Umphrey’s McGee Treats Detroit To Biggest Breakout In Band History

Umphrey’s McGee delivered a historic moment on Saturday night during their concert at The Fillmore Detroit. The sextet closed their first set with a cover of The Doobie Brothers’ “Jesus Is Just Alright,” marking the most shows UM had ever gone between performances of a particular song.

“Jesus Is Just Alright” hadn’t been played by Umphrey’s since April 2, 2002 — a span of 2,480 shows. The previous record holder, “Salmander Strut,” was revived after 2,451 shows on January 22, 2022 in Albany.

The Chicago-based band had additional surprises in store for the Detroit crowd. “Padgett’s Profile” saw action for the first time since April 13, 2024 just ahead of the set-closing “Jesus Is Just Alright” and UM trotted out “Groove Holmes” towards the end of the second set. The latter, a cover of a Beastie Boys instrumental, was last played on March 18, 2016 — a span of 773 shows.

UM’s improvisational wizardry was also on display at The Fillmore in Motor City. First set jams came within “Spires,” “Rocker Part 2” and “Plunger,” while the second set saw the band take oldies “Hurt Bird Bath,” “Divisions” and “JaJunk” deep. The group punctuated the night with “Fame” (David Bowie) as their lone encore.

Umphrey’s McGee kicked off the latest run of shows on their Sky's The Limit 2026 Tour on Thursday, January 29 at the Bluebird in Bloomington, Indiana. The setlist featured rare covers of The Beatles’ “Baby You’re A Rich Man” and Warren G’s “Regulate,” both of which had previously been mothballed since February 2024.

The group dug even deeper at The Andrew J Brady Music Center in Cincinnati on Friday, January 30, where Umphrey’s covered “Get Down” within the “40’s Theme” that closed the second set. “Get Down” briefly ranked as the second-largest breakout in the band’s 28-year history, with a gap of 2,371 shows since the last performance of the WAR classic on November 22, 2002.

Umphrey’s McGee resumes the Sky’s The Limit 2026 Tour on Wednesday, February 4 in Morristown, New Jersey. More Northeast dates follow through a two-night stand at Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club on February 14 and 15.

Watch a fan-shot clip of “Jesus Is Just Alright” below:

Official Audio (via nugs)

Setlist (via All Things Umphreys)

Set One: Nipple Trix > Spires > Hiccup, Rocker Part 2, Plunger > Alex’s House > Plunger, Padgett’s Profile, Jesus Is Just Alright

Set Two: Hurt Bird Bath, Divisions, The Fussy Dutchman, Conduit > Groove Holmes > All Night Long, JaJunk

Encore: Fame

Show Notes:
last Jesus Is Just Alright 2002-04-02 (2,480 shows)
last Groove Holmes 2016-03-18 (773 shows)