Dave Matthews Band<\/a> wrapped up a two-night run at Saratoga Springs, NY\u2019s famed Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Saturday. Their performances at the scenic space were not only their 50th and 51st headlining shows at SPAC but they also marked\u00a0the 30th anniversary of their first full-show appearance at the venue, after making their debut there in 1994 as part of the H.O.R.D.E. tour.\u00a0Before taking the stage, the members of DMB received a plaque commemorating the occasion. <\/p>\nTwo threads running throughout Dave Matthews Band\u2019s summer tour have been song revivals and guest fiddlers and both\u00a0of those\u00a0themes collided at SPAC this weekend. On Friday, Dave Matthews Band performed \u201cBeach Ball\u201d as a full-band number for the first time since February 28, 2020, though Matthews did offer the song\u2014an outtake from 2009\u2019s\u00a0Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King sessions that was issued on the album\u2019s\u00a0\u201dLittle Red Bird\u201d bonus disc as part of a deluxe edition\u2014as a solo number this past June. Then, near the last third of the concert, fiddler\u00a0Jake\u00a0Renick\u00a0Simpson emerged for \u201cCaptain,\u201d \u201cRooftop,\u201d \u201cSeek Up,\u201d a segue from \u201cBig Eyed Fish\u201d into \u201cBartender,\u201d \u201cGrey Street\u201d and a run from \u201cPig\u201d into a set-closing \u201cAnts Marching.\u201d After Matthews kicked off the encore with \u201cMaking It Great\u201d in his traditional solo spot, Simpson returned with the rest of the band for an extended \u201cLie in Our Graves\u201d that wove in an interpolation of Eric Clapton\u2019s \u201cWonderful Tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The surprises continued on Saturday. Nine songs into the evening, DMB revived the Away from the World track \u201cIf Only\u2019 for the first time since November 18, 2022, marking the first time Matthews has tried out the tune in any format since then. The single was played with some frequency from 2012-2017 and enjoyed a brief revival in 2021-2022 after COVID, but \u201cIf Only\u201d has long since fallen out of rotation. A bit later, Simpson returned for another extended spot with the group,\u00a0augmenting the core combo on a cross-catalog mix of numbers like \u201cBroken Things,\u201d \u201cThe Song That Jane Likes,\u201d \u201cDreamgirl,\u201d \u201cCrush,\u201d \u00a0\u201cDrunken Soldier,\u201d \u201cWarehouse\u201d and the show\u2019s climax, a version of \u201cPantala Naga Pampa\u201d that moved into the oft-requested \u201cHalloween.\u201d Adding to the excitement, Matthews broke a string on the latter selection. The fiddler returned one final time after Matthews offered the new song \u201cPeace on Earth\u201d at the top of his encore, helping DMB close their weekend at SPAC with \u201cTwo Step.\u201d \u00a0Matthews also got political both nights, calling out the current administration from the stage and saying he is \u201csick\u201d of President Trump and his actions. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Simpson, who is best known for his work with Lukas Nelson, first sat in with Matthews last August and has joined him 13 additional times since then, including at seven shows in 2026. Dave Matthews Band will return to Wantagh, NY\u2019s Jones Beach Theater this Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at this weekend\u2019s setlists via Dave Matthews Band\u2019s Facebook page <\/p>\n
Friday, July 17, Albany Med Health System At SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY<\/p>\n
Louisiana Bayou<\/p>\n
So Much To Say >><\/p>\n
Anyone Seen The Bridge >><\/p>\n
Too Much<\/p>\n
The Only Thing<\/p>\n
Beach Ball<\/p>\n
I Did It<\/p>\n
Come Tomorrow<\/p>\n
Madman\u2019s Eyes<\/p>\n
Fool In The Rain<\/p>\n
Captain *<\/p>\n
Rooftop *<\/p>\n
Seek Up *<\/p>\n
Big Eyed Fish * >><\/p>\n
Bartender *<\/p>\n
Grey Street *<\/p>\n
Pig * >><\/p>\n
Ants Marching *<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
Making It Great +<\/p>\n
Lie In Our Graves *<\/p>\n
* Jake Simpson<\/p>\n
Saturday, July 18, Albany Med Health System At SPAC, Saratoga Springs, NY<\/p>\n
Granny<\/p>\n
Dancing Nancies<\/p>\n
Sweet Up and Down<\/p>\n
Joy Ride<\/p>\n
#41<\/p>\n
(Improv)<\/p>\n
Stay Or Leave<\/p>\n
She<\/p>\n
You Might Die Trying<\/p>\n
If Only<\/p>\n
All Along The Watchtower<\/p>\n
Broken Things *<\/p>\n
The Song That Jane Likes *<\/p>\n
Dreamgirl *<\/p>\n
Crush *<\/p>\n
Drunken Soldier *<\/p>\n
Warehouse *<\/p>\n
Pantala Naga Pampa * >><\/p>\n
Halloween *<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-<\/p>\n
Peace On Earth +<\/p>\n
Two Step *<\/p>\n
* Jake Simpson<\/p>\n
+ Dave Solo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Sanjay Suchak via Dave Matthews Band\u2019s Facebook page. Dave Matthews Band wrapped up a two-night run…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":774107,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216],"class_list":["post-774106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/774107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}