The String Cheese Incident at Bender Jamboree, photo by Erik Kabik

On Saturday, Sept. 13, Bender Jamboree 2025 came to a close with its fourth day of festivities. Around the four stages set up at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino, the Sin City sensation wrapped up with sets from some of the biggest names in jam, bluegrass and everything in between, culminating in a third headline set from The String Cheese Incident.

Saturday’s showcase began with early sets from Timber! & Friends, Sicard Hollow and Keller Williams, who primed the audience for a Paradise Mainstage opening performance from Sierra Hull. The singer-songwriter and mandolin virtuoso gave a performance that honored the deep roots of traditional string music and looked forward to its progressive horizons, both of which came alive in selections from her recent sixth studio album, A Tip Toe High Wire. Hull’s brand of bluegrass was followed by The Wood Brothers and their singular approach to roots-rock. Chris and Oliver Wood and Jano Rix filled their stagetime with favorites from throughout their two-decade recording catalog, like 2006’s “Luckiest Man,” paired with standouts from their ninth studio album, Puff of Smoke, which arrived in August.

At nightfall, The String Cheese Incident stepped onstage with “Texas,” drawn from their 1997 debut album Born on the Wrong Planet. A segued pair of other longtime setlist staples, “Little Hands” and “Dudley’s Kitchen,” gave way to a cover of Allen Toussaint’s “Get Out of My Life, Woman,” which saw the band call the Wood Brothers back to the stage for a surprise sit-in. The unexpected team-up represented SCI’s second performance of the song this year, after a May treatment that was their first since 2000.

After the recently debuted original “Carnival” and a set closer of “Bumpin’ Reel,” The String Cheese Incident returned for their second frame with “Beautiful” and “Outside and Inside.” The ensemble splashed down into the 25-year essential “Water,” then cued up the evening’s second cover by striking the first chords of “I Know Your Rider.” With support from special guests John Stickley and Lysnday Pruettt of the bluegrass powerhouse John Stickley Trio, SCI’s rendition of the Grateful Dead’s classic track invoked the song’s traditional origins. With a concise stop in “BollyMunster,” the band closed out their set and the festival–save for a Prince-themed late-night set from DJ Logic & Friends–with a seamless trip through “Light Fantastic,” “Sirens,” and “Just One Story.”

Get an inside look at the final day of Bender Jamboree in the gallery below, courtesy of photographers Erik Kabik, Dave Vann and Paul Citone. Learn more about the festival at benderjamboree.com.