The BIG Summer Classic kicked off this weekend with a pair of performances at Morrison, COs Red Rocks Amphitheater. Each night the traveling-festivals headliners, the String Cheese Incident, invited a handful of its tourmates onstage during the encore portion of its set. Saturday night, Keller Williams added guitar and vocals to Fuel for the Road, Alligator Alley, Freeker By the Speaker and Will it Go ‘Round in Circles. Umphreys McGee members Jake Cinninger, Joel Cummins and Andy Farag also joined in the fun for the later two-numbers. A night later, Yonder Mountain String Bands Dave Johnston and Jeff Austin, along with New Monsoons Brian Carey and Marty Ylitalo, enhanced Born on the Wrong Planet and I Know You Rider. String Cheese Incident also debuted another new track from its recent studio album, One Step Closer, the John Barlow collaboration Give me the Love.
String Cheese Incidents sets capped off a busy day of collaborations. Saturday Keller Williams invited Umphreys McGees Brendan Bayliss onstage for a version of Tenacious Ds Kielbasa Sausage, inviting Yonder Mountain String Bands Jeff Austin and Ben Coffman onstage for a version of Crater a night later. Umphreys McGee has remained guest-free so far, but did earn an asterisk by riffing on Another Brick in the Wall during Jimmy Stewart at roughly the same time Pink Floyd reunited at Live 8. Spearhead also buffed up its weekend performance by inviting a number of dancers onstage throughout its set. The BIG Summer Classic will continue tomorrow at Milwaukee, WI Summerfest.