“I will go in this way… and find my own way out." — #41

Meet Tuffy,

A woman whose life has been beautifully entangled with the music of Dave Matthews Band for over 25 years.

It all started in 1998, a tough season, a few years after the passing of both her mother and Jerry Garcia, her favorite musician at the time. That’s when a friend introduced her to DMB… and something clicked. A spark. A lifeline. A soundtrack for the next two decades and counting.

The songs that have held her the most?
“Bartender” and “#41.”
Both have pulled her out of the dark more than once.
One lyric meant so much she had it tattooed on her leg:

“I will go in this way, and find my own way out.”

And that’s exactly what she’s done.

Ask her about concert memories and she’ll light up:
Like the night in Camden 2018, when both she and her son caught drumsticks from Carter or Mexico 2025, where she and her roommate got first entry and stood on the rail, right in front of Dave.

Tuffy doesn’t just love this band she builds her life around them.
Each show is an emotional ride joy, connection, healing, nostalgia and yeah, sometimes full-on tears (the good kind, the deep kind, and everything in between).

At her session, she brought along photos of the time she met Dave moments she calls “a little dorky, a lot unforgettable.” And of course, we had to feature the tattoo that says it all.

We kept the vibe soulful, sparkly (purple, blue, and silver her signature colors), and real just like her.

For Tuffy, DMB is more than music.
It’s family.
It’s healing.
It’s a way of life.

And honestly? You feel it in every frame.