Dave Matthews Discusses Boyd Tinsley’s Departure From DMB In New Interview

This Friday, May 18, the Dave Matthews Band will start their first tour since 2016 with a performance at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas. DMB will be without longtime member violinist Boyd Tinsley who announced a break from the group back in February. Matthews talked about Boyd’s decision and many other topics in a wide-ranging interview published by Vulture.

When asked about Tinsley’s departure Matthews responded, “I have a deep love for Boyd, and he has to deal with his stuff. In many ways I’m sure it would’ve been a lot easier for him to just say, ‘I’m good. Let’s go play.’ But you can’t just throw yourself away, your wellness away, because you play violin in a band. It doesn’t make any sense to do that.” When pushed about how the DMB sound will change, Dave explained Boyd had his good nights and bad nights:

I’m used to turning to my right and seeing him going bananas — some days doing it better than other days. You know there’s that idea of genius as something that, like, comes into a room through the window and into a person rather than lives in the person all the time? Sometimes I’d hear Boyd and I’d be like, ‘Holy shit, you are good.’ Other times it’d be like, ‘Clearly today you left the window closed.’ But that’s beside the point. We’re all like that. I have terrible nights. The answer is that I don’t know how it’s going to be without him there.

Matthews doesn’t have a definitive answer as to when or if Boyd will rejoin the band, “I can’t say, ‘I can’t wait till he comes back,’ because I don’t know what’s going to happen. But right now being away is better for him. Nobody is happy about this situation. Except that we’re happy he can figure some stuff out. I hope he does.” Dave finished, “I’m going to miss having that whirling-dervish Adonis-Muppet over there on my right. I know the audience is, too. But we can’t serve that desire.”

On June 8, Matthews & Co. will release a new studio album entitled Come Tomorrow. Dave discussed the multi-producer effort, the stereotype that has become associated with his fans, the use of “Crash Into Me” in Lady Bird, coming out of the jam scene and many other topics. Head to Vulture to read the full interview.