Umphrey’s McGee recently went out on tour one man down, and fans are wondering what it means for the future.
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Jake Cinninger, who has contributed guitar/vocal work since 2000, sat out the band’s March dates on the Sky’s the Limit 2026 tour. It was a surprising announcement, with no exact reason for the lineup change outside of “personal reasons.”
“We’re writing to share the difficult news that Jake will not be joining us on the upcoming March run,” the band posted on March 9, just one day before the tour resumed. “He is taking a necessary leave of absence for personal reasons. We love him immensely and support him completely. Cancelling shows didn’t feel right — but bringing everything we’ve got does. And we will bring it.
“Thank you for your endless support, for us and for Jake. We’ll see you out west soon.”
Fan reactions to the situation were mixed but skewed positive. While fans would love for Cinninger to stay on board, they mainly just want to support Umphrey’s McGee as a band and Cinninger as a person.
As one fan on Reddit wrote, “I’ll keep seeing them either way but yeah, I f—ing love listening to Jake thread and hope I get to see him more whether it’s with Umphreys or something else.”
Cinninger hasn’t addressed the absence, but he does plan to get back on stage soon. He’s advertised to appear on an April concert and three May concerts, either with other acts or as part of improvised jam sessions.