Article Contributed by Norm Kittleson
Published on 2026-11-09
The String Cheese Incident | GLC Live at 20 Monroe | Grand Rapids, MI | November 4th, 2026 - photos by Norm Kettelson
“Believe,” the song The String Cheese Incident opened with at GLC Live at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids on November 4, is a solid rocker that got the crowd going. The band then shifted gears into the Keith Moseley love song “Get Tight” with its bro-country like lyrics mixed with a slight reggae lilt. This contrast in styles gave the audience a taste of the different genres the band would be exploring during their almost three-hour show.
The highlight of the first set followed immediately when the band went into their longtime favorite “Restless Wind,” which featured an instrumental section with Michael Kang soloing on the fiddle. This was followed by a keyboard solo by Kyle Hollingsworth which allowed Kang to pick up his electric five-string mandolin again before the band returned for a finishing chorus.
A solo keyboard transition took the audience into Hollingsworth’s tune “Enjoy the Ride,” a song about letting go of the urge to control our circumstances. “Can't count the sand, we can't slow the tide, all we can do is enjoy the ride.” The ride took the audience into the first jam section of the evening with a lush and complex soundscape formed by the interplay between the keyboards and Kang’s mando with deep, rich effects on it. A brief nod to John Coltrane’s “Impressions” prefaced a transition into “Born on the Wrong Planet” with another jam section resolving into the set closer, the instrumental number “Fete Tama” (which translates to Festival of the Talking Drum). Inspired by world music rhythms that Hollingsworth had been listening to, it gave percussionist Jason Hann the opportunity to shine on the Tama, or Talking Drum.
In the lobby, a table decked out with a Jellyfish banner and yellow balloons held candy and stickers. The table is manned by members of a group called the Jellyfish, a “yellow balloon” group that offers support for those fans who have struggled with drugs and alcohol and want to enjoy shows without using substances. The group has a presence at most Cheese shows, and they hold a quick meeting during set breaks. The name comes from a Cheese song by the same name that is a cautionary tale about drinking too much tequila.
The second set opened with “Black Clouds,” a 1997 Bill Nershi tune from the band’s debut album. Nershi gave Michigan native Billy Strings a shout out because Billy has been covering it for many years. “Black Clouds” is a straight-up bluegrass progression with Latin percussion underneath. The number worked its way into a laid-back jam with Keith leading the way on the keys.
Next up was “Outside and Inside,” a classic funky Cheese tune with a “Shakedown Street” vibe. “Outside and inside, it's all part of the same ride. You don't have to run and hide, just keep your eyes open for the rising tide.” The tide rose into an extended jam that included a soaring solo by Kang with a “Dear Mr. Fantasy” tease.
A three-ish minute keyboard-led transition took the band into the Kyle song “Light Fantastic.” This song is a natural for a jam, and it did not disappoint with a well-constructed section including some recorded spoken word drop ins such as “Number nine, number nine,” from the Beatles’ White Album. An intense fuzz and distortion driven solo by Kang resolved back into another set of verses and a final chorus. This was one of the highlights of the show and a great example of the kind of creative music the band is capable of.
The home stretch of the show started off with “Sirens,” a song about mortality and expressing love in the face of the uncertainty of our time of death that has a nifty little portion with Jason doing some Tippa Irie style rap. The main body of the song was very well-played, but then it went into a jam that was not well structured and felt aimless. They teased the intro to “Valley of the Jig” for too long before finally going into it, and it wasn’t the most compelling version of it I’ve heard either. After a strong show, this let some of the air out of the balloon.
The crowd didn’t seem disappointed though and got an encore of “Pickin’ to Beat the Devil” by Pure Prairie League. It was an upbeat bluegrass/country way to end the evening that sent the crowd home happy.
A friend who was seeing the band for the first time put it succinctly: “I like their music; they play a lot of different things. They like to jam a lot, and they have nice lights.” She got it.
