On a quiet stretch of road just outside the village of Woodstock sits a building that has heard its fair share of musical revelation. The barnlike beams of the Bearsville Theater have long absorbed the echoes of creative risk from artists chasing the kind of magic that has defined the Catskills’ cultural mystique for decades. Built by legendary producer Albert Grossman as part of the famed Bearsville complex that once hosted the likes of Bob Dylan, Todd Rundgren, and The Band, the venue carries the unmistakable aura of a place where music is meant to stretch its legs. On Sunday night, March 8th, that tradition continued when Spafford made their long-awaited debut on the Bearsville stage and delivered the kind of improvisational masterclass that felt perfectly at home in Woodstock’s deep musical soil.
Coming off a stellar daylight savings throwdown the previous evening at Brooklyn Bowl, the band rode a steady wave of momentum straight up the New York State Thruway and into the mountains. Playing their twelfth show in just thirteen days, Spafford arrived not as a weary touring act but as a band operating at full creative throttle. The stamina alone was impressive, but the passion behind their performance is what made this night so unforgettable. For a band whose improvisational instincts feel a mile high, the historic Bearsville Theater somehow felt perfectly scaled for them. Intimate enough to see every grin between bandmates, yet big enough to contain the sonic weather systems they conjure nightly. For fans of complex compositions, patient improvisation, extended type-II exploration, dazzling lights, and a whole lot of dancing, if the old adage about “never missing a Sunday show” ever needed reinforcement, this night in Woodstock offered fresh proof.
Emerging from Phoenix in the late 2000s, Spafford has steadily carved out a reputation as one of the most fearless improvisational outfits in the contemporary jam scene. Currently comprised of founding guitarist and vocalist Brian Moss, drummer Nick Tkachyk, keyboardist Cory Schectman, and bassist Shon Gordon, together they form a unit so attuned to one another that a single note can signal an entirely new direction. Yet despite their technical mastery and amphitheater-ready sound, they remain one of the jam scene’s most curious paradoxes. A band that deserves more. More fans, more coverage, and more respect.
Taking matters into their own hands on Sunday, Spafford wasted no time settling in. The opening notes of “Be Strange” rippled through the Bearsville barn like a reggae-laced invitation to let go of whatever baggage the weekend had accumulated. Moss’ guitar danced over Gordon’s buoyant bassline while Schectman colored the groove with shimmering keyboard accents and suddenly the room felt lighter. It was as if the band had collectively given the audience permission to surrender to the grooves ahead.
Next came the relatively new “Soggy Froggy,” penned by Gordon. Funky, complex, and irresistibly catchy, the tune blossomed into the first major improvisational excursion of the night. Clocking in near the twenty-minute mark, the jam twisted through rhythmic detours and melodic peaks before Moss cleverly steered the band into one of Spafford’s most trusted vehicles, “Mind’s Unchained.” What followed was blissful chaos. Soaring guitar lines, dirty funk dance breaks, and harmonic plateaus that kept the crowd swaying in collective rhythm. Another eighteen minutes disappeared in the blink of an eye. For those keeping score, that was nearly forty minutes of uninterrupted improvisation that never once flirted with boredom.
Some bands claim to be jam bands. When Spafford says it, they mean it. Further proof arrived with “Duncan’s Uncle,” performed only a handful of times in the band’s career. The 26-minute rendition unfolded like a living organism, shifting tempos and textures with startling fluidity before finally settling into a triumphant peak. At that point, the first set alone could have stood as a victory, but this was merely the warm-up.
During set break, longtime tour manager, lyricist, and namesake Chuck ‘Spafford’ Johnson took the stage for a beloved new tradition known as the poetry portion of the evening. Reading an original piece titled “Karaoke Superstar,” Johnson delivered one of his signature “Dreams,” surreal spoken-word vignettes that exist somewhere between humor and existential reflection. In a room already buzzing with creative energy, the reading felt like a perfectly strange intermission.
