Dave Matthews Band Push Through Storms, Surprises at Pine Knob Amphitheatre

CLARKSTON, MI(July 9,2025)-The storm didn’t scare anyone off. Despite a 45-minute weather delay and some soggy lawn seats, the Dave Matthews Band showed up in full force at Pine Knob on Tuesday night and gave the crowd exactly what they came for: a long, loose, and loud night of music that veered between old favorites, deep cuts, and unexpected covers. No openers or unwanted filler, just DMB doing what they’ve always done best—playing like they mean it.

They started with “Dancing Nancies,” a jam that felt more like a warm welcome than an opening number. The first notes of the cut landed like muscle memory for longtime fans and it wasn’t long before the sold-out amphitheater was shouting the line: “Could I have been anyone other than me?” Its a bit cliche, but it really did set the direction for the night—freewheeling, nostalgic, and wide open. After three decades, the song still hits hard with clarity and purpose and Tuesday’s version showed no signs of wear.

Matthews and his band wasted no time getting into deep territory. “Funny the Way It Is” and “Warehouse” came early and laid the foundation that this wasn’t going to be a hits-only set, but one of those nights where the band digs around and pulls out what feels right in the moment. No pyrotechnics. No pretense. Just a band that’s been doing this long enough to know exactly how to let a night build.

A quiet, stripped-down “Fool to Think,” followed, with Matthew’s vocals a little rough around the edges—but that’s part of the draw. It’s real. When “Satellite,” came next, the crowd was locked in. Amazingly as the night progressed, phones stayed in pockets. People actually listened.

Then came “Madman’s Eyes,” one of the newer tracks of the set. It hit hard, almost brooding, with Carter Beauford pounding out complex rhythms and Jeff Coffin’s sax slicing through like a warm knife through butter. DMB’s latest material has a darker edge, and it played well live—especially after the chaos of the storm earlier.

But the band didn’t linger too long in that space. “Seven” was pure funk, while “The Stone” brought a haunting energy that was saved by its softer outro, drifting into a short, unexpected callback to Elvis’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

Then things got weird—in the best way. Out came Valdez Brantley, and with him came the biggest surprise of the night: a full-blown cover of Cameo’s “Word Up!” Brantley on vocals, Rashawn Ross and Coffin tearing up the horn lines, and Dave and company grinning like teenagers who just got away with something. It slammed. No other way to put it. They followed it with a blistering “Tripping Billies,” and just like that, the place was rocking like the skies hadn’t opened up an hour earlier.

The band pulled things back with “Cry Freedom,” a quiet, politically charged moment that felt more pointed this time around, especially after Dave made a brief statement earlier in the set: “We gotta figure out how to love each other right and stop listening to all these misleaders.” That’s about as direct as he gets—but the message landed.

Later, they flipped the script again with a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Fool in the Rain.” Matthews leaned into it harder than expected, and Beauford absolutely crushed the shuffling beat. It wasn’t note-for-note perfect, but it didn’t need to be—it was fun, unexpected, and totally theirs.

A couple of deeper cuts followed—“Say Goodbye,” “Blackjack,” and the newer “Looking for a Vein”—before the band brought things home with “You Might Die Trying” and “Grey Street,” both played with the kind of force that only a band with three decades of road time can manage.

Then came the encore.

Matthews returned alone with just his guitar and the lights turned low for “Some Devil.” It was raw, maybe a little shaky, but deeply human. He didn’t need the band for that one. When the rest of the group returned for the final song, “So Right,” it felt less like a grand finale and more like the band signing off with a nod and a smirk.

Still Doing It Their Way

At this point, Dave Matthews Band doesn’t have anything to prove. They’ve been selling out venues for over 30 years. They’ve racked up hits, changed lineups, survived tragedies, and made it through the musical trends that came and went. What makes their live shows different is how little they care about running through the same formula night after night.

No setlists are the same. They go off-script just about every night. They jam when they feel like it. Tuesday’s show included songs from just about every chapter of their discography, plus two wild covers. That’s the kind of show fans travel for—and many of them do.

Guitarist Tim Reynolds continues to be one of the group’s most underrated assets. His solos are more mood than muscle, more feeling than flash. On “The Only Thing,” he played like someone trying to say something without words—and it worked.

Carter Beauford, as always, was a monster behind the kit. His playing remains precise and playful, especially on the tougher arrangements like “Seven” and “Fool in the Rain.” Stefan Lessard kept things grounded on bass, weaving through Reynolds’s solos and Brantley’s funk. Rashawn Ross and Jeff Coffin, meanwhile, might be one of the most slept-on horn sections in rock. They shifted from subtle accents to front-and-center showstoppers in seconds.

No Frills, All Feeling

There were no fancy transitions. No over-explaining. Just music. The band played straight through with minimal breaks, letting the songs do the talking. It’s a risky move in an era of overstimulation, but that’s what sets this band apart. They ask the audience to listen. And they trust that they will.

That trust paid off on Tuesday.

Even when things got messy—whether from the weather, the unpredictable setlist, or the occasional vocal strain—the crowd stayed locked in. Nobody came to be wowed by pyrotechnics or laser shows. They came for the real thing.

And that’s what they got.

The Pine Knob show wasn’t a flawless performance. It wasn’t polished. But it felt alive—and that’s what matters. DMB doesn’t chase perfection. They chase connection.

And on this night, in this place, they nailed it.