Dave Matthews Band Plays ‘Big Whiskey’ In Full & Welcomes Guests At The Gorge

By Scott Bernstein Sep 8, 2026 • 7:25 am PDT

Dave Matthews Band packed plenty into the group’s traditional Labor Day Weekend run at The Gorge Amphitheatre. DMB performed all 13 tracks from Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King in sequence on Friday and brought out guest throughout the weekend, including Mike McCready, Sierra Hull, Stephen Wilson Jr., Casey Driessen and Tatiana Hargreaves.

Friday’s full-album sequence came one year after Dave Matthews Band performed 1998’s Before These Crowded Streets from front to back at The Gorge. The band had only once previously worked through an entire studio album in concert before last year’s performance, playing every song from Away From The World at a 2012 show, though other material was interspersed and the album tracks were slightly out of order.

DMB opened Friday with a 20-minute “Seek Up” before turning its attention to Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King. The run through the 2009 album began with the live debut of instrumental opener “Grux,” which was performed by Jeff Coffin on late founding saxophonist LeRoi Moore’s saxophone. Big Whiskey was dedicated to Moore, who died in 2008 while the album was in progress.

“Grux” flowed into “Shake Me Like A Monkey” as DMB continued through the album in sequence. Stephen Wilson Jr., who opened Friday alongside Infinity Song, emerged to sing lead on the second and third verses of “Time Bomb.” Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds then handled “Baby Blue” before the full band finished the album with “You & Me.”

DMB followed the Big Whiskey set with “Cornbread,” an 18-minute “Crush,” “#41” and “The Best Of What’s Around.” Matthews went solo on “Some Devil” to start the encore before the full band dusted off “Recently” for the finale. The latter hadn’t appeared in a DMB encore since January 16, 2014 and hadn’t been played by the full band in an encore since May 31, 2013. Friday marked its first appearance as the final song of a show since May 5, 1998.

Saturday brought another batch of surprises and the weekend’s lone appearance from Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready. The Seattle native joined DMB for Led Zeppelin’s “Fool In The Rain.” Fiddlers Tatiana Hargreaves and Casey Driessen also made multiple appearances, with Hargreaves augmenting “Satellite” and “Grace Is Gone” before Driessen came aboard for “Pig” and “Lie In Our Graves.” Both fiddlers teamed with the band on main-set closer “Ants Marching.”

Matthews, Driessen and Hargreaves opened Saturday’s encore with Bob Dylan’s “Oh, Sister.” The song hadn’t been performed at a DMB show since June 3, 2015 and was played in an encore for the first time. The full band then closed with “American Baby Intro” into “American Baby.” It was the first encore appearance for “American Baby Intro” since November 15, 2007 and for “American Baby” since September 7, 2005.

Sunday’s finale leaned even harder into collaborations. Opening act Jesse Welles shared lead vocals with Matthews on Daniel Lanois’ “The Maker.” Fellow support act Sierra Hull then sang and played on “Long Black Veil” before joining Driessen for “Spoon.” Hull stayed onstage for “The Last Stop,” while Hargreaves added fiddle to “Cry Freedom” and joined Driessen on “Tripping Billies.”

Hull, Driessen and Hargreaves joined Matthews for “Paper Town” to begin the encore. The guests departed before DMB tore through a nearly 15-minute “Two Step.” After his bandmates posed for their traditional end-of-run photo and left the stage, Matthews returned alone for a brief “Good Good Time,” telling the audience, “This is walking out music.”

The Sunday performance had started with “Eh Hee,” marking the song’s first appearance as a DMB opener since April 27, 2013. The three-night stand concluded Dave Matthews Band’s 2026 Summer Tour and continued a Labor Day Weekend tradition at The Gorge that began in 2006 and has been held every year except 2020.

Watch more video highlights from Dave Matthews Band’s 2026 Gorge Weekend below:

Setlist (via DMBAlmanac.com), Photos & Official Audio (via nugs)

Friday, September 4

Set: Seek Up, Grux » Shake Me Like a Monkey, Funny the Way It Is, Lying in the Hands of God, Kill the Preacher, Why I Am, Dive In, Spaceman, Squirm, Alligator Pie, Seven, Time Bomb*, Baby Blue, You & Me, Corn Bread, Crush, #41, The Best of What’s Around

Encore: Some Devil+, Recently

* with Stephen Wilson Jr.
+ Dave Matthews solo

Saturday, September 5

Set: Pantala Naga Pampa » Grey Street, Joyride, Kit Kat Jam, Warehouse, Lover Lay Down, Broken Things, The Only Thing, Don’t Drink the Water, Raven, Sweet Up and Down, Satellite*, Grace Is Gone*, Fool in the Rain+, Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin), Pig~, Lie in Our Graves~, Ants Marching~*

Encore: Oh, Sister~*, American Baby Intro, American Baby

* with Tatiana Hargreaves
+ with Mike McCready
~ with Casey Driessen

Sunday, September 6

Set: Eh Hee, Typical Situation, Drive In Drive Out, Cha Cha, Dancing Nancies, Come Tomorrow, What Would You Say, The Maker*, I Did It, One Sweet World, Looking for a Vein, So Damn Lucky, Long Black Veil+, Spoon+~, The Last Stop+, Cry FreedomÄ, Tripping Billies~Ä, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

Encore: Papertown+~Ä, Two Step, Good Good Time [partial]†

* with Jesse Welles
+ with Sierra Hull
~ with Casey Driessen
Ä with Tatiana Hargreaves
† Dave Matthews solo