Photo via The String Cheese Incident Twitter

The String Cheese Incident took the stage at Hog Farm Hideaway, at Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville, Calif. on Saturday night with an unexpected guest, Keller Williams. Williams assisted the ensemble through the opening track “Best Feeling,” accompanying the sextet on guitar and vocals before moving to percussion for a rendition of “Can’t Wait Another Day.”

Radio host and emcee Tim Lynch started the night off before SCI’s first set for a toast to Jesse Aratow, the longtime manager and agent of the band, who died tragically last October at 48 years old due to an unexpected illness. Lynch asked the crowd to raise their glasses in honor of Aratow just minutes before The String Cheese Incident took the stage.

The String Cheese Incident kicked the evening off with Keller Williams’ very own “Best Feeling.” The song was featured on Keller’s 1999 album Breathe, which SCI accompanied him on. With Keller leading the band on guitar and vocals, the group took the song for a run – turning in a nearly 20-minute, jammed-out rendition.

The improv-heavy performance of “Best Feeling” melded into “Can’t Wait Another Day,” during which Williams joined Jason Hann on percussion. The String Cheese Incident took the rest of the night solo, starting out with “Angeline the Baker,” a 20-year bust out, which blended into their first cover of Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance” since the band’s Halloween 2019 stay at Waller Creek Amphitheatre in Austin. 

Next up was a rare performance of “Give Me The Love” and a band-favorite “Valley Of The Jig.” The group ended the night by linking together bassist Keith Moseley’s “Joyful Sound” and Kyle Hollingsworth’s new track, “Trip The Light Fantastic.”

The second set was sandwiched between the fan-favorite “Howard,” which flowed into “Colorado Bluebird Sky.” Next up was another Moseley number, “Lend Me a Hand.” The String Cheese Incident then brought forward “Bhangra Saanj,” which was written in collaboration with Beats Antique, and followed up with “All We Got.”

The second set continued with a cover of Tim O’Brien’s “Land’s End,” which segued into the instrumental “Glory Chords.” The band then worked “Close Your Eyes” back into “Howard” to close the night out. For the encore, The String Cheese Incident treated the audience to Bill Nershi’s “Smile.”

The String Cheese Incident will return to the stage on June 23 for three sold-out performances at Electric Forest in Rothbury, Mich. Tickets to their upcoming performances can still be purchased here. In case you missed it, you can watch a pro-shot video of The String Cheese Incident’s performance of “Best Feeling” with Keller Williams now.

The String Cheese Incident

Hog Farm Hideaway – Black Oak Ranch, Laytonville, Calif.

June 11, 2022

Set I: Best Feeling1 > Can’t Wait Another Day2, Angeline The Baker > Don’t It Make You Wanna Dance, Give Me the Love, Valley of the Jig, Joyful Sound > Trip the Light Fantastic

Set II: Howard > Colorado Bluebird Sky, Lend Me A Hand, Bhangra Saanj, All We Got, Land’s End > Glory Chords, Close Your Eyes > Howard

Enc.: Smile

1 – Keller Williams on guitar and vocals2 – Keller Williams on percussion