Umphrey’s McGee Welcomes Taylor Hicks In Birmingham

Taylor Hicks was Umphrey’s McGee‘s special guest on Sunday night in Birmingham. The American Idol teamed with the sextet on a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” during UM’s first set at Avondale Brewing Company.

Umphrey’s opened last night’s show with guitarist Jake Cinninger‘s “40’s Theme” and live staple “Bad Friday.” Next up was “No Diablo” and “Cut The Cable” before the band brought out Taylor Hicks. The Alabama-bred musician added both vocals and harmonica to UM’s first “Miss You” cover since April 12, 2014 — a span of 595 shows.

Hicks’ sit-in was his fifth with Umphrey’s McGee. Taylor performed The Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See” with the group on April 18, 2015 in Austin and at the same Birmingham venue on July 7, 2016. Additional Taylor Hicks/UM collaborations came on Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” on August 12, 2018 at Avondale Brewing Company and later that month as part of Umphrey's Led Zeppelin tribute at LOCKN'.

Umphrey’s worked “Hourglass” into “JaJunk” to end the first set on Sunday. Then, the band dropped from “Plunger” into “Much Obliged” to get the closing stanza underway. “Night Nurse” came next along with “Hindsight.” A pair of rarities followed as “Kabump” gave way to “Uncommon.” Jam vehicle “Wappy Sprayberry” led into “The Floor” to cap last night’s second set. The band still had another surprise in store as the encore featured Herbie Mann’s “Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty” within “August.” Sunday’s “Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty” was UM’s first in 593 concerts as it was last played by the sextet on April 17, 2014.

Check out images captured last night by Home Team Photos:

Umphrey’s McGee returns to the Midwest for a series of four shows this weekend. Livestreams will be available via TourGigs featuring the band’s concerts in Grand Rapids on Thursday, Milwaukee on Friday, Minneapolis on Saturday and Des Moines on Sunday.

Setlist (via All Things UM)

Set One: 40’s Theme, Bad Friday, No Diablo, Cut the Cable > Miss You[1], Hourglass > JaJunk

Set Two: Plunger > Much Obliged, Night Nurse, Hindsight, Kabump > Uncommon, Wappy Sprayberry > The Floor

Encore: August > Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty > August

[1] with Taylor Hicks on vocals and harmonica

Show Notes:

• last Miss You 2014-04-12 (595 shows)
• last Muscle Shoals Nitty Gritty 2014-04-17 (593 shows)