On Friday, June 13, moe. co-headlined with Umphrey’s McGee and delivered a special guest appearance from Warren Haynes at Sharkey’s Event Center in Syracuse.
35 years after forming in Buffalo, moe. is touring in support of their newest studio release, Circle of Giants. Meanwhile Umphrey’s McGee has embarked on life on the road with new drummer, Scotty Zwang. With a whole night of music ahead and surprises in store, Umphrey’s McGee kicked off at 7 pm sharp.
Umphrey’s McGee Sizzles to Start the Night
Plenty of Umphreaks got the memo and showed up early in full force to ensure not a second of the band’s opening offering was missed. From the outset, “Miss Tinkle’s Overture” showcased the driving beat of Zwang behind the kit and featured dark, harmonic metal riffs from guitarists Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger. UM moved from there to “The Linear” > “Walletsworth.”
One of their powerhouse songs, “Bridgeless,” with metal guitar progressions from Cinninger and Bayliss, got the packed pavilion at Sharkey’s banging their heads. With the slow-moving sea of people seemingly stuck in place, a follow-up with “Small Strides” seemed correct.
After Kris Myers announced his resignation, Scotty Zwang (Sunsquabi) was announced as the immediate replacement for the rest of 2025. Zwang filled in for Myers as the former UM drummer recovered from shoulder surgery in 2023. Subsequently, Scotty appeared entirely comfortable throughout the evening’s romp. Conversely, Zwang reassured the rest of Umphrey’s McGee to navigate the complex composed changes and let solos rip freely.
With 15 minutes left in their set, Cinninger joked they had one song left but exuded plenty of confidence that the band would find a way to fill the time. Umphrey’s launched into “Power of Soul” by Jimi Hendrix before they circled back to “Bridgeless” to close the night’s set.
moe. Closes the Night in Homecoming
As Summer Camp Music Festival headline mainstays and frequent collaborators, UM and moe. are no strangers to sharing the spotlight. This was a co-headline show, and on this night moe. took the stage second. Syracuse is a moe.town, after all.
Another common thread running between these two jam heavyweights has been the recent band additions. While Zwang joined UM for the rest of 2025, Nate Wilson became a permanent member of moe. in early 2023. After initially serving to bolster the lineup to allow guitarist Chuck Garvey ample space to recover from his stroke in late 2021, Wilson has impacted the group with three contributions to the new studio release Circle of Giants – “Yellow Tigers,” “Giants,” and “In Stride.”
At Sharkey’s, Wilson’s presence was significant from the onset with a solo during the opener “Moth.” He then demonstrated his versatility during the next song, “The Pit” on the flute with Jim Loughlin adding his own layer of percussive flare to the latter tune.
The hovering rhythmic guitar and harmonic vocals of “Band in the Sky” parted to feature Wilson on keys again. My wife proclaimed, “Nate ya, later!” in a geeky fandom homage to her other favorite band, Assembly of Dust. She might be a dorky little girl, but I really do love her a whole freakin’ lot. The setlist totaled three songs from the latest studio endeavor, including “Ups and Downs,” the debut single.
Whether intentional or by happy coincidence, moe. further elevated Wilson’s standing when they invited Warren Haynes to join them onstage. The crowded fa.moe.ly raised their phones in unison to capture the moment on video. With the eerily haunting organ intro and Nate on lead vocals, the band launched into a blistering cover of “No Quarter” by Led Zeppelin with Haynes front and center.
Warren Haynes did not disappoint the salivating onlookers in town ahead of his NYS Blues Fest appearance the following night. With blues-rock-infused licks, Haynes skillfully landed his time in the spotlight on a runway paved by the signature organ reverb of the classic song. If any moe.rons still had doubts, Nate Wilson’s ascension to full-fledged, equal band member was completed alongside rock ‘n roll royalty. Behind his signature aviator sunglasses, the multi-instrumentalist seemed to take it all in stride.
Garvey was particularly lively and animated. He crossed the stage, taking a solo, and later tried to coax more reverb from his axe lifted overhead. A shredded solo from Schnier on “Billy Goat” led to a “Moth” outro finish, tidying up the open-ended first song of their set with a neat closer. While moe. had the spotlight on this night, the final tune demonstrated both bands’ healthy respect for each other.
Umphrey’s McGee and moe. End the Night on a High Note
A four-headed guitar monster filled the stage for the “Crosseyed and Painless” encore, with Brendan Bayliss and Jake Cinninger of Umphrey’s McGee joining Schnier and Garvey. UM’s Joel Cummins dueled with Nate Wilson on keys, while Andy Farag added percussive texture to Loughlin and Amico. Cinninger took the lead on vocals as the other artists harmonized. With ten instrumentalists filling the stage, each guitarist had enough room to shine with their solo ideas on the Talking Heads classic cover.
With moe. and Umphrey’s McGee co-headlining and special guest Warren Haynes, Syracuse was treated to a fest within a concert. In the end, the Chicago local band that did ok and the circle of giants formed in Buffalo left the Central NY moe.town crowd feeling pretty darn Okayalright and screaming for mo(r)e.
Umphrey’s McGee Setlist (from allthings.umphreys.com): Miss Tinkle’s Overture, The Linear > Walletsworth, Bridgeless, Small Strides, 40’s Theme, Power of Soul (Jimi Hendrix cover) > Bridgeless.
moe. Setlist (from setlist.fm): Moth, The Pit, Band in the Sky, New York City, In Stride, Silver Sun, Ups and Downs, No Quarter (Led Zeppelin cover with Warren Haynes), Billy Goat, Moth.
Encore: Crosseyed and Painless (Talking Heads cover with moe. and Umphrey’s McGee)
Photos by Dan Bocchino
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