Article Contributed by Tony Mueller
Published on 2026-08-20
The String Cheese Incident | Eau Claire, WI | photos by Tony Mueller
There are a lot of ways to close out a tour, but The String Cheese Incident decided to do it with two nights of music and a whole lot of friends alongside them. Their tour-closing festival brought together Leftover Salmon, Lettuce, Eggy, and Dogs In A Pile for a weekend that was exactly what I wanted out of a music festival. To my relief, the music started at 6 p.m. each night, which gave everyone plenty of time to settle in, hang out, and enjoy the festival without feeling like they had to hop from stage to stage all day.
Friday night got started with Leftover Salmon, who had great energy for a cloudy sunset show. I've only seen Leftover Salmon a handful of times, but I always love what they do. I mean, it is pretty obvious why this band has been doing this for so long. They play together incredibly well, and their evening set was a perfect way to ease into the weekend. By the time they wrapped up, it was time for The String Cheese Incident to take the stage and get the main event rolling.
Cheese opened their first set with "Just One Story" into "Carnival," immediately giving the crowd a taste of the kind of ride they were in for. They worked through "Cottonmouth," "Give Me the Love," and "BollyMunster" before bringing Leftover Salmon back out for "Zombie Jamboree." The two bands clearly had a great time sharing the stage, and they finished the set with the longtime Cheese favorite "Colorado Bluebird Sky." It was a great first set, but the second one was where things really got exciting for me.
The second set opened with "Tinder Box" into "The Big Reveal" and then "Round the Wheel," before getting to my personal favorite moment of the entire weekend. Cheese broke into a cover of Pink Floyd's "Fearless," and hearing that one live was something I wasn't expecting but absolutely loved. They followed it with "It Is What It Is" and eventually brought Leftover Salmon back out for "Fè Tâma" to close things down.
After a short break, the weekend's late-night music moved over to the Backwoods Stage, where Eggy took over for a full two-hour jam session. I was especially excited for this one because the first time I saw Eggy, they were missing their drummer. This time, I got the full experience, and they absolutely blew me away. It was one of those sets where you look up and suddenly realize you've been standing there for two hours. I already can't wait to see them again.
Saturday brought a little more funk to the party with Lettuce. I've seen Lettuce plenty of times over the years, and it is always a pleasure getting to cover them. Adam Deitch continues to lead this band with his drumsticks, and watching him work behind the kit is always a treat. Lettuce got everyone moving before Cheese returned for their second night of the weekend.
Cheese opened Saturday's first set with "Can't Wait Another Day," followed by the traditional song "High on a Mountain Top," originally by the great Ola Belle Reed. They moved through "Lightning Sky" and "These Waves" into "Djibouti Bump" before closing the set with the classic "Texas." It was another solid set, but the final set of the weekend felt like Cheese was pulling out the good stuff for one last ride.
They opened with "Shantytown" into "Can't Stop Now," then moved into a stretch that had plenty of familiar faces for longtime fans. "Jellyfish" flowed into a "Let's Go Outside" sandwich with The Who's "Eminence Front" as the cheese right in the middle. From there, the jams kept rolling into "Joyful Sound" before they brought everything full circle with "Just One Story." After everything else they had played all weekend, it felt like the perfect way to close out their final set.
Then came one more song, "Rosie," for the encore, sending everyone off with one last singalong before the crowd made its way back to the Backwoods Stage.
And if you thought everyone was ready to call it a night, Dogs In A Pile had other plans. They played a massive late-night set that also lasted around two hours, where they absolutely blew the leaves off the trees. I heard someone say afterward that they deserved to be playing the main stage, and honestly, I can't argue with them, but the Backwoods Stage just felt like the perfect home for them.
There was something really fun about having the entire crowd packed under the trees and stars late at night, still going strong after a full day of cheesin'. The late-night shows actually felt surprisingly packed both nights. It seemed like just about everyone at the festival made sure they weren't missing the music, and that is exactly how I think it should be.
One of the things that stood out to me most was just how well attended the whole weekend felt. I've heard the festival sells roughly half as many tickets as Blue Ox, but standing in the crowd, it honestly didn't always feel that way. Maybe it was because people were actually sticking around for the music instead of disappearing for half the day. Personally, that's what I go to festivals for. There is nothing wrong with taking a break and enjoying everything else a festival has to offer, but when you have this many great bands in one place, I'm going to do my best not to miss them.
This was also my first time shooting for The String Cheese Incident, and it was my first time seeing them in probably eight years. I didn't realize quite how much I had missed them until I was standing there watching them again. They clearly haven't skipped a beat.
The weekend was a great reminder of why bands like Cheese continue to bring people together after all these years, and hearing that this is something they plan to make an annual event was pretty exciting. If this second year is any indication, I'm already looking forward to seeing what they do with it next year.
It was an honor to cover the weekend, and an even bigger honor to finally get Cheese in front of my lenses. Two nights, four String Cheese sets, two incredible late-night bands, and a whole lot of music made for one heck of a way to close out a tour.
