Dave Matthews Band Brings Debut, Breakouts & Jake Simpson To Austin

Dave Matthews Band wrapped a three-show, tour-opening sweep across Texas on Monday with a concert at Austin’s Moody Center. The show was highlighted by surprise guest fiddler Jake Simpson sitting in on seven songs, a pair of bustouts and the live premiere of a new original.

In a good sign for the variance of setlists on the tour, DMB only repeated four songs they had played during the first two shows of the tour. The repeats in Austin each featured Jake Simpson on fiddle.

DMB opened with “What Would You Say” and then connected”Big Eyed Fish” with “Bartender” and “Everyday” with “Minarets.” Next came “Walk Around The Moon” before the band dusted off “Straight Shot” for its first play in over two years. The unreleased “Straight Shot,” which features Dave on electric guitar, was performed just five times prior between its debut on November 14, 2023 and May 1, 2024.

Jake Simpson took the stage with DMB as the concert moved forward. Simpson joined Lukas Nelson's band last year after The Lil Smokies began an indefinite hiatus. Nelson introduced Simpson to Matthews at the 2025 Wildlands Festival, where Jake teamed with Dave for multiple songs each night.

Dave Matthews was clearly a fan of what Jake Simpson brought to the table and invited the Montana-based musician to become the first fiddler to guest with DMB since co-founding member Boyd Tinsley left the band in 2018. Simpson sat in with the septet for portions of all three nights of their 2025 Gorge run. The fiddler went on to guest with Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds at Farm Aid 2025 and again at their Riviera Maya destination event this past January.

Jake Simpson’s latest Dave Matthews Band guest appearance began with a joint performance of the beloved “#41.” Simpson then added fiddle to “Broken Wings,” a song played two shows earlier for the first time since 2021. He also showed off his massive skillset on the subsequent “Jimi Thing.”

DMB rolled on sans Simpson with the biggest surprise of the night, “Snow Outside.” The song off 2012’s Away From The World had been shelved for over a decade. Dave Matthews Band last performed “Snow Outside” back on September 5, 2015.

A run of “Shake Me Like A Monkey,” “Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin),” “Crash Into Me” and “Squirm” laid the groundwork for Jake Simpson’s return. The fiddler was back in the mix for performances of classics “Satellite,” “Warehouse” and “Ants Marching” to close the set.

Dave Matthews came back to start the encore solo. Matthews told the crowd he was working a new song earlier this year when “terrible things happened in the beautiful city of Minneapolis.” He played the song for a friend who encouraged him to record the tune and release it immediately. Matthews decided against it but wanted to premiere the song, entitled “All That I Wanted,” in Austin because the show fell on his late mother’s birthday.

“The only reason I speak my mind, whether people like it or not, is because of my mother,” Matthews proclaimed before dedicating the live debut of “All That I Want” to his mom. The politically charged number was followed by a “Tripping Billies” finale featuring the full band and Jake Simpson.

Dave Matthews Band has a few days off before the tour proceeds this Friday, May 15 at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia. Watch Matthews debut “All That I Wanted,” DMB dust off “Sure Shot” and uniting with Jake Simpson for three oldies in Austin below via fan-shot videos:

Setlist (via DMBAlmanac.com)

Set: What Would You Say, Big Eyed Fish » Bartender, Everyday » Minarets, Walk Around the Moon, Straight Shot, #41*, Broken Things*, Jimi Thing*, Snow Outside, Shake Me Like a Monkey, Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin), Crash Into Me, Squirm, Satellite*, Warehouse*, Ants Marching*

Encore: All That I Wanted**, Tripping Billies*

* – w/ Jake Simpson on fiddle
** – Dave Solo (First Time Played)

First time Straight Shot has been played since 5.1.24.
First time Snow Outside has been fully played since 7.6.16 and first time by DMB since 9.5.15.