Umphrey's McGee

Hailing from the one and only Peoria, Illinois (it’s not that bad), Sam Sutton is a jack of all trades, master of a couple. If you have a second to swing by the merch table on any given night, you can see Sam’s electric smile light up the table. When not presenting fans with a cornucopia of UM merch options, he will be creating the options as well, as he is also our creative director. …

“Britches” is the classic fan turned go-getter merch guy story. Steve caught his first UM run in 1999 at the fabled Dead Creek Campground. Umphrey’s musical intellect and metal edge drew him in and after several Michigan ragers, he realized it was futile to resist. Volunteering as much as possible with the MIDWESTpeeps team landed him behind the merch booth full-time. Britches “there’s always a solution” attitude has earned him maximum respect inside the UM …

Who the heck is Matt Heller and how did he get in our office? After observing from a distance for years, he somehow managed to infiltrate our organization in 2011. He may not know how to program a light board or tune a snare drum (yet), but he sure does know his way around the office. A connoisseur of all things beer, travel, and hot sauce. When he is not busy putting hot sauce on everything, …

In the green corner, hailing from Michigan and weighing in on all things lighting, is Aaron Meyette (aka Louie). Louie is a long time Umphrey’s McGee fan and midwest aficionado. After years of volunteering for various events and side projects he has stepped into the role of the full time Lighting Crew Chief. He talks fast, laughs loud, and can usually be spotted in a crowd (if you’re tall).

A deftly executed Hurt Bird Bath was all it took to hook web developer Adam Scheinberg.  A short year or so later and Adam began handling all things web for Umphrey’s. He built and maintains allthings.umphreys.com and manages all UM web sites. Adam is married with two kids, Jillian and Jack, UM noobs who prefer a spacey Wappy over a tight N2F.  As the developer and architect of Phish.net, Adam brought a world of much-needed expertise …

Shockingly and legally the godson of Frank Zappa, Agent Aaron Zappa Bennett Pinkus has presided over the band’s touring career for the last four years. During that time the band has hit an ever-increasing number of milestones ( Red Rocks, Beacon Theater, multi-night sellouts at The Tabernacle, The Pageant, Riverside, etc.), none of which has anything to do with his long-term planning or strategery. However, when you do not enjoy a show or are forced …

Syd Schwartz is founder and CEO of digital strategy and marketing firm Linchpin Digital and proudly serves as UM’s Consigliere. Syd advises the UM organization on strategy, marketing and Peking duck recipes. His brain unleashes whirling, transient nodes of thought that have helped launched such UM classics as the Mantis pre-order, UMBowl, and a host of other ideas, big and small. He is father to next generation UMfans Emily and Harmony, and he won’t rest …

Fan and friend from day two (a good story), architect and urban designer Jeremy Welsh’s involvement with the group predates the band’s existence, and included activities as varied as middle school soccer with Ryan, a theology class, and piano recitals. But in early 2001, Jeremy decided to put his self-taught programming knowledge to the test. With an internal desire for regularity and consistency, Jeremy cleaned-up Umphrey’s website and setlists to the approval of the masses. …

Hailing from the great state of New Jersey, Rachel joined the UM ranks as an intern in 2006. After handling a myriad of oddball tasks in the early years, she began spearheading UM’s merchandise program in 2009. When not overseeing art direction or writing email blasts from her desk in the UMHQ, you can find her on the road coordinating umVIP operations, or at home in the Chicago ‘burbs raising a couple of kick-ass kids …

Robert Hunter Williams was born and raised in the epicenters of American Macro-brews. He was born in Milwaukee, but spent his formative years in St. Louis, Missouri. Despite living in various other places as well (Kansas City, New Orleans, Fayetteville, Chicago), he’s not torn on what baseball team he routes for or what beer he drinks. He’s a diehard Cardinal fan and a Bud man. Robbie has worked every job possible in the concert production …

Born in Elmhurst, Illinois and growing up in John Belushi’s hometown of Wheaton, Illinois, Bob Ston has been an integral part of Umphrey’s McGee since 2000. Picked up from the Canopy Club on waivers, Bob is the longest tenured “touring” employee of Umphrey’s McGee, famously having to pay to get into UM’s NYE at the Cubby Bear in 2000 when Kevin denied him guest list while he waited in line in the rain. He worked …