The String Cheese Incident
The String Cheese Incident formed in the Colorado mountain towns of Crested Butte and Telluride in 1993, when four musically inclined ski bums, Michael Kang, Bill Nershi, Keith Moseley, and Michael Travis, began playing together at local ski resorts in exchange for free lift tickets. Within six months of forming, the band earned an invitation to open the legendary Telluride Bluegrass Festival. In 1996, the group added Kyle Hollingsworth on piano, organ, and accordion, and in 2006 expanded further with percussionist Jason Hann, rounding out the six-piece lineup that continues today. The band’s self-described sacrilegious mix of bluegrass, calypso, salsa, Afro-pop, funk, rock, and jazz built a devoted following the old-fashioned way, through constant touring and close ties with fans, eventually establishing Colorado as an epicenter for the jam band movement alongside acts like Leftover Salmon and Big Head Todd and the Monsters. Remaining wholly independent since its inception, the band founded its own SCI Fidelity record label and built a multi-faceted company handling everything from merchandising to a dedicated travel agency for devoted fans who follow the band from city to city.
