Having a special guest sit-in at a show can make for a unique and one-of-a-kind experience, and some of the most memorable concert moments. In this week’s 2022 Year In Review we take a look back at some of our favorite guest appearances of the year, and shows that are destined to be legendary concerts. The list of honorable mentions is exhaustive, and it’s challenging to pick just one from each band to highlight, but hopefully you find a show here to stream again or discover for the first time. Dig in and chime in, we’d love to hear your favorite guest sit-ins of the year.
Our Favorite Guest Appearances Of 2022 (in order of show date):
MY MORNING JACKET: 3/2/2022 – Riviera Cancun, MX
Featuring Phish’s Trey Anastasio for the three-song encore at their annual One Big Holiday festival. The following nights featured Brittany Howard and more.
BOBBY WEIR & WOLF BROS: 3/9/2022 – Nashville, TN
Guest filled opening night at The Ryman with Wynonna Judd, Margo Price, the WolfPack strings and horns section, and more.
JACK WHITE: 4/8/2022 – Detroit, MI
Listen back to one of the sweetest moments of the year as Jack’s then girlfriend Olivia Jean joins him on stage for a proper marriage proposal, then wedding!
VOODOO DEAD: 5/1/2022 – New Orleans, LA
This show was nothing but guests, a night of funky Grateful Dead tunes featuring Steve Kimock, John Medeski, Al Schnier, John Kimock, George Porter Jr., Reed Mathis, plus very special guest Duane Betts.
BILLY STRINGS: 5/8/2022 – Nashville, TN
The Ryman run featured guests each night, and the closing night saw legends Les Claypool, Bobby Weir, Ronnie McCoury, and Marty Stuart join the stage for one of the year’s best concerts.
PIGEONS PLAYING PING PONG: 5/21/2022 – Thornville, OH
Billed as ‘The Domefest All-Stars’, the show featured PPPP with guests Peter Anspach of Goose, Jake Brownstein of Eggy, plus members of Funk You and more. Peter also joined the Pigeon’s earlier set at the fest.
THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS: 5/6/2022 – Morrison, CO
Red Rocks always brings out the best in a band, and the best guests. In this show we see Paul Hoffman from Greensky Bluegrass, members of California Honeydrops, and Karina Rykman.
THE DISCO BISCUITS: 6/12/2022 – Essex Junction, VT
The Pink Floyd themed encore featured Umphrey’s McGee’s Joel Cummins, Kris Myers and Brendan Bayliss on “Brain Damage” & “Eclipse”.
DEAD & COMPANY: 6/24/2022 – Chicago, IL
With Bill Kreutzmann recovering from an injury, Jay Lane stepped in again for this ‘women themed’ show to open up the Wrigley Field doubleheader.
GOOSE: 6/25/2022 – New York, NY
In the band’s debut at Radio City Music Hall, the show started with an all acoustic set followed by a second set and encore with surprise guest appearances by Father John Misty and Phish’s Trey Anastasio. Later in the year, we’d get ‘TABoose’ tour and tons of top-notch Trey sit-ins, but this is where it started.
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS: 7/2/2022 – Quincy, CA
High times at High Sierra with a set featuring Cris Jacobs, Skerik, Molly Tuttle, and Lindsay Lou!
KITCHEN DWELLERS: 7/3/2022 – Baltimore, MD
In a late-night Billy Strings afterparty, Billy Strings himself joined for “Whitewater,” “Tombstone Blues,” and “Big Mon.”
THE STRING CHEESE INCIDENT: 7/17/2022 – Morrison, CO
Few shows were bigger this year then SCI’s Red Rocks performance, featuring an all Grateful Dead second set and guests Billy Strings and The Infamous Stringdusters Andy Hall.
UMPHREY’S MCGEE: 7/23/2022 – North Plains, OR
At the Northwest String Summit we heard a number of acoustic tunes and also saw guests Paul Hoffman of Greensky, Yonder Mountain’s Allie Kral, and Jennifer Hartswick.
LITTLE FEAT: 7/29/2022 – Greenwood Village, CO
This throwdown at Fiddler’s Green featured guests Jerry Douglas, SCI’s Kyle Hollingsworth, Ronnie McCoury, as well as Jay Collins, Steven Bernstein, and Erik Lawrence .
EGGY: 8/5/2022 – Woodstock, NY
Their Levon Helm Studios debut saw Ben Atkind of Goose and Rusted Root’s Michael Glabicki join in, amongst a slew of debut covers by The Band & Rusted Root.
JOHN MAYER: 8/8/2022 – Livingston, MT
Part of John Mayer’s Rise For The River benefit concerts, this full show featured his Dead & Company bandmate Bobby Weir for a very special acoustic duo performance.
GOV’T MULE: 8/11/2022 – Boston, MA
Hard to pass shows with Mike Campbell and John Popper as our favorite, but this concert with guests Oteil Burbridge and Tom Guarna on ABB’s “Dreams” and Oteil with Eric Krasno on the Grateful Dead’s “Sugaree” really shines.
NEIGHBOR: 9/11/2022 – Pembroke, MA
A must listen, featuring an all acoustic set, before a horns-driven second set with Morphine’s Dana Colley and Trey Anastasio Band’s Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman.
PEARL JAM: 9/11/2022 – New York, NY
In this special 9/11 performance in NYC, fans were treated to a guest appearance by the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Chad Smith on Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
WIDESPREAD PANIC: 10/11/2022 – Memphis, TN
It was just a one set performance for Mempho Music Festival, but it was a big one with The Allman Brothers Band’s Chuck Leavell joining in for 4 songs including “Jessica.”
OTEIL BURBRIDGE: 10/20/22 – Denver, CO
Our first Oteil show will be one to remember, with ‘friends’ Steve Kimock, Duane Betts, Melvin Seals, Lamar Williams Jr, and John Morgan Kimock.
DOPAPOD: 11/19/2022 – Washington, DC
With surprise guests ranging from Billy Strings to members of Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, & P-Funk, this show’s diversity in guests puts it as a standout moment.
LEFTOVER SALMON: 11/25/2022 – Boulder, CO
This Thanksgiving day show saw their introduction into the Colorado Music Hall Of Fame, LoS then welcomed Sam Bush for the entire show, Billy Failing from Billy Strings, Lindsay Lou, and more!
METALLICA: 12/16/2022 – Los Angeles, CA
At The Helping Hands Benefit Concert, the show featured an acoustic set with Avi Vinocur, three live debuts, and St. Vincent on “Nothing Else Matters.”.
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