Formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1993, the group's self-described "sacrilegious mix of bluegrass, calypso, salsa, Afro-pop, funk, rock, and jazz" quickly built up a following on the local club circuit, and within six months of their formation they earned an invitation to open the legendary Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

They initially gigged simply in exchange for free lift tickets at ski resorts throughout the western U.S., but as the String Cheese Incident's popularity grew they began taking their music more seriously, soon averaging upwards of 170 live dates each year and eventually setting up their own record label, Sci Fidelity. Their debut LP, Born on the Wrong Planet, appeared in 1997, followed later that year by A String Cheese Incident Live. The group resurfaced in 1998 with 'Round the Wheel, followed by the live Carnival '99. It's About Time and Outside Inside arrived in 2001, followed by a deluge of live recordings chronicling the band's massive 2003 tour. They released another studio album called Untying the Not that same year, followed by another string of live albums. One Step Closer, which was produced by Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Kaki King) in their hometown of Boulder, Colorado, arrived in 2005. The following year they announced they'd be taking a break from touring after a busy schedule of shows and summer festivals. However, unable to stay away from the stage for too long, the band booked a handful of shows in 2007, including appearances at Bonnaroo and the 10,000 Lakes Festival, while in 2008 they appeared at the Rothbury Music Festival with their various solo and side projects. The band returned to Rothbury for their only appearance together in 2009, and then announced a summer tour in 2010. A relentless schedule of shows continued in 2011/2012, before they entered the studio in 2013 to lay down some of their extensively road-tested songs. Their fifth studio album, Song in My Head, issued in 2014. ~ Jason Ankeny & Scott Kerr