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Last month, jam icon Dave Matthews and his frequent collaborator Tim Reynolds hosted the 2026 edition of their Riviera Maya destination festival. Taking place at the beautiful Moon Palace Cancún resort on Mexico’s Caribbean coastline, the fest featured three sets from the duo, as well as performances from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Trampled by Turtles, Joy Oladokun, and Say She She. It was a long weekend full of sandy jams, good vibes, and merry times.
The event kicked off on Wednesday, January 21st with performances from Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Trampled by Turtles, who introducing newcomers and Riviera Maya veterans alike to the laid-back, feel-good community of the festival. From there, the festivities and acoustic vibes continued, with Matthews and Reynolds performing each subsequent night, often inviting collaborators onstage, leading singalongs of their hits, and pulling out deep cuts and covers.
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Thursday saw Matthews and Reynolds use their headlining set to pay tribute to the legendary Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead guitarist who had passed away just a few weeks prior. Accompanied by members of Trampled by Turtles, the crew lovingly performed Grateful Dead classics “Friend of the Devil” and “Casey Jones.” (Check out a video of the special moment here.) Other highlights included a cover of Jimmy Buffett’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty” and the duo inviting Joy Oladokun onstage to rip through ‘The Maker.”
The following day, Dave Matthews Band keyboardist Buddy Strong joined Matthews and Reynolds for several songs, momentarily beefing up the duo’s stripped down set. Matthews also poignantly took a moment to address the horrific actions of ICE in cities like Minneapolis, ultimately covering Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s iconic protest song “Ohio.” During the song, he also interpolated Rage of the Machine’s “Killing in the Name,” singing, “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me!”
Continuing the streak of tributes, Matthews also closed out his Friday set with a solo cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” during the encore. The hope-driven weekend then wrapped up on Saturday with a final performance from Matthews and Reynolds, which featured an appearance from violinist Jake Renick Simpson and covers of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe” and Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.”
Check out photos from Dave & Tim Riviera Maya 2026 in the gallery below. You can also revisit our breakdown of the festival’s lineup here. Then, explore similar artist-curated destination festivals coming in 2026 from the likes of Goose and Umphrey’s McGee.
Dave & Tim Riviera Maya 2026 Photo Gallery (Click to Expand):
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