Perfect Pairings: 10 Marvelous Musical Collaborations In 2016

Words by: Chad Berndtson, Andy Kahn & Scott Bernstein

The truth about musical collaborations and sit-ins is that they don’t always find successful results. Dream pairings can turn into nightmare performances due to any number of complications that come when irregular lineups share a stage together. Gear and sound issues, unfamiliarity of material or a lack of preparation can make a collab quickly go sour. But when those obstacles are overcome the results can be truly marvelous.

There were plenty of sit-ins and collaborative runs in 2016 that succeeded the lofty challenge of producing memorable live performances. The 10 standout collaborations explored below include epic one-off pairings, full set collective performances, short tours and even an appearance on late night television. Legends sharing the stage, up-and-comers welcoming legends, contemporaries holding summits and a festival supergroup highlight the entries culled from throughout 2016.

Presented chronologically, these 10 shared musical experiences were among the most significant of the year both for who was on stage and what was played. Ultimately, they standout out most for the resulting music made by an impressive roster of talented performers.

1. Ryan Adams First Teams With Nicki Bluhm & The Infamous Stringdusters In Telluride (June 18)

Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, vocalist Nicki Bluhm and jamgrass act The Infamous Stringdusters were announced as one of the acts at this year’s Newport Folk Festival. About a month ahead of that appearance in July, the ensemble got together for an unannounced collaborative set at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado. The rarities-filled performance saw bust outs of “Pearls On A String,” “Tears Of Gold,” “Trains,” “Bartering Lines” and “Chin Up, Cheer Up,” along with several other favorites. The successful pairing was reprised again not only at Newport, but also with an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and a show at The Capitol Theatre.

[Video of “Come Pick Me Up” captured by Owen Perkins]

2. Page McConnell Guests With Twiddle In Burlington (July 30)

Phish keyboardist Page McConnell rarely sits-in with other acts, so it was a huge surprise when he emerged during Twiddle’s version of their own “When It Rains, It Poors” at the inaugural Tumble Down event on July 30 in Burlington. The members of the band, especially keyboardist Ryan Dempsey, as well as special guest Holly Bowling couldn’t contain their excitement as the “Chairman Of The Boards” took a solo and then jammed with the up-and-coming Vermont jam quartet. Though Dempsey subsequently revealed Page wasn’t familiar with the song, it was hard to tell as McConnell played tasteful progressions throughout. A few days later a hilarious “Hitler Reacts” video about the guest spot was posted by members of the uTwiddle community.

3. Peach Music Festival Hosts The Allman Brothers Family Incident (August 12)

One of the best cases of making musical lemonade out of lemons came when The String Cheese Incident presented The Allman Brothers Family Incident set at the Peach Music Festival in Scranton on August 12. The set was originally supposed to feature Gregg Allman and SCI as “The Gregg Allman Incident,” but Gregg came down with pneumonia leading him to cancel. String Cheese and Gregg Allman Band musical director Scott Sharrard went ahead and recruited members of The Allman Brothers Band including Oteil Burbridge, Jaimoe, Marc Quinones and Butch Trucks as well as the extended ABB family for a thrilling set. The Allman Brothers Family Incident was heavy on ABB classics including “Melissa,” “Midnight Rider” and an impressive “Jessica” that spanned over 15 minutes.

[Video of “Jessica” captured by Rock, Roots & Blues]

4. Phil Lesh Pairs With Phish Members, Joe Russo, Anders Osborne & Infamous Stringdusters At Lockn’ (August 27)

Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh put together a jaw-dropping ensemble of musicians for his first of two performances at the 2016 Lockn’ Festival. Lesh was joined by The Infamous Stringdusters, drummer Joe Russo, keyboardist Page McConnell, guitarist Anders Osborne and drummer Jon Fishman for an impressive set on Saturday, August 27 at the Arrington, Virginia festival. Fishman had never performed as a member of Phil Lesh & Friends in the past and McConnell last was a member of Phil’s band way back in 1999 prior to Lockn’ 2016. While at times there was a little too much talent on stage, there were moments when it all came together in a wonderful way. It didn’t hurt that Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi were Lesh’s surprise guests as well. Highlights included the opening “Scarlet Begonias,” which showed off the powerful Fish/Russo drum duo, “Mr. Charlie” and “Sugaree” with Derek and Susan and Osborne going to town on “Shakedown Street.”

