Photos by Larry Hulst

Celebrating the release of their first studio album in nine years, Song in My Head, The String Cheese Incident took to the streets of Boulder April 28 with a free 2-hour concert that brought thousands to the pavement and even a few to the nearby rooftops.

The two-hour show took place near Boulder’s fabled Fox Theatre, where SCI regularly performed before their burgeoning popularity moved them into small arenas and eventually into sold-out shows at nearby Red Rocks Amphitheatre and other large venues across the U.S.

The band opened with singer/guitarist Bill Nershi’s “Song in my Head,” a bouncy tribute to the band’s musical muse, before shifting into Keller Williams’ “Best Feeling,” which featured a “funked-up,” near-dubstep jam and emotive fretwork from singer/electric mandolin player Michael Kang. SCI then took a graceful turn into singer/keyboardist Kyle Hollingsworth’s swirling “Colliding,”

Next up, singer/bassist’s Keith Moseley’s “Look at Where We Are,” which set the tone for the show by seeming to address the last 20 years which has taken the band from playing Colorado ski lodges into a major national touring act.

Other highlights of the show were Nershi’s “Outside and Inside,” the instrumental “Rivertrance,” and a short but slamming EOTO break with drummer Michael Travis and percussionist Jason Hann feeding off each other’s percolating rhythms to the delight of the crowd.

SCI ended their set with Nershi’s tribute to the Centennial State “Colorado Bluebird Sky,” featuring the guitarist’s nimble fretwork and a long jam before the crowd joined the band in concluding the song on the final chorus.

The group encored with “BollyMunster”>”Can’t Wait Another Day” >“Rosie” before thanking the happy horde crowding the nearby streets and calling it a night.

The show was short of the Bluegrass-inspired songs so many SCI fans seem to adore, but the attending SCI fans seemed more than satisfied with their dose of free Cheese.