Twenty-two years after first forming, the Dave Matthews Band is still going strong. With its annual summer tour having recently gotten underway (on May 17 in Woodland, Texas), a new live release, and a sixth straight album to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart (Away From The WorldAway from the World from 2012) to its credit, it’s safe to say the group is not slowing down anytime soon.
While the new tour will balance newer songs with old favorites, to keep its loyal fans even more excited, the popular “DMB Live Series” recently issued a digital-only live release (in high quality MP3 or FLAC files), DMBLive 3.25.1995 The Revolver Club, Madrid, Spain. The 14-song set includes familiar cuts like “Two Step,” “Jimi Thing,” and “What Would You Say,” as well as a rare jam entitled “Ole.”
In other news, last month, Matthews reached out to the victims of the April 17 West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15, injured 200, and damaged 100+ homes, via his charity-supporting organization, the Bama Works Fund. It awarded a grant to the West Texas Disaster Relief Efforts Fund to aid in recovery efforts.
The Virginia-based band has sold millions of records over the years, but their live show has always been its biggest strength. And the band knew this from the beginning, as their debut (independently-released) album from 1993, Between Two Things, consists mostly of live songs, some of which would later be hits in studio form. Those include “Ants Marching,” “Satellite,” and “Tripping Billies,” with the first two appearing later on Under the Table and Dreaming (1994), and the latter on Crash (1996). All three are still live favorites to this day.
Fans can still find Dave Matthews Band Tickets and catch it on tour in many cities across the States over the next few months (until it ends in Mountain View, California on September 8), and keep up with all news regarding the group at davematthewsband.com.