Jake Simpson Extends Dave Matthews Band Guest Streak In Baltimore

Dave Matthews Band returned to Baltimore for the first time in nearly 14 years on Tuesday, mixing 12 fall tour debuts into their CFG Bank Arena setlist. Fiddler Jake Simpson joined the group for the final seven songs, extending his guest streak to all five shows of the tour so far.

DMB last played Baltimore on December 18, 2012, when the same venue was known as 1st Mariner Arena. Simpson’s latest appearance followed sit-ins in Madison, Nashville, Chicago and Providence, continuing a collaboration that began with the full band at The Gorge over Labor Day Weekend in 2025.

A member of Lukas Nelson’s band, Simpson has now joined DMB for five consecutive shows. A review of DMB Almanac’s guest histories points to The Lovely Ladies as the most recent guests with a streak at least that long. Vocalists Candice Anderson, Sharon Bryant-Gallwey and Tawatha Agee appeared at 12 straight shows from July 3 through July 22, 2015, beginning at SPAC and ending at Montreal’s Centre Bell.

Tuesday’s tour debuts started immediately with “Drunken Soldier.” After “Why I Am,” DMB unveiled the run’s first versions of “Idea Of You,” “The Only Thing,” “Lover Lay Down” and “Seven.” Matthews then played “Pantala Naga Pampa” on 12-string guitar before the band headed into “Grey Street.”

“Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)” and “What You Are” also made their first appearances of the fall, followed by “Grace Is Gone.” A cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Fool In The Rain” added another tour debut, while “You & Me” preceded the first “Squirm” of the run.

Simpson entered for “Satellite” and remained through the end of the night. “Satellite,” “Corn Bread” and “Rooftop” rounded out the evening’s 12 tour debuts. “Corn Bread” marked Simpson’s first time playing the song with DMB and included an interpolation of “Down By The Riverside.” The guest portion of the main set continued with “Crush” and the closing “Tripping Billies.”

Matthews and Simpson opened the encore as a duo with “Papertown,” reprising the pairing from Friday’s Nashville show. Matthews wrote the song for the documentary of the same name about the closure of a paper mill in Canton, North Carolina. The rest of DMB returned for “Warehouse,” with Simpson adding fiddle to the finale.

Dave Matthews Band concludes the fall tour with two nights at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on November 12 and 13. Official audio from Baltimore will be posted on nugs. Watch audience-shot video of the full show below:

Setlist (via DMB Almanac)

Set: Drunken Soldier[1], Why I Am, Idea Of You[1], The Only Thing[1], Lover Lay Down[1], Seven[1], Pantala Naga Pampa > Grey Street, Samurai Cop (Oh Joy Begin)[1], What You Are[1], Grace Is Gone, Fool In The Rain[1], You & Me, Squirm[1], Satellite[2], Corn Bread[3], Rooftop[2], Crush[4], Tripping Billies[4]

Encore: Papertown[5], Warehouse[4]

Footnotes:
[1] tour debut
[2] tour debut; with Jake Simpson on fiddle
[3] tour debut; with Jake Simpson on fiddle; with “Down By The Riverside” interpolation
[4] with Jake Simpson on fiddle
[5] Dave Matthews and Jake Simpson only