Umphrey’s McGee Plays Pink Floyd Tribute Set In Mundelein, Welcomes Warren Haynes & Karina Rykman At Garcia’s Chicago

Umphrey’s McGee returned home to the Chicago area for a pair of special performances over the past two nights. On Sunday, the veteran jam sextet closed out The Miracle In Mundelein festival with a set honoring Pink Floyd. UM followed on Monday night by presenting a celebration of their new album, Blueprints, at the intimate Garcia’s Chicago, which featured surprise guest appearances from Warren Haynes and Karina Rykman.

The third annual The Miracle In Mundelein event was held on Saturday and Sunday outside RISE Dispensary in the Chicago suburb of Mundelein, Illinois. Damian & Stephen Marley and De La Soul headlined the action on Saturday, with Airwolf, Karina Rykman and Dark Star Orchestra setting the stage for two sets of Umphrey’s on Sunday.

Umphrey’s McGee satiated fans looking for improv during the all-original first set. Highlights included a +20-minute “Mantis,” adventurous “JaJunk” and the well-jammed “Puppet String” that closed the 78-minute opening stanza.

The tribute set saw Umphrey’s McGee accompanied by former Pink Floyd touring saxophonist Scott Page throughout. UM and Page took only one break as they worked through 11 of the iconic rock band’s most beloved songs to form the second set in Mundelein. Seven were featured on Pink Floyd’s landmark 1973 album The Dark Side Of The Moon. “On The Run” and “Money” from Dark Side had never previously been covered by Umphrey’s McGee before Sunday night, while the album’s “The Great Gig In The Sky” was last played on April 8, 2016 — a span of 737 shows.

Umphrey’s McGee and Scott Page continued honoring Pink Floyd to start the encore. The band’s first “Wish You Were Here” since February 15, 2009 was followed by “Comfortably Numb.” Page left Umphrey’s to punctuate the show with the end of the “JaJunk” they left unfinished earlier in the night.

Stream an official soundboard recording of UM’s The Miracle In Mundelein performance via nugs and watch fan-shot video of the Pink Floyd tribute set:

Last night, Umphrey’s McGee made their debut at Garcia’s Chicago, one of the Windy City’s newest venues. The special Blueprints Album Release Party featured a first listen to the record, a Q&A with the band and an intimate live performance.

The Q&A saw members of the sextet discuss the process that yielded Blueprints, which is set for release this Friday, September 12. Keyboardist Joel Cummins revealed a song that didn’t make the final tracklist, guitarist Brendan Bayliss talked about portions of “Concessions” the band took out and new drummer Scotty Zwang shared thoughts on the most difficult UM composition he’s had to learn.

After a brief break while the stage was reset, Umphrey’s opened with a “Walletsworth” that they slid into “Miss Tinkle’s Overture.” Next up were standalone versions of “Cut The Cable” and “Ringo.” From there, “Hiccup” was paired with oldies “The Crooked One” and “Nemo.”

The lengthy set moved forward with a “Plunger” that bled into a partial version of Al Green’s “Take Me To The River.” Fan favorite “Divisions” then gave way to “Have A Cigar” in a throwback to the Pink Floyd tribute from the previous evening. However, “Have A Cigar” wasn’t played in Mundelein and hadn’t seen action since August 24, 2023. Guitarist Jake Cinninger fronted “40’s Theme” to conclude the main set on Monday.

A special surprise put a bow on Umphrey’s McGee’s Garcia’s Chicago debut. The encore started innocently enough with the band beginning “In The Kitchen.” Brendan Bayliss addressed the audience once the jam kicked in. “It’d be a lot cooler right now if somebody just walked up and played guitar for me because I’m too jammed out,” Bayliss said. “Maybe Warren Haynes could help me out for a second. That’s a good idea, right?”

Warren Haynes strapped on Bayliss’ Paul Reed Smith guitar as Brendan took a spot with Andy Farag in percussion world. Haynes unleashed a stellar solo while the band vamped behind him. Ryan Stasik passed his bass to Karina Rykman for the end of the jam. Bayliss and Stasik took their instruments back to finish off “In The Kitchen” and a memorable two nights for Umphrey’s McGee.

A livestream replay of Umphrey’s McGee’s Garcia’s Chicago debut is available to nugs All Access subscribers. View a pair of reels featuring Haynes sitting in below:

In other Umphrey’s McGee news, a rare interview with Jake Cinninger was recently posted. Cinninger and longtime UM fan/historian Kevin Cassels sat with Eric Porter of Sea of Tranquility for a wide-ranging chat.

Jake discussed his musical journey and his many influences. Cinninger also recalled how he was recruited from Ali Baba’s Tahini to join Umphrey’s McGee. The guitarist went into detail about how the band picks covers, working with new drummer Scotty Zwang and several other topics.

Watch the full interview with Jake Cinninger below:

Setlists (via All Things Umphreys)

Sunday, September 7 @ The Miracle In Mundelein – Mundelein, IL

Set One: Wife Soup, Small Strides, Preamble > Mantis, JaJunk > Women Wine and Song[1] > Puppet String

Set Two: In the Flesh?[2] > Another Brick in the Wall[2] > Breathe[3] > On the Run[4] > Time[2] > The Great Gig in the Sky[2], Money[4] > Shine On You Crazy Diamond[2] > Young Lust[5] > Brain Damage[2] > Eclipse[2]

Encore: Wish You Were Here[2], Comfortably Numb[2] > JaJunk

Footnotes:

• [1] with Nothing Too Fancy tease
• [2] with Scott Page on saxophone
• [3] “dub version;” with Scott Page on saxophone
• [4] debut, Pink Floyd; with Scott Page on saxophone
• [5] with Scott Page on saxophone; ended with Goodbye Blue Sky (Pink Floyd) tease

Show Notes:

• last The Great Gig in the Sky 2016-04-08 (737 shows)
• last Wish You Were Here 2009-02-15 (1,519 shows)

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Monday, September 8 @ Garcia’s – Chicago, IL

Set: Walletsworth > Miss Tinkle’s Overture, Cut the Cable[1], Ringo[2], Hiccup > The Crooked One > Nemo, Plunger > Take Me To the River > Divisions > Have a Cigar > 40’s Theme

Encore: In The Kitchen[3]

Footnotes:

• [1] with Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac) tease
• [2] with My Name Is Mud (Primus) teases
• [3] with Warren Haynes replacing Brendan on guitar and Karina Rykman replacing Ryan on bass during the jam; with Brendan on percussion

Show Notes: Blueprints album release with a question and answer segment prior to Umphrey’s McGee performing, last Have a Cigar 2023-08-24 (174 shows)