event Umphrey's McGee

For everyone who bemoans the supposed stale state of jam-rock bands, Midwestern workhorses Umphrey's McGee make for an excellent counter-argument. Maybe that's because the sextet is steeped in Phish and the Dead as much as more prog-rock influences like Yes and Pink Floyd; but the band should be considered on its own merits as well, not just for what it brings to the table in a sweeping debate of the genre at large. Having released an album almost every year since 1998, the group, like many of its contemporaries, is more at home on the road than in the studio, and its live show reflects that, keeping its remarkably tight opuses non-indulgent and still having the improvisational open mindedness to fold in impromptu melodies seemingly skylifted in from nowhere.

For everyone who bemoans the supposed stale state of jam-rock bands, Midwestern workhorses Umphrey's McGee make for an excellent counter-argument. Maybe that's because the sextet is steeped in Phish and the Dead as much as more prog-rock influences like Yes and Pink Floyd; but the band should be considered on its own merits as well, not just for what it brings to the table in a sweeping debate of the genre at large. Having released an album almost every year since 1998, the group, like many of its contemporaries, is more at home on the road than in the studio, and its live show reflects that, keeping its remarkably tight opuses non-indulgent and still having the improvisational open mindedness to fold in impromptu melodies seemingly skylifted in from nowhere.