“Twilight turns to the beating of a drum
Standing flaming silhouettes before the setting sun
When the nighttime comes you'll lay your blanket on the sand
Reach up to the sky and touch the stars with your own hands”
It had been 25 years since The String Cheese Incident last played Western Massachusetts. In the Colorado sextet’s early days – from the mid-90s to 2001 – they were no strangers to the region, playing classic haunts like the Iron Horse and Pearl Street in Northampton as well as installations of the infamous Berkfest farthest west in Lanesborough and Great Barrington. But after an October 2001 appearance at the Mullins Center at UMass Amherst, a long, cheesy silence fell over the 413.
On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, that silence was broken with a jubilant, sold out show at Tree House Brewing Company’s Summer Stage in Deerfield.
There was hula hooping. There was juggling. Patchwork pants and top hats were well represented. Babies toddled across the sprawling lawn alongside heads who’ve followed SCI for over 30 years. Old friends reunited, and new friendships were formed. An air of anticipation settled over the land. An audience long denied their precious Cheese was ready to feast.
In the vibe spectrum of the jam band world, The String Cheese Incident and their chill, inviting fanbase represents a wholesomeness that feels revolutionary in 2026. I’m sure some were getting dark and dirty in Deerfield to enjoy the band’s signature blend of bluegrass, drippy jams, trance, and breezy folk rock tunes, but the prevailing energy was of no worries, appreciation, and connection.
I came into the show after an intense weekend in New York City. I was at both nights of Goose’s Madison Square Garden run, including the Saturday night show where a fan fell to his death during the set break. Like many at the concert – and to say nothing of the deceased’s loved ones – I was left shaken by the tragedy, and stumbling out into a Manhattan in full World Cup swing didn’t offer the kind of quiet I needed to process what had just happened. To take off my Chacos (and say hi to the lovely fellow who sold me those Chacos in Lenox just a couple weeks ago and asked me if I was going to the Cheese show after seeing my Dead tattoo) and stand barefoot on the grass with some of my best friends under a glorious summer sky in my beloved Western Massachusetts was a medicine beyond compare.
Tree House’s Summer Stage is a jewel, and should be on your bucket list for the warm months in Western Mass. Anywhere you choose to sit, dance, meditate, or stroll is the best seat in the house, and the sound is remarkably clear and punchy. On Tuesday, The String Cheese Incident had it locked in. Keith Moseley’s buttery rich bass tone, Kyle Hollingsworth’s deft work on the keys and synths, and Michael Kang’s mandolin/guitar/violin arsenal were driven forward by the powerful rhythms of drummer Michael Travis and percussionist Jason Hann, while Bill Nershi’s acoustic guitar kept the cosmic gumbo of it all rooted in a nice, terrestrial strum. I befriended a longtime Cheese fan from Philly who was in awe of the space, which was a nice boost to my local pride.
With the table set for a good time, SCI proceeded to lay down an absolute heater. Opening with the debut of a new song – “Wild Wide Open Dreams,” a sweet, bouncy tune penned by Hann that immediately felt familiar in the best way – the first set never quit. The sheer consistency of the performance makes it feel cheap to designate highlights, but the “Black Clouds” was certainly a pinnacle as it built up a twangy head of steam that launched the crowd into full-on hippie boogie down mode. One of the best things about SCI is their penchant for identifying unique jams on post-show set breakdowns. It gives each concert a special feel, the sense that the band is truly interpreting their surroundings in real time into something beyond language. The first two of an astonishing four in total came during the first set: The ambient glow and emergent funk theme of “Treehouse Jam” and the bluesy, dubby “Deerfield Jam” that grew into an upbeat bluegrass vamp. Set closer “Bumpin’ Reel” introduced the first touch of electronica to the show, foreshadowing the show’s thrilling fourth quarter.
The second set began with “Desert Dawn,” one of my favorite SCI songs. It has an uplifting, driving quality that feels like ripping down a highway without a cop in sight on a clear day in the Mojave. What followed was pure magic. As a massive, sweeping sunset filled the Western Mass sky above, the band responded with the third unique jam of the night- the appropriately titled “Sunset Jam.” The celestial display being translated into music before our very ears was truly what this whole improvisational rock thing is all about, and The String Cheese Incident made it look easy. The whole set continued to soar from there, including a crowd singalong of the beloved “Barstool,” the fusion-y, Santana energy of “Sand Dollar,” a deep dive into the trancey depths of “Eye Know Why,” the smokey, snaky groove of “Western Mass Jam” - the last of the unique jam quartet - and finally a return to “Desert Dawn” to finish the full-set sandwich with an explosion of energy.
The encore of “Sitting On Top Of The World” was the perfect pick – a jaunty, century-old standard that’s perfect for the credits rolling after a long, deep Cheese experience. It was also appropriate given that the band had just played a statement show and reestablished jam dominance over Western Mass after a quarter century away. The celebration was shared by the Cheesemen and crowd alike with great enthusiasm.
Listen, sometimes you’re on a lawn with your friends in the summer and The String Cheese Incident is playing and everything is just wonderful and joyful. I don’t make the rules.
The MVP of the night had to be Kang. The tone he has going for his electric guitar/mandolin is just gorgeous, reminiscent of Jerry Garcia’s late-career combination of crystalline shimmer with a dosed drippiness that makes you feel like you’re lounging on a cloud. He’s also capable of getting gritty and smearing alien textures over the band’s rock solid foundation. I’m now wondering why we don’t talk about Kang constantly. The guy just doesn’t miss.
I’ve dipped my toes into SCI’s run leading up to this show, and it seems like the band is in full knockout mode this summer. They’ve been seasoning the pan for three-plus decades, and, wow, if it doesn’t make for some good grub in 2026. Don’t miss ’em, folks.
