Dave Matthews & Friends is an American

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational "jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...

that was put together for a tour to support Dave Matthews' solo debut, ''

Some Devil ''Some Devil'' is the only studio album by musician Dave Matthews. It was released on September 23, 2003 on RCA Records. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA, signifying over a million copies sold. The album features several guest musici ...

''. Most of the musicians participated in the album's production. The band consists of: * Dave Matthews –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Trey Anastasio Ernest Joseph "Trey" Anastasio III (born September 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Phish, which he co-founded in 1983. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish o ...

–

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Tim Reynolds Tim Reynolds (born 15 December 1957) is an American guitarist and multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as a lead guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band. AllMusic critic MacKenzie Wilson has called Reynolds "an under-rated master". ...

–

* Tony Hall –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Brady Blade Brady L Blade Jr. (born 1965 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American rock, pop and country drummer, record producer and composer, who currently resides in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the son of Dorothy and Pastor Brady Blade Sr. (Pastor of the ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Ray Paczkowski –

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

History

Several members of the band have long histories playing together. Matthews and Reynolds met in the 1980s at Miller's in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where Matthews was a bartender and Reynolds and his band TR3 played on a regular basis. Matthews and Anastasio first played together on February 5, 1993 at Warren Haynes's Ritz Power Jam, where DMB, Haynes, Anastasio, and

John Popper John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter, known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band Blues Traveler. Early life John Popper was born in Chardon, Ohio. His father was a Hungarian immig ...

performed "

All Along the Watchtower "All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, ''John Wesley Harding'' (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original vers ...

" together. Paczkowski and Anastasio met in

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and have been playing together in Anastasio's various solo projects since 2001. Tony Hall later joined Anastasio's solo band,

Trey Anastasio Band Since 1998, Trey Anastasio, best known from Phish, has toured and recorded with several backing musicians, including several side-projects organized and led by the guitarist and composer. Fans commonly referred to them as Trey Anastasio Band, o ...

(formerly

70 Volt Parade 70 Volt Parade was Trey Anastasio's backing band in 2005, formed after the breakup of Phish in August of the previous year. After writing and recording new material in late 2004 and early 2005, Anastasio began auditioning various musicians for h ...

), in 2005. The band came together as guests on Matthews' debut solo album, ''

'', and, after its release, went on a 12-stop tour in the winter of 2003 and 2004. The band made its public debut as the musical guest on the November 8, 2003, edition of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', performing "Save Me" and "So Damn Lucky". Dave Matthews & Friends have also performed at the

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

music and arts festival on June 11, 2004, the

Vegoose Vegoose was an annual Halloween music and arts festival that took place in 2005, 2006, and 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike the Bonnaroo Music Festival — put on by the same organizers, Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment — Vegoose do ...

music and arts festival on October 29, 2005, and also headlined a 3-day cruise in February 2006

Music

The live shows of Dave Matthews & Friends consist of two to three different segments. #Most shows open with just Dave Matthews and

on acoustic guitars, playing

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known by the initials DMB) is an American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991. The band's founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer and bac ...

songs, similar to their past acoustic tours together. This is followed by an Intermission. #The majority of the performance (after intermission) has the full band playing songs from ''

'', as well as some cover tunes, including Paul Simon's "

American Tune "American Tune" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the third single from his third studio album, ''There Goes Rhymin' Simon'' (1973), released on Columbia Records. The song, a meditation on the American experience, ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

's "

Solsbury Hill Little Solsbury Hill (more commonly known as Solsbury Hill) is a small flat-topped hill and the site of an Iron Age hill fort, above the village of Batheaston in Somerset, England. The hill rises to above the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon ...

", and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

's "

Fool in the Rain "Fool in the Rain" is the third song on Led Zeppelin's 1979 album ''In Through the Out Door''. It was the last single released in the US before they formally disbanded in 1980. The song reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' H ...

". One particular song the band has embraced, "Sweet Up and Down", was from the unreleased ''

Lillywhite Sessions ''The Lillywhite Sessions'' (tLWS) is a collection of songs recorded by Dave Matthews Band in 1999 and 2000 and produced by Steve Lillywhite. The songs, recorded by the band as a follow-up to their 1998 album '' Before These Crowded Streets'', w ...

'' that was only played a few times by DMB early in their 2000 tour, and was not among the majority of the sessions' songs re-recorded for 2002's ''

Busted Stuff ''Busted Stuff'' is the fifth studio album by Dave Matthews Band, released on July 16, 2002 by RCA Records. Produced by Stephen Harris, it was the band's second album not to feature longtime producer Steve Lillywhite. Nine of the album's eleven ...

''. During the Dave Matthews Band 2007 Summer Tour, "Sweet Up and Down" returned to full band rotation after being played by Dave & Friends. #The third segment, not done at every performance, features Dave Matthews and

on acoustic guitars, with Matthews playing a DMB song (usually "

Everyday Everyday or Every Day may refer to: Books * ''Every Day'' (novel), by David Levithan, 2012 Film * ''Every Day'' (2010 film), an American comedy-drama starring Liev Schreiber and Helen Hunt * ''Everyday'' (film), a 2012 British drama direct ...

") and Anastasio performing a

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

song (usually "

Bathtub Gin Bathtub gin refers to any style of homemade spirit made in amateur conditions. The term first appeared in 1920, in the Prohibition, prohibition-era United States, in reference to the poor-quality alcohol that was being made. As gin was the predom ...

"), with the two singers singing verses from each other's songs. Sometimes, this segment also included a performance of the Phish song "

Waste Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste prod ...

," which Matthews had previously covered during his solo encore spot at DMB's performances.

Tour Dates

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dave Matthews and Friends Dave Matthews