Photos: Umphrey’s McGee at VooDoo Lounge Jan. 21, 2026

Photo by Allison Scavo

On the 28th anniversary of Umphrey’s McGee’s first show together on stage, Kansas City could heavily feel the historic significance.

Before the band began, I could hear murmuring from the awaiting crowd asking if they were going to redo their set from their first show. Once they walked on stage, they immediately began playing “Nothing Too Fancy” without introduction or banter. Their extended grooves, instrumental, and harmonic ambiguity delayed resolution as the song kept building. Eventually, without stopping or slowing down, UM seamlessly transitioned into “Piranhas,” sending Umphreaks into a frenzy. The entire night kept up with the theme of “what will they play next” by even bending genres into reggae with “Trenchtown Rock.”

Coming back for their encore with “Dear Lord” had us all revved for more when they finalized the night with the end of the first song of the night, proving they never truly finished their opener and created one huge, long song.

The setlist did not operate as a greatest-hits archive but as a longitudinal study of the band’s evolving syntax. Older material was not preserved in amber; it was recontextualized, compressed, fractured, or expanded, depending on the demands of the moment. Newer compositions were not positioned as novelties but as equal contributors to the band’s theoretical vocabulary. The anniversary framing was implicit, not performative.

Happy Birthday, Umphrey’s McGee.