It’s Official: Drummer Scotty Zwang Joins Umphrey’s McGee

Last night, Umphrey’s McGee closed out their show on the Peoria RiverFront in a special fashion. Guitarist Brendan Bayliss took a moment during the “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” finale to ask Scotty Zwang to join the band on a full-time basis and the drummer said yes.

Scotty Zwang was initially selected by Umphrey's McGee in May to fill the drum seat left vacant when Kris Myers resigned from Umphrey's McGee for all remaining 2025 dates except for a four-city swing through Florida, which featured Widespread Panic's Duane Trucks behind the kit. Zwang has now signed on permanently.

Umphrey’s McGee sealed the deal with Zwang at the end of a concert that focused almost exclusively on old school material. “Day Nurse,” which was debuted in 2011, was the newest song played by the sextet in Peoria. The six-song second set consisted entirely of classics dating back to 2005 or earlier.

Bayliss, Zwang, bassist Ryan Stasik, percussionist Andy Farag, keyboardist Joel Cummins and guitarist Jake Cinninger romped through the instrumental “Glory” to start Thursday’s encore. UM then lit into a cover of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which saw Zwang sing the intro.

When Umphrey’s performs the 1985 hit written for the The Breakfast Club, Bayliss usually gives an inspirational speech in the middle of the song. Brendan stepped up to the mic in Peoria and stated:

“So I’d like to a minute real quick to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight and supporting live music. It means the world to us more than you can imagine. And while I have your attention, I’d like to give a little shout-out to our buddy Scotty back here on the drums. Stepping in the last couple of months and making our world keep going and going around.

“We feel very blessed to have met him and we were able to lock him in for the whole year, which is fan fucking tastic if you ask me. But, the other day, I got on the phone with Jake and Joel and Pony [Ryan Stasik] and Andy, and we were talking about how time is moving faster and faster, and before you know it, the end of the year is going to be here. And we’re like ‘you know what? I’m a big fan of the Zwang and I think everyone here is a big fan of the Zwang. So we were talking about, why don’t we just ask him to be our drummer?

“I guess this is the part of the story where it turns into an awkward wedding proposal on stage because we put him on the spot. You don’t have to say yes, you don’t have to say no, but Scotty Zwang, if you would be so inclined to join Umphrey’s McGee and be part of our brotherhood and our family, it would make our world very complete.

“All you have to do is a fantastic drum fill, and if you do it, we’ll know that you want to do it. Everybody make some noise, because if you make enough noise, maybe you can convince Scotty to take a leap of faith with us. What do you guys think? Should we do it?”

Scotty Zwang complied with a huge drum fill as UM resumed the cover. “He said yes!” Bayliss confirmed while Cinninger soloed. “Welcome to the family Scotty Zwang,” Brendan added at the end of the show.

Zwang becomes the third drummer in the Chicago-based outfit’s 27-year history. Kris Myers joined Umphrey’s McGee in 2003 following the departure of founding drummer Mike Mirro.

Watch Umphrey’s McGee’s encore in Peoria below via multi-cam footage captured by videographer Shinepigeon:

Umphrey’s McGee’s Cruising Altitude 2025 Tour pulls into Omaha tonight for a concert at The Admiral. Six August shows will be livestreamed by nugs for All Access subscribers, starting with the band’s Sunday, August 17 show in Pelham, Tennessee and continuing on Sunday, August 24 in Grand Rapids, Michigan through the end of the month.

Official Audio (via nugs.net)

Setlist (via All Things Umphreys)

Set One: 1348 > Walletsworth, Day Nurse, Roulette, 2×2, The Linear > 1348

Set Two: Plunger > Uncommon, The Triple Wide > Andy’s Last Beer, Higgins > Ringo

Encore: Glory > Don’t You (Forget About Me)