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!

The current extreme heat may or may not be a result of DMB's recent run of form. It’s been a month of shows and news and we're here to recap all the highlights and do some deeper examination, from Camden, the Northeast, Deer Creek, Alpine and SPAC and everything in between. There have been over 20 new tour debuts, including a song last played in 2012. Plus we get a new behind the scenes glimpse into a tool Dave uses for selecting songs for each show, ie the "Yellow and Red Songs". We explain and break it down.

We must discuss the current hot topic right now: the recent Dave comments made on SiriusXM. "Kiss my a**." The guys offer their reaction to the comments, plus Boyd lawsuit news and implications. We touch on all the latest DMB happenings including a new show download and new Come Tomorrow single. And we end with a discussion on your listener comments and questions.

It's that time of year, DMB are out on tour with the first 10 shows and it gives us a lot to talk about. Let's discuss the setlists so far. Is there justification for pitchforks or praise? Then we quickly recap and discuss all the latest DMB news like the return of DMB Radio on SiriusXM and new vinyl coming. Plus an update on the Setlist Game and what it tells us about the sets so far.

Now that the European Tour is complete and our schedules have aligned, there’s a lot to discuss. We cover the latest DMB news, plus we dive into the current heated topics among the community. Including discussion of the song selection during the European show and implications (or not) for the upcoming Summer Tour. And a look at how the band’s sound and setlists have changed over the years. Plus we take your questions!

Lot of DMB stuff to cover over the last two months and we have a whole episode devoted to it! We wrap up the Gorge and give our final thoughts on the Summer Tour, plus a number of one-off Dave shows, and finally get deep into the upcoming Fall Tour. A look into the good/bad of how the Fall Tour ticketing, including pricing, floorplans, upgrades, premium, and scalper prevalence. Plus the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snub. (And yes, we skipped episode 100, we are saving that milestone for an Ants History episode coming soon.)

Two discs that contain genuine unreleased studio recordings from the Mark Batson era are making their rounds on the Internet. And so we had to call an emergency podcast session to talk about this latest development. In this pod we talk about the history of these sessions dating back to 2006 and what we know up to this point. Also high-level feelings about the recordings, but a much deeper look into why there is a stark difference between the amount of music the band creates vs how much it releases.

Gorge Night 2 gets blessed with a new guest, and an amazing performance of Last Stop. Where did that come from, and will they sustain this momentum for night 3?

Matt and Joe have arrived in George, WA and are ready to get down to business! They broadcast live from poolside at Sunserra resort and offer their thoughts on the upcoming three night stand at the Gorge. Matt drops an interesting theory about how you are introduced to the band ultimately affects your perspective and taste in DMB (or any band). We're psyched for an amazing weekend!

We try not to let the loss of an Ants staple get us down, so we remember the great times it created. We say goodbye to Mono Loco, the Ants HQ of Charlottesville, VA and a place where so many Ants met and celebrated together. But back on tour, four new shows are in the books and we discuss if there is such a thing as a SPAC hangover. Plus, the tour takes on a new ‘guests’ theme, and one particular show gets some unwanted attention. Also, Dave makes new comments about Boyd’s exit, drama in the setlist game standings, and we take on your #AntsPodcast questions.

Man, has the band put in some extra work recently. Days after the Creekend, DMB plays the first two Canada shows, followed by the tour staple 2-night stand at SPAC, immediately capped by the final Canada show. The run produces the most interesting week of shows we've had all tour, so we must Dive In. Also, live show streams become more frequent than shows attended by Matt, but some exciting news on that front. And it wouldn’t be an Ants Podcast if we didn’t go on a bunch of tangents throughout. Plus we announce some new DMB Hub Stubs coming out!