People in Every Direction: The Ants Podcast

Matt and Joe preview the seven-show fall tour, opening in Madison at the Kohl Center (first time back since 2005), and look at the recent fall tours: 74 unique songs over 11 shows in 2022, 86 over 8 in 2023 and 79 over 6 in 2024, after a summer that saw 146 unique songs in 37 shows. Plus Dave's private solo gigs (Dodo and Little Thing), Japan plans, the Boyd podcast chatter, and Ants turning 25 this December. Then a deep dive into DMB Hub 4.0: playlists you can share and subscribe to, the daily For You mix, the new live show Now feed and live show flow, find-your-shows from your photo library, natural language search that improves itself every day, head-to-head stat comparisons, years in review, show-day weather, custom fall stubs, the fall Setlist Game, private trivia leagues, and hallowed-ground passport stamps.

Matt and Joe wrap up summer tour 2026: 146 unique songs in 37 shows (22 more than last summer's record), 33 different openers including a 25-show unique-opener streak that Granny broke at SPAC, and 11 liberations led by Kit Kat Jam after 589 shows. They dig into Gorge night one's Big Whiskey play-through, with Jeff's note-for-note Grux for LeRoi, and pick the album they'd want front to back next. Plus the quiet debut of the DMB Hub Passport at the Gorge (almost 300 people collected stamps), Dave's solo run in Japan and whether US fans should stay home, the seven-show fall tour, Matt's 100th show and Joe's 400th, and what's coming in DMB Hub 4.0 and the return of trivia night.

Recorded live on May 7, 2026 at Excalibur Brewing in The Woodlands, Texas, the night before the summer tour opener, with the cover band Grux on stage behind us. Matt and Joe talk Woodlands openers, the "blue dot flu" hitting concert ticket sales, and the new DMB Hub live-show tools: a setlist predictor model that finished in the top 20 of almost 1,800 players on the 2025 setlist game, plus the song matrix and venue memory. Plus Straight Shot spotted in a rehearsal photo, the covers debate, Joe's 376th show and a head-to-head stats compare, Ants 25 / DMB Hub 10, and picks for night one with host Matt Grable.

Matt and Joe talk about the quick turnaround to Take Me Back: a celebratory live album release for Gorge 2025 N2. But the big topic is the relaunch of antsmarching.org. After 25 years, the site has undergone a complete transformation, not only in looks, but functionality as well. And that includes the forums - bye bye vBulletin, hello XenForo! Some hints at fun 2026 even planning get dropped as well. A celebration not to be missed.

With DMB Hub nearing its 10-year anniversary, the boys pulled a rabbit out of the hat on this one: DMB Hub is now available on Android. And now some cut-down, feature-poor version of it. It's full-fat, feature-packed and at absolute parity with the iOS version. Setlist Game, personal stats, streaming - the works! If this makes you happy, please consider supporting the continued and future development with an Ants+ Subscription! Even more coming down the pike over the coming months. Is it tour season yet?

DMB Hub 2.0 is here! The biggest update since the app launched in 2016. Fresh card-based interface with full light/dark mode support. Tour Central now lets you browse by years, tours, songs, and venues with stats and search. Show pages are supercharged with reviews, photo uploads, ticket stub cataloging, and new AI-powered "Ants Intelligence" analysis. Personal Stats get a visual overhaul with shareable poster images, global comparisons, and head-to-head matchups with friends. Setlist Game now supports multiple seasons and custom leagues. Plus streamlined Live Activities and in-app account signup.

Yes, another long hiatus. But hopefully Matt and Joe made it worth it. They talk about the 2025 Summer Tour with a heavy emphasis on the tour-closing Gorge weekend. They go deep on just how meaningful that BTCS playthrough was, the concept of the Divergence Factor (and just how unique this band is!), and again debate the likelihood of the violin returning. It's a jam-packed (ha!) show, you won't want to miss this one!

While Matt and Joe have been able to enjoy some face time over the last couple of years, the podcast has definitely not been as fortunate. The fellas return with aplomb after a 20-month hiatus with hot takes abound on the band's latest effort, Walk Around the Moon. You might be surprised at what they have to say, as opinions develop in real time during this episode. Enjoy!

The very unfortunate news mere hours before the start of Labor Dave Weekend at the Gorge sends the DMB community on a roller coaster of major lows to major highs. We call an emergency podcast to recap and discuss all the implications. Unique barely describes it. Long time friend, Ant and contributor Mark T joins the pod (from the pool) and provides perspective from on the scene.

The band is back! (In more ways than one.) Dave Matthews Band is back with new songs, album recording sessions, and are six shows into a long-awaited summer tour. So it's only fitting that the Ants Podcast with Matt and Joe is also back. We dust off the cobwebs and get right into all the details. We recap where we left off, what's happened over the last year, and the latest developments. There's a lot to be excited about, and as usual, we take the discussion and the debate off the beaten path. We're so glad to be back!