{"id":193189,"date":"2025-09-02T04:13:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T04:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/193189\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T04:13:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T04:13:12","slug":"dave-matthews-band-welcomes-gooses-rick-mitarotonda-bela-fleck-more-at-the-gorge-photos-videos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/193189\/","title":{"rendered":"Dave Matthews Band Welcomes Goose’s Rick Mitarotonda, B\u00e9la Fleck, More At The Gorge [Photos\/Videos]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dave Matthews Band<\/strong> returned to The Gorge Amphitheatre<\/strong> to cap off the group\u2019s summer tour with its annual three-day, guest-filled Labor Day Weekend run at the scenic venue on the banks of the Columbia River. Each night featured surprises and collaborations, including sit-ins from Goose<\/strong>\u2018s Rick Mitarotonda<\/strong>, newgrass banjo virtuoso B\u00e9la Fleck<\/strong>, and nightly appearances by Jake Renick Simpson<\/strong> (The Lil Smokies) on fiddle, plus DMB\u2019s first-ever full-album performance.<\/p>\n

The weekend kicked off on Friday with opening sets from Memphis-bred family soul blues band Southern Avenue<\/strong>\u00a0and Icelandic blues outfit\u00a0KALEO<\/strong>. DMB then welcomed fans with an 18+ minute \u201cSeek Up\u201d opener and proceeded to break out \u201cBreak Free\u201d for the first time since last year\u2019s visit to The Gorge and dust off \u201cI Did It\u201d for the first time in a decade.<\/p>\n

The first guest sit-in arrived toward the end of the night, with Jake Renick Simpson joining in on \u201cLie in Our Graves\u201d and \u201cAnts Marching\u201d, reviving the fiddle-heavy sound that defined both songs until Boyd Tinsley<\/strong>\u2018s departure from DMB in 2018. Night one finished on a high note with a triumphant \u201cTwo Step\u201d in the encore slot.<\/p>\n

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Night two featured support from husband-and-wife folk duo\u00a0Oskar & Julia<\/strong>\u00a0and frequent DMB collaborators B\u00e9la Fleck & The Flecktones<\/strong>, who finished their first run of headlining shows since 2023 the night before in Portland, OR. DMB then took the stage and opened with a cover of Bob Dylan<\/strong>\u2018s \u201cAll Along the Watchtower\u201d and \u201cYou Never Know\u201d before welcoming crew member Joe Lawlor<\/strong>\u2014who recently got called up to sit in at the band\u2019s first show in Richmond, VA since the \u201990s<\/a>\u2014to play guitar on \u201cCornbread\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bluegrass fusion pioneers B\u00e9la Fleck & the Flecktones\u2014a group that at one time featured DMB multi-instrumentalist Jeff Coffin<\/strong>\u2014then returned to the stage to add their unique instrumentation during \u201c#41\u201d, with Fleck on banjo, Victor Wooten<\/strong> on bass, Reggie \u201cFuture Man\u201d Wooten<\/strong> on his one-of-a-kind drumitar, and Howard Levy<\/strong> on harmonica.<\/p>\n

Dave Matthews Band With B\u00e9la Fleck & The Flecktones \u2013 \u201c#41\u201d \u2013 8\/30\/25<\/strong>
[Video: Ansley .Snapp<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Immediately following the Flecktones\u2019 sit-in, Dave Matthews Band surprised fans with its first-ever full-album recreation, performing Before These Crowded Streets in full without interruption. B\u00e9la Fleck returned again to add banjo on \u201cThe Last Stop\u201d and a powerful \u201cDon\u2019t Drink the Water\u201d, and then for a third time to help finish the album off with \u201cSpoon\u201d alongside Jake Renick Simpson (who also sat in on \u201cPig\u201d). Both guests stuck around for \u201cSatellite\u201d, and Simpson helped close the main set with \u201cTripping Billies\u201d before Dave capped the Saturday show with a solo cover of Tex Ritter<\/strong>\u2018s \u201cRye Whiskey\u201d and a full-band rendition of \u201cWhat Would You Say\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s grand finale opened with a set from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert bandleader Louis Cato<\/strong> and was the most highly anticipated night of the run among jam aficionados thanks to the evening\u2019s other support act, a little band called Goose. In a landmark year for the Connecticut indie-jam quartet\u2014which has already seen the band release two studio albums and make its headlining debuts at Madison Square Garden<\/strong> and\u00a0Jazz Fest<\/strong>\u2014opening for Dave Matthews Band at The Gorge was more than just another notch in its belt. Guitarist\/vocalist Rick Mitarotonda<\/strong> has often cited Dave Matthews as his first major influence, having been turned on to DMB by his older sister. That history made it all the more special when DMB called him up to sit in on Daniel Lanois<\/strong>\u2018 \u201cThe Maker\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dave Matthews Band With Rick Mitarotonda \u2013 \u201cThe Maker\u201d (Daniel Lanois) \u2013 8\/31\/25<\/strong>
[Video: Recreate Magazine<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Other Sunday highlights included the first \u201cAmerican Baby\u201d in over a decade, another appearance from Jake Renick Simpson, and a trio version of \u201cKill the Preacher\u201d featuring only Dave, drummer Carter Beauford<\/strong>, and guitarist Tim Reynolds<\/strong>. Matthews started the encore with his new song, \u201cPeace on Earth\u201d, once again taking the stage solo before inviting the full band back out to close out the weekend and the tour with a \u201cLie in Our Graves\u201d reprise and \u201cThe Best of What\u2019s Around\u201d.<\/p>\n

