Photo Credit: Wesley Hodges

On Saturday night, Oct. 29, The String Cheese Incident appeared on stage at this year’s Hulaween festival at Spirit of The Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla. The band’s headlining set was infused with Halloween spectacular, from costumes to song choices as they worked through three frames of music, which included several sit-ins and a final set comprised completely of cover songs.

Donning costumes inspired by the 1988 cult classic Beetlejuice, guitarist Bill Nershi, bassist Keith Moseley, mandolinist Michael Kang, keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth, drummer Michael Travis and percussionist Jason Hann took the festival stage and kicked off the highly anticipated set with a pairing of “Joyful Sound” and “Black and White.” The group continued with originals throughout their first set before the second frame brought forth the night’s initial guest, The Infamous Stringdusters’ Andy Hall. 

The dobro player waited for the String Cheese Incident to run through “Let’s Go Outside” and “Sweet Spot” before taking the stage and lending his talents to “Shantytown,” which ran into a spotless jam before coming out on “Restless Wind” and concluding the sit-in on “Rivertrance.” The billed performers capped their second set with “Rollover,” a number that appeared on their 2001 LP, Outside Inside. 

After the second set came to a close, the third frame courtesy of the Colorado jammers consisted of all cover songs, beginning with a rendition of Cameo’s  “Rigor Mortis,” featuring the Antibalas horns. They performed the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” next, which ran into a take on Rocky Horror Picture Show’s “Time Warp.” Next, a cover of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” arrived prior to the String Cheese Incident’s rendition of Oingo Boingo’s “Dead Man’s Party.”

Antibalas horns reemerged again, assisting with covers of Chic’s “Le Freak,” which bled into Rick James’ “Superfreak.” The night’s guests continued to add some depth to the String Cheese Incident’s third frame when they took on Kool & the Gang’s “Spirit of the Boogie” and  The Specials’ “Ghost Town,” which also included accompaniment from Rhonda Thomas and Tony White, who stuck around for the remainder of the set. 

Covers continued with a take on “Ghost Town” paired with Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” Next, a fun rendition of “Disco Inferno” by The Trammps popped up before the ensemble of musicians was rejoined by Hall and the horns section for Harry Belafonte’s “Jump in the Line,” which flowed back into  “Disco Inferno” to cap the String Cheese Incident’s time on the Hulaween stage in Live Oak, Fla.

After this weekend’s show, the String Cheese Incident will take some time off the road before returning for their New Year’s Eve run at Denver’s Mission Ballroom on Dec. 29 through 30. Tickets remain on sale and can be purchased here. 

Scroll down to see the complete setlist.

The String Cheese Incident:

 Hulaweek – Live Oak, Fla. 

Oct. 29, 2022 

Set I: Joyful Sound > Black and White, MLT, Dragonfly, Bhangra Saanj, Close Your Eyes, Valley of the Jig

Set II: Lets Go Outside, Sweet Spot, Shantytown(1)> Jam(1) > Restless Wind(1), Rivertrance(1), Rollover

Set III: Rigor Mortis(2)(3) > Psycho Killer(4) > Time Warp(5), Highway to Hell(6), Dead Man’s Party(7), Le Freak(8)(3) > Superfreak(9)(3), Spirit of the Boogie(10)(3), Ghost Town(11)(3)(12)(13) > Time Warp(5)(12) > I Will Survive(14)(12)(3), Disco Inferno(15)(12) > Jump in the Line(16)(3)(12)(1) > Disco Inferno(15)(12)

Notes:

(1) – With Andy Hall (Infamous Stringdusters)

(2) – Cameo cover 

(3) – With Antibalas horns

(4) – Talking Heads cover

(5) – Rocky Horror Picture Show

(6) – AC/DC cover

(7) – Oingo Boingo cover

(8) – Chic cover 

(9) – Rick James cover

(10) – Kool & the Gang cover

(11) – The Specials cover

(12) – With Rhonda Thomas and Tony White

(13) – Halloween Theme song outro

(14) – Gloria Gaynor cover

(15) – The Trammps cover

(16) – Harry Belafonte cover