Three nights at The Garden is no skin of the backs of the Dave Matthews Band. If anything, selling out the venue is a given, and them coming to our area for a fall tour has become a bit of a standard for the group. On the night the below photos were taken, November 22, it was the first of the three rocking, noteworthy concerts. The band dove into a slew of songs – hits, deep cuts, and everything in between. Tracks from over 10 albums were unearthed and there was something musically wonderful for everyone in the audience… and that was before Warren Haynes was brought out for two duets on Neil Young covers! This first evening was fun and mesmerizing in all the details and exactly what a DMB show at MSG should be. No stone was left unturned. We were thrilled to be there, as always.
Photos by Ehud Lazin
However, back in October, the Dave Matthews Band announced SOULSHINE, a benefit concert to raise money for those affected by the tragic hurricanes that ran up the South Eastern coast of the United States, and (shockingly) even further inland, at the end of September. This announcement made their third night of their Madison Square Garden dates a bit of a different show, but with reason. Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton truly shook up Florida and Western North Carolina, and two months later, the devastation is still immense. Whole towns were wrecked and families continue to be without homes. Nothing could’ve prepared many of these people or places for what Mother Nature brought to them, but what many charitable organizations have done to help them since is what we are currently focusing on.
Luke Combs recruited friends and peers (such as James Taylor and Eric Church) for his own Concert for Carolina last month and raised over $24.5 million to salvage his beloved home state. Next week is Carolina Jam, a benefit show organized by and starring up-and-coming artists in the Washington, D.C. area in which “ticket sales will go to BeLoved Asheville, a 501c3 non-profit and community-based organization in North Carolina that provides much needed assistance to the underprivileged and underserved people of Asheville.” Closer to home at The World’s Most Famous Arena, the proceeds from night three of DMB at MSG, the SOULSHINE show, went to the Concert Fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, which directly connects to Habitat for Humanity’s Hurricane Recovery Fund and, as the Dave Matthews Band announcement stated, “will also support a variety of non-profits on the ground in North Carolina and Florida.”
The lineup of musicians and buddies of the Dave Matthews Band that were taking part in this important night was outstanding. The Warren Haynes Band, who hail from Asheville, were on the bill and played one of their most emotional sets to date (and Warren Haynes has been taking the stage for us for decades). One of our favorite acts, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, brought an impassioned energy to the venue that further lifted people up, reminding people that this night was as much about music as it was about helping others. Goose made their legendary mark on The Garden’s stage for the very first time, as well. The electric, magical jam band transcended time and space, also alongside Robert Randolph and Derek Trucks for two jaw-dropping numbers, then again with Susan Tedeschi and another with Dave Matthews. (What a way to make your MSG debut! Aiding in the recovery of fellow Americans and their hometowns and filling a room with as many roaring melodies as they did roaring applause.) Also on the bill as guests for SOULSHINE were Trey Anastasio, Mavis Staples, Trombone Shorty, and Joe Russo. Every person put on a riveting show and brought light, love, and levity to the important benefit concert that DMB extraordinarily put together…. Or should we say, “came together,” given that the entire lineup of rockers, rollers, icons, and jammers sang The Beatles’ ever timely “Come Together” for the event’s encore. The night of November 24 was a heartwarming assembly and truly beneficial; plus, we’ll never miss the opportunity to see the Dave Matthews Band in action (like we did on November 22).
