photos by Kevin Monty

 

On Thursday night, Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers headlined a benefit for the University of Wisconsin’s SuccessWorks program, and the former Grateful Dead collaborator traded sit ins with opener Phil Cook, who was supporting the show with his band The Guitarheels.

After Hornsby guested with Cook during his opening set, Cook returned the favor during The Noisemaker’s performance, sitting in on several tunes, including “Country Doctor,” “End of the Innocence” (which Hornsby co-wrote with Don Henley), “Funhouse” and “Across the Great Divide.”

Hornsby and Cook have collaborated in the past, including at Eaux Claires festival in 2016. Cook also brought his old band DeYarmond Edison (featuring Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and members of Cook’s band Megafaun) back together to record the Grateful Dead’s “Black Muddy River” with Hornsby for The National’s Dead tribute compilation Day of the Dead. DeYarmond Edison and its members have noted that they took inspiration from Hornsby’s work with The Noisemakers.