Deep Dive with Umphrey's McGee

Formed at the University of Notre Dame in December 1997 by guitarist/vocalist Brendan Bayliss, bassist Ryan Stasik, keyboardist Joel Cummins, and drummer Mike Mirro, Umphrey's McGee combined members of Tashi Station and Stomper Bob, two Notre Dame rock bands. Early concerts consisted of both original material and cover songs by bands such as Guns N' Roses, Phish and The Grateful Dead. The final line up was established by 2001 and the band then began practicing intense improvisational exercises, one of their most successful taking place in a hotel in the Jimmy Stewart Ballroom so they later named their onstage improvisational excursions Jimmy Stewart.

Their first major release came in June 2002 and was titled 'Local Band Does OK', that summer the first annual Bonnaroo Music Festival took place and the band played to their largest crowd to date. The band sold more CDs than any other artist on a bill that included Widespread Panic, Trey Anastasio, and Norah Jones. In 2003 the band toured extensively, logging over 150 shows for the year before releasing 'Anchor Drops' in 2004 which was recorded all over California. They appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! alongside Huey Lewis in 2006 to support their next release 'Safety In Numbers' which was their first album to break the US Billboard top 200 and peaked top twenty on the US Indie chart.

That year they featured at most of the major US festivals playing in total 129 shows for the year before a three-night stand in Chicago for New Year's Eve. The band continued to develop their complex and ever changing live show. In 2010, the band debuted UMBowl, an interactive concert in 4 sets each with a different themes. Ticket purchasers are sent ballots to vote for the selections for two quarters, while the other two quarters are based upon interactive text submissions/votes.