“A hundred million stories and a hundred million songs
I feel stupid when I sing, nobody’s listening to me, nobody’s listening
I talk to shooting stars but they always get it wrong
I feel stupid when I pray, why the fuck am I praying anyway? If nobody’s listening”
-Lyrics from “Anyone”
The second set began with our first cover of the night. Returning to the stage with “Anyone,” originally recorded by Demi Lovato, Schectman immediately launched into a swirling synthesizer barrage that transformed the emotional pop ballad into a pulsing EDM dance floor. Samples ricocheted across the room while Tkachyk’s SPD-SX drum pad added glitchy rhythmic accents. Playing his custom hollow-body guitar “The Crow,” crafted by Arizona luthier Andrew Thomas, Moss delivered a performance filled with sincerity and aching melodic phrasing. Despite lyrics that suggest doubt if anyone was really listening, the truth was obvious. The entire room was and they were completely locked in and hanging on every note. But the real centerpiece of the second set arrived next in the form of “Dirtbath.”
An ambitious composition filled with dynamic twists, the piece has long served as one of Spafford’s most adventurous vehicles. Sunday’s version reached extraordinary heights. Midway through the song came a dramatic pause reminiscent of “Divided Sky,” yielding a prolonged moment of absolute silence that brought the entire barn to its knees before the band slowly rebuilt the groove. Watching Moss and Gordon lock onto a new riff and develop it in real time was nothing short of mesmerizing. Smiles spread across the stage as the jam grew deeper, stranger, and more cosmic. Twenty minutes in, the audience knew they were witnessing something special before the band threw in a little curveball. Out of the swirling improvisation emerged the unmistakable melody of “Mad World,” the haunting classic by Tears for Fears famously revived in the film Donnie Darko. Spafford flipped the tune into an upbeat groove, stretching it just long enough before seamlessly sliding back into the second half of “Dirtbath,” completing a nearly 35-minute improvisational sandwich that left jaws somewhere near the floorboards.
Before the encore, Nick Tkachyk paused to admire the room, remarking how beautiful Bearsville is and how fortunate local audiences are to experience live music there. His gratitude felt genuine as did the smiles from the other members as Tkachyk introduced everyone. The final number, “Salamander Song,” proved a joyous closer and was perhaps a bit of a tip-of-the-cap to former Spafford bassist and current Woodstock resident Jordan Fairless. Built around a playful groove and an extended bass spotlight, the tune became Shon Gordon’s moment to shine. When the moment came, Gordon knew exactly what to do, unleashing an absolutely ferocious solo, complete with double-tapping and punching on the fretboard like the instrument owed him money. The peak arrived in a wave of laughter, dancing, and collective catharsis. Onstage, the band looked like four friends discovering joy in their music all over again.
Bearsville has always been a place where music feels a little closer to the earth. Where the mountains echo back every note and the spirit of Woodstock’s creative lineage quietly hums in the background. On Sunday night, Spafford fit into that lineage like they’d always belonged there. Thriving on improvisation, chasing sonic frontiers, and refusing to repeat themselves, they build cosmic moments from scratch each night using sounds and samples of their own design. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. “Spafford is your favorite band’s favorite band.” Road warriors. Survivors. Fearless musical explorers still evolving in real time and still somehow flying just under the radar. Those lucky enough to be inside the Bearsville Theater already know the truth. For everyone else, what exactly are you waiting for? Do yourself a favor and hear what you’ve been missing. Listen to the whole show right now in the clip below and decide for yourself.
Spafford | March 8, 2026 | Bearsville Theater | Woodstock, NY
Set 1: Be Strange, Soggy Froggy > Mind’s Unchained, Duncan’s Uncle.
Set 2: Anyone [1], Dirtbath > Mad World [2] > Dirtbath.
Encore: Salamander Song.
[1] Demi Lovato
[2] Tears for Fears.
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