Gene Ween with Umphrey’s McGee- photo by Jay Blakesberg

What a difference a year makes.

After the 2015 edition of Lockn’ was marred by a vicious microburst that tore through the area, causing extensive property damage due to high winds and prompting the cancelation of Thursday’s festivities, Arrington, VA remained dry for the opening day of 2016 with some musical highlights to boot.

With last year’s festival and its subsequent weather issues still fresh in the minds of those who attended, having a clean, dry Thursday almost felt like playing with house money. It all seemed like a bonus day on Oak Ridge Farm, albeit with brief periods of sweltering heat that caused even the most conditioned of Southern folk to seek shade wherever they could.

Since music wouldn’t begin until 7:30, many of those already settled into their temporary Arrington home used the opportunity to get acquainted with their neighbors and explore the grounds as the masses rolled in by the thousands for a weekend that promises some of the best musical acts to visit Lockn’ thus far.

While Phish may be the centerpiece of the festival, with the Vermont quartet set to make their Lockn’ premiere tonight with a second show to follow on Sunday, Thursday’s acts offered some fresh faces making their Lockn’ debuts including a kickoff set from budding funk rockers Vulfpeck to go along with a main stage closing bid from the newly reunited Ween (Although Gene Ween performed with his solo act Freeman in 2014).

Vulfpeck, the funk outfit taking the jamband world by storm at the moment, seemed to be just what the doctor ordered as Lockn’ attendees emerged from whatever shade they may have carved out to assemble for a set highlighted by infectious grooves and sing-along tracks thanks in part to lead vocals from Antwaun Stanley. These tunes included a cover of Steely Dan’s “Peg” led by Stanley before the stage quickly rotated to the sounds of Umphrey’s McGee.

Umphrey’s, who have become Lockn’ veterans with their third appearance on the farm, stayed true to their mission statement on this night. After playing interlocking sets with String Cheese Incident their first year and a late night blowout in 2015, Umphrey’s got their time in the spotlight with a main stage gig all to themselves before Ween hit at 10 PM.

With ninety minutes to work with, Umphrey’s got going with a series of extended jams early on in their set, including an opening “1348” from their 2009 effort Mantis as well as the more dancey, electronic-oriented “Triple Wide,” which followed one of the band’s newer tunes, “Attachments.”

The centerpiece of the set came towards the back half of their time slot, with the sextet dipping into their classic “2×2,” which forayed into another newer tune “Speak Up” before returning to the song that has been with the band since their inception in 1998. The rest of their set included higher-energy songs like “Puppet String” that dipped into one of their newest compositions “Roctopus,” taken from the band’s Raw Stewage quarter at their annual UMBowl event, which finds them creating songs sourced from past improvisations as voted on by the fans (“Roctopus” draws from a 2005 jam out of “Pay the Snucka” as well as a 2014 jam from “In the Kitchen.”) The group closed out their set with “All In Time,” a song from their 1998 debut Greatest Hits Vol. III, with an altogether fitting title, given what happened to Lockn’s Thursday in 2015.

While Umphrey’s mostly relied on their originals, the band made waves when they welcomed out Gene Ween towards the end of the set, revisiting their God Boner collaboration which originated at Summer Camp Music Festival in 2015. On this night, Gene Ween led Umphrey’s McGee on a cover of Billy Joel’s “The Stranger,” offering a nod to his “Gene Ween Does Billy Joel” tour.

Following Umphrey’s performance, bassist Dave Dreiwitz delivered the first of two consecutive sets at the festival. Before making his way to the Blue Ridge Bowl for a performance with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, he joined longtime bandmates Gene and Dean Ween for two hours of music with the Pennsylvania weirdo rockers.

Ween’s set, which is the first of two for the group, kicked off with a euphoric “Transdermal Celebration,” as the group made the most of their two-hour time slot by combining the weirdness of Friday/Sunday headliners Phish with the grungy, classic rock of the forefathers of the genre. Their setlist included “Mister Richard Smoker” as well as the Chocolate and Cheese classic “Baby Bitch” along with many others. The group didn’t feel like it had only recently reunited after years of inactivity. Their freedom and willingness to venture into the depths of their music proved to be their calling card on this night, a true rising of the Boognish.

Then, while EOTO performed in the Woods and DJ Jerrbrother summoned Jerry Garcia in Garcia’s Forest, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead offered a highly anticipated late night set at the Blue Ridge Bowl. Although the members of the band feel like Lockn’ family after providing years of service, this was JRAD’s Lockn’ debut and the group came out firing with Dead classics like “Truckin,” “St. Stephen” and “Dark Star” with their (as Dave Dreiwitz once told Jambands.com) “New Jersey punk” reading of the Dead’s catalog.

While the Virginia sun played a role early in the day, opening night at Lockn’, certainly put the weekend on the right path. Compared to where we stood last year, that’s more than anyone could’ve asked for.