the course of the year.

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Back in 2015, “Upward” was still a new-ish song—after its debut at Summer Camp Music Festival in 2014, Umphrey’s performed the song a handful of times on the road and at a few festivals. “Upward” is one big, emotional build towards an eventual climax, and the band quickly learned that it worked coming out of a long piece of improvisation as a landing pad for huge jams with a built-in euphoric peak.

When the band hit Denver in 2015 for their New Year’s run, they dropped a memorable version of “Upward” that capped off an impressive “Robot World” > “Resolution” > “In The Kitchen” second-set opening segment. It cemented the song as one of their brightest new pieces of material, as another impressive arrow in Umphrey’s McGee’s eclectic musical quiver.

In honor of this year’s forthcoming New Year’s run in Denver, Umphrey’s McGee has released a video of this memorable moment from 2015 when the band showed the true potential “Upward”. Check out the video below, and don’t miss Umphrey’s McGee at the Fillmore Auditorium from December 29th through 31st!

To purchase tickets for Umphrey’s McGee’s New Year’s Run, visit the band’s website.

[Photo: Ojeda Photography]