Dawes, photo by Bahram Foroughi

From Aug. 14-16, titanic acts from the worlds of Americana, indie-rock and jam congregated at 7000 above sea level for Park City Song Summit,  the innovative music and wellness event quickly becoming a mainstay of the summer festival circuit. At the intimate and inspiring program’s fourth annual presentation, fans experienced powerful sets and rare behind-the-scenes conversations with artists like Marcus King, Eric Krasno, Duane Betts, LP Giobbi, Cimafunk and the Terrapin Family Band, alongside headline sets from scene leaders Greensky Bluegrass and Goose. No performers in the three-day bill exemplified the festival’s collaborative and genre-bending atmosphere as well as Dawes, who pointed to the past and future of improvisational rock with support from some very special guests.

Brothers Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith commenced their Dawes & Friends set on Friday, Aug. 15, with “Front Row Seat,” a standout from their triumphant ninth studio album Oh Brother. After looking back on their 16-year catalog with older cuts like “From a Window Seat” and “Someone Else’s Café/Doomscroller Tries to Relax,” the alternative duo welcomed their first sit-in of the evening by hosting Greensky Bluegrass frontmanand mandolin dynamo for some quick picking on 2016’s “Quitter” and their unforgettable 2015 smash “All Your Favorite Bands.”

From this progressive bluegrass-inflected section, Dawes looked back to the roots of jam’s connection with classic Americana through a cover of The Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin’ Man,” driven by vocals and shredding from none other than the torch-bearing Betts. Betts remained in the mix for Dawes originals “My Girl to Me” and “Somewhere Along the Way,” then departed to make room for the genre-bending guitar powerhouse Krasno. The affectionately termed “Kraz” lent his talents to a medley of “Comes in Waves” and an anthemic rendition of “When My Time Comes.”

Finally, to close out the show, Dawes welcomed all of their guests back to join in a debut cover of Goose’s “Animal,” further solidifying a connection between the jam-adjacent duo and the genre’s brightest rising stars. Friday’s culminating track was a response to a shout-out from Goose in a Vulture interview in May, in which keyboardist and guitarist Peter Anspach said Dawes stood out as the band he’d like to see cover their material. While the Everything Must Go selection was new to Dawes, their relationship with Goose has grown closer through several shared stages in recent years, including a set at Goose’s inaugural Viva El Gonzo destination event.

Dawes will return to the road on Aug. 28 with a performance at Deerfield, Mass.’s Tree House Brewing Company, which will begin the band’s cross-country fall tour. Find tickets and more information at dawestheband.com.

Last week, Goose preceded their Park City Song Summit headline set with another landmark achievement: the surprise drop of their fifth studio album Chain Yer Dragon. Read more about the new release here.