Click below to check out fan-shot video highlights from Dave Matthews Band\u2019s Labor Day Weekend run at The Gorge Amphitheatre.<\/p>\n

The three-night run marked the band\u2019s final shows of 2025, but Dave and Tim are scheduled to perform at Farm Aid<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0alongside\u00a0Willie Nelson & Family<\/strong>,\u00a0Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts<\/strong>,\u00a0John Mellencamp<\/strong>, and\u00a0Margo Price<\/strong>\u00a0on September 20th and host their annual destination festival in Cancun, Mexico on January 21st\u201324th, 2026. Find more information and tickets\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dave Matthews Band \u2013 \u201cSeek Up\u201d \u2013 8\/29\/25<\/strong>
[Video: Drea B<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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Setlist: Dave Matthews Band | The Gorge Amphitheatre | George, WA | 8\/29\/25<\/strong>
Set: Seek Up, The Song That Jane Likes, Big Eyed Fish, Bartender, Drive In, Drive Out, Say Goodbye, Break Free [1], So Much to Say > Anyone Seen the Bridge > Word Up! (Cameo), Lover Lay Down, I Did It [2], Dancing Nancies, Lie in Our Graves [3], Ants Marching [3], Gravedigger, Everyday, Joyride, So Right
Encore: Some Devil, Two Step [4]
[1] Tour debut
[2] First performance since 2015
[3] with Jake Renick Simpson on fiddle
[4] with Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Bach) and Time Bomb intros<\/p>\n

Setlist: Dave Matthews Band | The Gorge Amphitheatre | George, WA | 8\/30\/25
<\/strong>Set: All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan), You Never Know, Cornbread [1], It Could Happen, #41 [2], Before These Crowded Streets: Pantala Naga Pampa, Rapunzel, The Last Stop [3], Don\u2019t Drink the Water [3], Stay (Wasting Time), Halloween, The Stone, Crush, The Dreaming Tree, Pig [4], Spoon [3][4], Satellite [3][4], Tripping Billies [4]
Encore: Rye Whiskey (Tex Ritter) [5], What Would You Say
[1] with Joe Lawlor
[2] with B\u00e9la Fleck and the Flecktones
[3] with B\u00e9la Fleck
[4] with Jake Renick Simpson on fiddle
[5] Dave solo
Note: First time DMB has performed a complete album (Before These Crowded Streets) uninterrupted at a show.<\/p>\n

Setlist: Dave Matthews Band | The Gorge Amphitheatre | George, WA | 8\/31\/25
<\/strong>Set: Drunken Soldier, Hunger for the Great Light, Loving Wings [1], Walk Around the Moon, Minarets [2], The Maker (Daniel Lanois) [3], Shotgun, Jimi Thing, So Damn Lucky [4], Lying in the Hands of God > American Baby Intro > American Baby [5], Mercy [6], Grace Is Gone [7], Warehouse [7][8], Typical Situation [8], Kill the Preacher [9], Why I Am, Grey Street [10]
Encore: Peace on Earth [11], Lie in Our Graves (Reprise), The Best of What\u2019s Around
[1] Tim on acoustic
[2] Dave scat intro
[3] with Rick Mitarotonda
[4] with Thank You (For Letting Me Be Myself Again) interpolation
[5] last time played 5\/30\/14 \u2014 650 shows
[6] last time played by full band 3\/6\/19 \u2014 390 shows
[7] with Jake Renick Simpson
[8] improv and stop-time intros
[8] Tim on acoustic guitar
[9] Dave, Carter, and Tim only
[10] Dave changed guitars halfway through verse 1
[11] Dave solo<\/p>\n

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