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Dawes and Bahamas joined forces for a late summer tour that was first billed as a set of Bahamas with Dawes backing, followed by a set of Dawes joined by Bahamas, aka Afie Jurvanen. Turns out the billing, even as cool as it looked on paper, didn’t quite do justice in preparing for what unfurled in person.

On a sunny afternoon, pleasantly in the mid-70s, overlooking a sparkling Keuka Lake down the grape filled slopes of Point of the Bluff Vineyards on Saturday, September 17, this pairing was a match made in Finger Lakes heaven.

It didn’t take long for the magical show’s prestige to be revealed. The five men of Dawes on stage with Bahamas, launched into Dawes’ “Someone Else’s Cafe.” Jurvanen stepped up to take the first guitar solo. Griffin Goldsmith took a drum solo, then all three guitarists, Jurvanen, with Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith and Trevor Menear locked into a grooving jam that fizzled into the next song, Bahamas’ “Own Alone.” The end of that song had Lee Pardini extending the action into Dawes’ “Doomscroller Tries to Relax.”

Let’s pause here to point out that “Someone Else’s Cafe” and “Doomscroller” appear on Dawes’ just out new album, where they are played together as a suite. Pretty remarkable that they split the two with their tour mates’ song, and that they were willing to tour their new material for the first time sharing the stage in this unique fashion in the first place.

The show continued similarly, Dawes and Bahamas swapping songs seamlessly, in a way that didn’t feel like two bands at all, just one stellar band with two incredible songwriters. Jurvanen sang backup and harmonies for Goldsmith and Goldsmith the same for Jurvanen, their voices blending and complementing like they were working toward this sound exclusively for years.

Those on stage were having as good a time as the near-capacity crowd under the tent. They showed mutual love through cute lyrical changes, Bahamas singing, “I feel lucky to be here with Dawes today” in “Everything to Everyone,” and Goldsmith replying “I want Bahamas to make the days move easy” a few songs later in “If I Wanted Someone.” Goldsmith’s guitar solo there worked its way expertly right into the next Bahamas song, “I Got You” of course.

They also both couldn’t help but mention the early 3pm show time. Goldsmith complimenting the audience, “You guys don’t give a shit how early it is, you came to party. I respect that.” Jurvanen while having a bit of fun plinking out a guitar solo remarked, “Morning person, night person… I’m an afternoon person. This is perfect.”

After 70 minutes of fun, jams and sharing incredible songs, they came back out to do it some more. To start the second set, Jurvanen arrive alone to (surprise!) sing a Dawes song, “Just My Luck,” solo. Midway through Goldsmith came out to join in, but (surprise! surprise!) he was singing Bahamas’ “Half Your Love,” the two songs mashing up with ease. They followed that up with a new song they wrote together, “Folk Singer,” that hilariously poked fun at each other and themselves.

The second set’s energetic highlight came with a rare-for-this-show one-two punch from Dawes, as their new song “Come in Waves” jammed its way brilliantly into their early hit “When My Time Comes.” The crowd singing along all the way, got a solo turn for the last chorus.

The show was billed as Dawes and Bahamas, as the graphic behind the stage reminded us throughout the afternoon. But it was clear from the get-go, and crystal clear by show’s end, this wasn’t just two bands swapping songs. The lines were fully blurred. The “and” was inaccurate. This wasn’t Dawes AND Bahamas, this was simply Dawhamas. They weren’t a pairing of wine and cheese, but simply a fine blended wine itself. A reverse of Dylan and the Band. The two main songwriters evening the playing field by going one for one, not unlike Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia would do in the Grateful Dead. And if this is how good they sound midway through one short tour, we can only hope it isn’t just a one time thing.

Dawes – Point of Bluff Vineyards – September 17, 2022

Set 1: Someone Else’s Cafe > Own Alone > Doomscroller Tries to Relax > All the Time, Still Feel Like A Kid, Everything to Everyone, Everything is Permanent, Way With Words, If I Wanted Someone > I Got You Babe, Somewhere Along the Way, Opening Act
Set 2: Just My Luck / Half Your Love, Folk Singer, Caught Me Thinking, Comes in Waves > When My Time Comes, Trick to Happy, Roll With the Punches, Lost In the Light, Things Happen
Encore: Up With the Jones, All Your Favorite Bands