John Popper of Blues Traveler, John Medeski and Jake Cinninger of Umphrey’s McGee will perform with Bill Evans’ Soulgrass tonight during their residency shows at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City. As previously reported, Popper was supposed to play with the group the other night, but had to back out because he was recovering from a recent gallbladder surgery. Evans broke the news to fans at Tuesdays gigs after telling a different funny story each show. During the first set, Evans said Popper was attacked by a bear in the woods and second set he mentioned that he was injured while trying to escape a shark during a recent scuba-diving trip.

Tonight’s shows will mark the third night of Bill Evans’ Soulgrass’s six-night residency at the iconic venue. The group will be doing two performances each night during the run, which continues through Sunday night. Since Butch Trucks mentioned that Evans would be his pick as new member of The Allman Brothers Band, it is entirely possible that he will also sit in with the group at the Beacon in the coming days.