(Above: Photo by Jeff Miers)

By Jeff Miers

Midway through the third tune of Umphrey’s McGee’s first set at the Town Ballroom on February 1, my buddy grabbed me and yelled directly into my ear.

“I’m sending a text to a friend, and trying to tell them what this is all about. How would you describe this music to someone who has never heard it? Rock? Funk? Jam? Reggae? Metal? Prog?”

“It’s all of that, man, and all at once,” I said, and then floated back into the sonic cloud that was “Kabump,” a Caribbean-tinged funk-fest that evolved into an R&B-based groove for some lengthy and tastily esoteric ensemble interplay.

That’s Umphrey’s. A six-headed beast that devours every musical influence and idiom in its path, and then spits it back out as a forward-looking hybrid of late 20th and early 21st century song and sound, with a healthy seasoning of improvisation and spontaneous composition. Having said that, I remain aware that describing the band to the uninitiated is both a waste of time and nigh on impossible. You’re either on the bus or you’re not.

The Town Ballroom — now the site of 10 of UM’s 18 performances in Buffalo over the past 20 years — was packed with fellow travelers on Sunday evening. And the old Grateful Dead-associated axiom ‘Never miss a Sunday show’ rang true, as the band turned in an exquisite two-set, 3-hour show that featured some tried and true fan favorites (“2X2,” “Front Porch”), rarely played newer songs (“Exit Signs”), smartly curated and wildly diverse covers (a set 2 opening take on Ween’s “It’s Gonna Be A Long Night,” a half hilarious, half earnest version of Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses At Night” and a blistering encore of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”), and interesting teases and quotes from the catalogs of Chic (bassist Ryan Stasik laid down the line from “Good Times” during the “It Doesn’t Matter” jam), Led Zeppelin, and a nod to Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” that formed a set 2 sandwich with “Front Porch,” “Looks” and “1348” acting as the meat in the middle.

The combined effect of all of this musical dexterity, face-melting virtuosity and turn-on-a-dime ensemble dynamics was nothing short of stunning.

As is always the case with UM gigs, the guitarists (and non-musician devotees of six-string mastery) in the crowd were treated to a master class in awesomeness throughout the Buffalo show, as Jake Cinninger and Brandon Bayliss bobbed and weaved around each other, trading lines and riffs, pushing the improv in surprising directions, and crafting spontaneous harmonies at will.

The pair’s divergent styles — Cinninger crafts a singular fusion of progressive rock, metal, funk and occasional blues and R&B influences parlayed via to-die-for chops, while Bayliss favors melodic solos, rapid-fire pentatonics, and vibrant syncopated Afro-Caribbean stylings — complemented each other perfectly. Both players are equally comfortable shredding a hyper tremolo-picked passage or dipping into an esoteric, ethereal, spacious “sound design” jam. That’s a rare and precious ability, one that elevates UM toward the top of the, for want of a far better descriptive, “jam band” class.

Umphrey’s McGee, Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY, February 1, 2026. Photos by Jeff Miers and James Seney.

A pair of shout-outs are in order.

The first goes to drummer Scotty Zwang, who took over the throne from original skins-man Kris Myers in August of 20925, and brought along a serious pocket, unflinching groove and unerring ability to make complex passages sound effortless and organic. The way Zwang locked in with bassist Stasik throughout the Town Ballroom show was a joy to behold. These two summoned some serious thunder.

Secondly, whoever is handling the front-of-house sound for UM on this tour — sadly, I’m not sure of the name of the engineer, but they took over the role from the incredible Chris Mitchell, who handled the gig with grace and virtuosity for 14 years before taking over FOH duties for Sturgil Simpson in 2025 — deserves some flowers. From the start, the mix on Sunday was perfect — properly loud and beautifully bombastic, but clean, eloquently voiced, spacious, and somehow, equally pristine from the several vantage points I moved through during the gig. This was some of the very best live sound I’ve experienced, and I’ve experienced an awful lot of it. Kudos!

If you were there, you already know. If you weren’t… well, never miss a Sunday show!

Umphrey’s McGee – Sky’s the Limit Tour 2026

The Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY

February 1

First set:

Le Blitz

2X2 (with Star Wars theme tease)

Kabump

Exit Signs

It Doesn’t Matter (with Chic ‘Good Times’ jam)

The Bottom Half

Phil’s Farm

Second set:

It’s Gonna Be A Long Night (Ween cover)

1348

Atmosfarag

Jam

Suxity

Front Porch (with Bon Jovi tease)

Looks (with ‘Immigrant Song’ tease)

Sunglasses At Night (Corey Hart cover)

1348

Encore:

Higgins

Voodoo Child

Higgins (with Bon Jovi tease)

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