Charlottesville, VA · jam · roots rock · jam rock

Dave Matthews Band

2 upcoming festivals

Violin, saxophone, and Matthews's rhythmic yelp — a jam institution whose setlists still never repeat, and whose players still surprise each other nightly.

Dave Matthews Band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1991, around the songs of Dave Matthews, a singer and acoustic guitarist who was born in South Africa and had settled in the town. The original line-up paired him with drummer Carter Beauford, bassist Stefan Lessard, saxophonist LeRoi Moore and violinist Boyd Tinsley, an unusual instrumentation for a rock band and one that pushed the music toward jazz phrasing and long instrumental passages.

The group built its audience through constant touring and tape trading before Under the Table and Dreaming and Crash brought wider success. Moore died in 2008 and Tinsley left in 2018; the current touring band includes additional horn and guitar players, and setlists change substantially from night to night.

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