Umphrey’s McGee’s Joel Cummins Joins moe. For Flaming Lips Cover & ‘Mexico’ In Los Angeles

moe. reunited with an old friend on Saturday when Umphrey’s McGee keyboardist Joel Cummins joined the band at The Bellwether in Los Angeles. Cummins sat in for a cover of “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. I” and the moe. original “Mexico” to end the second set.

The guest spot followed “Opium” late in the frame. Guitarist Al Schnier sang lead on the Flaming Lips cover, which moe. last played on October 10, 2025, according to Famoe.ly. Cummins stuck around on keys for the set-closing “Mexico” before moe. returned without their guest for an encore pairing “Letter Home” and “Wind It Up.”

Cummins’ history of sitting in with moe. stretches back more than two decades. He added keyboards to “Big World” at Chicago’s Park West on December 30, 2002, as documented by moeLinks. The bands have shared the Summer Camp Music Festival bill since 2003, and Cummins credited moe. in a 2016 JamBase interview as the first established act to give Umphrey’s early opportunities and help show them how to tour professionally.

More recent collaborations include Cummins and UM guitarist Brendan Bayliss joining moe. at Red Rocks in June 2023 for “Down Under” and “Rebubula.” This past summer, the two groups embarked on the moe.mentUM Tour, trading set order and teaming up for collaborative encores. Among Cummins’ guest spots was a July performance of “Happy Hour Hero” in Charlotte alongside UM percussionist Andy Farag.

Saturday’s first set began with “Stranger Than Fiction,” “Tailspin” and “It” before before moe. nodded to the locale with the Grateful Dead’s “West L.A. Fadeaway.” “Hi & Lo” led into “Big World,” followed by “Ricky Marten” and the set-closing “Buster.” The second set opened with “George” into “Down Boy,” with “Calyphornya” and “Three Eyed Serpent” rounding out the run of originals that preceded “Opium” and Cummins’ arrival.

Watch full-show video below. Official audio is expected to be posted on nugs.

Setlist (via Famoe.ly)

Set One: Stranger Than Fiction, Tailspin, It, West L.A. Fadeaway, Hi & Lo > Big World, Ricky Marten, Buster

Set Two: George > Down Boy, Calyphornya, Three Eyed Serpent, Opium, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. I[1], Mexico[2]

Encore: Letter Home, Wind It Up

Footnotes:
[1] The Flaming Lips cover; with Joel Cummins on keyboards; Al Schnier on vocals; first time played since October 10, 2025
[2] with Joel Cummins on keyboards