5. Drummer Bernard Purdie Appears At Four Straight Vulfpeck Shows In New York City (September 7 – 10)

As “the world’s most recorded drummer,” Bernard “Pretty” Purdie doesn’t have to stump for anybody. So consider it a ringing endorsement that Purdie joined scene up-and-comers Vulfpeck for no fewer than four shows in 2016, deep-pocketing the band through classics like Steely Dan’s “Kid Charlemagne” and having a visibly good time doing so. Vulfpeck treated Purdie — an acknowledged influence — with due reverence befitting such a legend showing up to support a young band, but it was clear the respect was mutual.

[Video of “Kid Charlemagne” captured by LazyLightning55]

6. John Mayer Sits-In With Joe Russo’s Almost Dead In Brooklyn (October 7)

The indoctrination of John Mayer into the world of Grateful Dead has been one of the more fascinating stories of the last two years. All those “Your Body Is A Dark Star” jokes subsided when even jaded old Deadheads discovered Mayer not only could hold his own as a member of Dead & Company, but would be a proud steward of the music and participant in the community. In between Dead & Company tours, Mayer’s stayed busy making music but also sitting-in all over the place, including as a surprise guest of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead in October at Brooklyn Bowl. Mayer had expressed in a previous interview his interest in seeing JRAD perform – we’d say he got a pretty good vantage point.

[Video of “Touch Of Grey” captured by TimeZonerTV]

7. Neil Young & Paul McCartney Collaborate At Desert Trip In Indio (October 8 and 15)

The inaugural Desert Trip festival — aka “Oldchella” — was expectedly short on collaborations among the gold-plated headliners, but with one very cool exception: Paul McCartney and Neil Young. Young hopped on stage with Macca and band for “A Day In the Life,” “Give Peace A Chance,” and a lip-smacking “Why Don’t We Do It In the Road” featuring a ferocious Neil solo that became one of the high points of the entire fest. Here’s hoping that participants in the next Desert Trip get into the sit-in spirit a bit more.

[Video of “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” captured by Shari Soultree]

8. Bob Weir Guests With Phish In Nashville (October 18)

Back on October 6, 2000 Phish played their penultimate show before taking an extended hiatus that featured a guest sit-in by Grateful Dead founding guitarist Bob Weir. Last summer Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio teamed with Weir for five Fare Thee Well concerts featuring the Dead’s Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. Just over 16 years since Bobby took the stage with Phish at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Weir was again guest of the foursome during their Fall Tour. The extensive set two guest spot kicked off with Weir leading the Dead staple “Samson and Delilah,” followed by a nicely jammed “Twist.” In a surprise move Bobby handled lead vocals on the recently debuted Phish original “Miss You” from their 2016 studio LP Big Boat. The lone repeat from 2000, “West L.A. Fadeaway” was busted out before Trey sang lead on “Playing In The Band” to close out the second set. Bob Dylan’s “Quinn The Eskimo” – a song often covered by both Phish and the Grateful Dead – brought an end to the truly memorable collab.

[Video of “Playing In The Band” captured by LazyLightning55]

9. Neil Young Pairs With Roger Waters & My Morning Jacket At Bridge School Benefits (October 22 – 23)

Reforming a similar lineup from his 2015 Newport Folk Festival performance, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters enlisted his longtime guitar player G.E. Smith, My Morning Jacket and Lucius vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig for his two sets at this year’s Bridge School Benefit concerts. While that collaboration alone was enough to get excited about, the annual event’s host, legendary musician Neil Young, joining the collective was a clear highlight of the two nights at Shoreline. On both occasions Water brought Young out to play guitar and help sing Bob Dylan’s poignant ballad “Forever Young.”

[Video of “Forever Young” captured by btragal]

10. Jimmy Herring Plays Run Of Shows With Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe (November 30 – December 3)

Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe keeps its membership somewhat fluid — it’s always up for an expansion and a guest who’s ready to throw down. So, in the annals of “really fun honorary Tiny Universe members” we now find Widespread Panic ace Jimmy Herring, who joined KDTU for four shows in the Southeast in November and December and typically, crushed, helping KDTU power through originals and choice covers like ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid” and Bowie’s “Young Americans.” Herring and Denson have crossed paths for years in and out of Panic and other affiliations, and Herring first sat-in with KDTU at Jazz Fest in 2015. Clearly there was a spark — and here’s hoping the two busier-than-busy musicians can find time to play some more dates together.

[Video of “Show Biz Kids” captured by UnknownVincent]