Article Contributed by Andrew Staples
Published on 2026-07-17
Dave Matthews Band | Gilford, New Hampshire | July 14th, 2026 - photos by Andrew Staples
BankNH Pavilion in Gilford, New Hampshire, is not a secret anymore, though the locals might want you to think otherwise. Maybe it’s the lake vibes, maybe it’s the venue amenities or maybe it’s the incredibly kind and accommodating staff. Regardless, when Dave Matthews Band shows up to Gilford every summer, you’re in for a treat, and this year was no exception. On Tuesday night, July 14, the heat and humidity couldn’t stop the sold-out crowd of 9,000 fans from packing the venue for DMB’s 17th show at the pavilion.
With the temps peaking in the low 90s, you might expect the band to start slow and ease into their set, but they certainly did not. They opened with a raucous “Don’t Drink the Water,” a hit from their acclaimed 1998 album Before These Crowded Streets. In recent months, Dave has not been shy about his thoughts on the state of the nation, and one might wonder if the set choices might reflect that. This opener could have answered that question with haunting lyrics like, “All I can say to you, my new neighbor, is you must move on, or I will bury you…”
From there, the band found a groove with a balanced handful of choices from their catalog, including “You Never Know,” “Break Free,” “Hunger for the Great Light” and “Old Dirt Hill,” which included a Carter Beauford-led crowd sing-along in the outro as they sang out, “Bring that beat back to me again.”
One thing that’s fun about going to a DMB show is the guessing game that happens between songs, and that’s what a catalog of their size allows. Some fans will see the 12-string come out and predict what song comes next, but ultimately, DMB does what few bands do: They play a unique set each night. If you’re lucky enough to see two or even three nights of DMB shows back-to-back-to-back, you’re going to see and hear that many different shows.
So, after this run of jams, they broke out a fan favorite in “Typical Situation” from their 1994 major-label debut, Under the Table and Dreaming. The song featured Jeff Coffin and Rashawn Ross on horns, tearing it up to close out the song, which really got the crowd going. This might have been another nod to Dave’s take on the world: “It’s a typical situation in these typical times…”
The next few moments were filled with mellower grooves in the shape of “Broken Things,” “You and Me,” “So Damn Lucky,” “Grace Is Gone” and “Do You Remember,” but not without another memorable sing-along. This time, it was led by Buddy Strong on keyboards during “So Damn Lucky,” as he had the 9,000 strong—see what I did there?—chanting, “Thank you for letting me be myself again!”
DMB isn’t just “Dave,” even though you’ll hear fans say, “I’m going to see Dave,” or, “My favorite Dave song is…” As experienced at a live show, any of the guys can get the crowd going, whether it’s Buddy or Carter leading a chant, Stefan Lessard on bass leading the “woos” during “Warehouse,” Tim Reynolds on guitar working the crowd into a frenzy, or Rashawn Ross on trumpet and Jeff Coffin on saxophone blowing your mind with their world-class chops. This band has it all, and it seems like Gilford brings the best out of them.
And if getting the crowd going was what they wanted to do, what they had in store next did the job as they broke out the Bowie classic “Let’s Dance.” It wouldn’t be a “Dave show” without a fun cover in there somewhere, and this one hit the spot.
It also wouldn’t be a DMB show if they didn’t dig up a song that hadn’t been played in a while—or “liberated,” as DMB fans call it—and that’s what they did next with “If I Had It All,” which was last played on June 28, 2019. It wasn’t lost on the Gilford faithful, as they ate it up.
To keep the fervor up, the fellas went into one of their most well-known hits, “What Would You Say,” a song that, frankly, Dave could just play and let the crowd sing for him—but not on this night. He put all of his energy into it, as did the rest of the band. It was one lucky young fan’s birthday because, when they got to the line, “Mom, it’s my birthday,” Dave pointed to him and signed something for him at the end of the show.
To take a breather and deliver a couple of poignant songs, the band went into “Mercy,” a commentary on love and hope in an upside-down world, followed by “Spoon,” a deep cut from Before These Crowded Streets that featured Alanis Morissette on its studio recording.
But the guessing game commenced again when the black electric guitar came out. Only a few songs could come from this axe, but the highest-energy one came tonight by way of “So Right,” which brought the crowd back to dancing and singing the lines, “Stay up and make some memories, yeah, with us now…” It was a perfect sentiment for the night as the set wound down to one song before the encore break.
And what a song it was. There are two ways DMB can deliver “Warehouse”: with or without the “woos.” If you know, you know. Not to be Switzerland, but I truly love both. The woos are great, they get the crowd involved and Stefan gets a chance to participate. But without the woos, it’s more intense and Dave gets to wail. On this night, it was the original, no-woos “Warehouse,” and it was a great way to end the set and leave the crowd wanting more.
DMB has made a practice of structuring its encores as a Dave-only solo song followed by a full-band song. Tonight, Dave came out and treated the crowd to a rendition of “Some Devil,” the title track from his 2003 solo album of the same name.
As the rest of the band filled the stage, the guessers were busy and feverishly wondering what the night would end with. There are some songs in the DMB catalog that fans connect with on a deep, personal level. Tonight, DMB pulled one of those out by closing the show with “Grey Street.”
“Grey Street” explores depression and feelings of being trapped, themes and emotions that so many connect with. For years, Dave had omitted a third verse of the song that many fans love. More recently, the verse that includes the lines, “There’s a stranger speaks outside her door, says, ‘Take what you can from your dreams, make them as real as anything. Oh, it’d take the work out of the courage,’” has been included in live shows. Tonight was no exception, and the Gilford crowd showed its appreciation.
Many fans who go to night one in Gilford also come out for night two, myself included. It’s always fun to look at a setlist, rule out the songs we’ve heard and hope for what we might get on night two.
Night one certainly didn’t disappoint. Nine thousand people walked out of BankNH Pavilion in Gilford sweaty and probably tired, but absolutely satisfied, happy and looking forward to night two.
