Dave Matthews Expertly Handles “Idiots” Tussling in the Crowd: “I Don’t Care If You Came From Timbuktu”

With its eponymous frontman at the helm, the Dave Matthews Band embarked on a touring extravaganza in the ’90s. The Charlottesville, Virginia rock band worked their way through the college party circuit, eventually graduating to ridiculously successful arena and stadium tours. Known for meditative-sounding tunes like 1996’s “Crash Into Me,” a Dave Matthews concert is hardly the ideal backdrop for a drunken brawl. However, that’s exactly what happened during the Grammy winner’s recent set at Montana’s Wildlands Festival—and Matthews was having precisely none of it.

Dave Matthews Refuses to “Play One Note” Until Brawling Concertgoers Leave

Taking the stage Saturday (Aug. 2) at Montana’s Big Sky Arena, Dave Matthews was playing an acoustic set of the band’s 1998 song “Pig” when he abruptly stopped.

“Hey, dudes, stop,” Matthews, 58, said to two men apparently fighting in the audience. “Hey, you guys, what are you doing, man? What are you, out of your minds? Good Lord, if you want to do that, go outside. Don’t do it in the crowd.”

Growing visibly frustrated, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer appears to address security. “Got some idiots fighting over here… Go do that somewhere else, man,” he said firmly.

Full Dave Matthews fight ejection video

🎥 Warren Schubert pic.twitter.com/T1qDsX1ewv

— Connor Feezel (@feezel_connor) August 3, 2025

Matthews then gestures to the exit, making it clear the show will not proceed until the offenders are removed. “I don’t want to play another note while you guys are there; I don’t care what he’s talking about,” the “Gravedigger” hitmaker said. “I don’t want to play one note if you guys are in here. Not one note.”

In video footage posted to social media, audience members can be heard screaming, “Get the f— out!” Matthews would soon echo this sentiment. “I don’t care if you came from Timbuktu to come to this show. Get the f— out,” he demands.

As Dave Matthews re-adjusts his guitar, the crowd takes up the mantle, chanting, “Get the f— out!”

[RELATED: Y’all, the Artists Are Kinda Right: Can We Bring Back Concert Decorum, Please?]

Of All The Songs

As the clip quickly went viral, social media users expressed their disgust and astonishment. “Imagine getting into a fight [at] a Dave Matthew Band concert,” marveled one fan on TikTok. “That ain’t the vibe, my guy.”

First solo pig performed in front of a crowd too. And it got ruined by drunk assholes

— Connor Feezel (@feezel_connor) August 3, 2025

Adding insult to injury, others pointed out that Matthews seldom plays “Pig” live. “Who fights during Pig, let alone Dave?” inquired one TikTok user.

Featured image by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Boston Calling