Toy Factory Project, photo by Dino Perrucci

Toy Factory Project, the Southern rock supergroup honoring the late Toy Caldwell and the music of The Marshall Tucker Band, reunited last night to set off a highly-anticipated booking at Port Chester, N.Y.’s Capitol Theatre.

After their electrifying debut at the 52nd annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival last June, the stacked ensemble led by The Marshall Tucker Band’s founding drummer Paul Riddle took the storied stage for a 17-track thrill ride through their inspirations’ greatest hits. Riddle first imagined Toy Factory Project 13 years ago to recognize the achievements of the late Caldwell, and Thursday’s showcase confirmed that he’d found the right band to carry his mantle with devotees like Marcus King on guitar and vocals, Oteil Burbridge on bass, Charlie Starr on guitar and vocals, Josh Shilling on keys and vocals and Billy Contreras on fiddle.

“It overwhelms me, the love and the respect they have for the music and each other is completely egoless,” Riddle said in a feature for the latest issue of Relix. “They are all dear friends and great human beings—there’s no musicians on the planet I admire more than those guys. Oteil said, ‘We’ve got something that everybody wishes they have, and that’s complete joy.’ It’s about the love of the music. I thought for so long about who would fit, and how it would, and Oteil said, ‘If God hasn’t told you yet, he’ll let you know.’ It was meant to be, and it’s been really hard for me to get used to their love of the music.”

Toy Factory Project lit into their first set with “Running Like the Wind,” the title track from The Marshall Tucker Band’s upbeat, fusion-focused ninth studio album. From this energetic introduction, the band settles down to a simmer for a slick, funky treatment of “Fly Like an Eagle,” then soared through other fan favorites like “Fire on the Mountain” (and the Grateful Dead’s song of the same name), “Southern Woman,” “Searchin’ for a Rainbow” and a set-closer of “A New Life,” the title track from The Marshall Tucker Band’s 1974 second studio album.

The all-star sextet of Southern rock torchbearers returned for the evening’s second movement by looking back on the Marshall Tucker Band’s 1973 debut with “Hillbilly Band.” After more core cuts like “This Ol’ Cowboy,” “In My Own Way,” and “Can’t You See,” the band closed out their set with “Take The Highway,” then suantered back to the spotlight for an encore of “Heard It in a Love Song.”

Toy Factory Project will return to The Capitol Theatre for a follow-up tonight. Find more information on the band at toyfactoryproject.com, and get an inside look at Thursday’s show in the gallery below, courtesy of photographer Dino Perrucci.