The String Cheese Incident electrified on a steamy night at ArtPark with their first show in Western New York in 20 years on Wednesday, June 18. For many in the audience who haven’t seen countless String Cheese shows at Electric Forest, this show felt like a rare treat. The String Cheese Incident shows are a unique jamband experience: one moment the set can be bluegrass, the next electronic, then psychedelic, and finally embracing world music time signatures, instruments and songs. There is a song for all concert goers at a String Cheese show.

The String Cheese Incident hails from Crested Butte, Colorado and is known as one of the grassroots pioneers in the music scene. They have embraced running music on their terms with their own independent record label, SCI Fidelity Records, leading the downloadable live show movement and opening their own companies to manage tickets, merchandise and fan travel. They also are known for their philanthropic endeavors as $1 per ticket purchased benefits the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. The band currently consists of all individually powerhouse musicians in the jam band scene: Bill Nershi (guitar), Michael Kang (Mandolin, violin, guitar), Michael Travis (drums and percussion), Keith Moseley (bass), Kyle Hollingsworth (keys), and Jason Hann (percussion).

The show welcomed showgoers with their groovier side with ‘Believe’ and ‘Born on the Wrong Planet’. Most of the set explored their progressive bluegrass sounds of songs like ‘Dudley’s Kitchen’ and ‘Enjoy the Ride’ as people transitioned from work to Artpark on this humid Wednesday evening. The band picked up the pace to dance on ‘BollyMunster’ which felt like Travis and Hann coming center stage to finish off the set.

The second set opened with the electronic energy in ‘All We Got’ as people loosened up from their day ready to dance into the sunset to songs celebrating this like ‘One Step Closer’. By the time they began playing ‘Rollover’, they sounded warmed up like this was Day 1 of their festival sets and we were just beginning to embark on a long journey through heartwarming covers, electrifying jams, and light shows that could take us on a visual adventure. The second set finished with jams into ‘Colliding’.

The String Cheese Incident closed the night with familiar singalongs woven together: ‘I Know You Rider (Grateful Dead)’ and ‘Stir It Up (The Wailers)’. The show left everyone wanting more or to attend a music festival as soon as possible as the show ended just as the sun went down. The String Cheese Incident will continue their summer tour mainly out West but will make a few stops mid-west in August. You can catch The String Cheese Incident at Cain Park Evans Amphitheater in Cleveland, Ohio on August 13.

String Cheese Incident – Artpark, Lewiston NY – Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Set 1: Believe, Born on the Wrong Planet > Artpark Jam > Dudley’s Kitchen, Stop the Train (The Wailers cover), Enjoy the Ride, Smile (Billy & Liza cover), BollyMunster

Set 2: All We Got, Dirk > Lewiston Jam > One Step Closer, Sometimes a River, Rhythm of the Road > Niagara Jam > Rollover > Buffalo Jam > Enjoy the Ride, Colliding

Encore: I Know You Rider (Grateful Dead cover) > Stir It Up (The Wailers cover) > I Know You Rider Reprise

This set is available for download on nugs.