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The Dave Matthews Band will perform at the Hersheypark Stadium on July 13.

(Provided photo)

Stefan Lessard is a busy man.

The bassist of Dave Matthews Band spends a good chunk of time rehearsing and performing - the group has 45 concerts alone in its 2013 summer tour.

It's been a bit of a whirlwind journey for Lessard, who joined up with Dave Matthews Band when he was 16. At the time he had only been playing the bass for a year. "Shows for me almost became tests," he recalled. "I'd have to play, really super concentrating and making sure I was playing it right. I kind of lost 10 years of my life in this band by doing that, playing in that way where I was so concerned what what I was plying on stage that I completely forgot about the performance part."

That isn't true with today's concerts though, Lessard said. Now at 39, he has matured as a musician and is finally comfortable in his own skin - no longer feeling like he has to prove himself to his bandmates. "Now when I'm up onstage, it's more like I'm up there with my friends and it's more enjoyable than it used to be," he said.

It's that kind of performer that Lessard that fans can expect to see at the Hershey show. The midstate performance is towards the middle of the tour - which kicked off on May 17 at The Woodlands in Texas.

Lessard managed to spare some time in May as he geared up for the tour to chat about the Hershey show, his preparation process and who his bass hero is.

You guys have such a huge collection. Can you tease to what you'll be playing at Hershey?

"I'm going to be a surprised as anyone else. We have a thing where we don't know what we're going to play until we get to the actual gig. We're not supporting a record, so in our rehearsals there's a lot of opportunities to learn a lot of new songs, a lot of old songs, a lot of covers. I hope our set lists will be different from last year.

"I also think we want to bring out some old gems that haven't been on the road for awhile - such as 'The Idea of You.' One I'm trying to bring back is 'Hello Again.' Then some from [the album] 'Stand Up,' like 'Dreamgirl.' I was listening to 'Old Dirt Hill' and I was like 'Old Dirt Hill' is a great summer song."

Any chance you'll be breaking out an upright bass on the tour?

"I have an electric one I want to bring out. I want to incorporate it more. It's horrible for our sound man though, he'd prefer if I only played one bass all night.

"Recently, I was thinking I'd try to bring it out for 'Pay For What You Get.' That song would be great with an upright bass. Some of the slower ballads, more jazzier ones I'd like to try and bring it out."

Who is your biggest bass influence?

"Top bass influence is James Jamerson. He's the bass player who was Aretha Franklins bass player and he's always on the radio playing all these old soul tunes. The other would be [Aston Barrett] 'Family Man' from Bob Marley and the Wailers... For me, I really gravitate to Paul McCartney, guys who were able to make their bass make a statement in their song and have it be something people loved so much that it got on the radio."

Do you listen to your own music a lot?

"Only to learn. I'm only doing it - I have a Spotify account and a Facebook account and if someone sees me listening to my music all the time they know I'm practicing....

"I go crazy if I listen to all my music. It's not that I don't love it. I love it, but when I just listen to it - well, I have to. Our catalogue is so large that I have to to keep up my end of being able to pull out a song on the fly. I never know what Dave might spring, so if out of the blue Dave's like 'Angel,' then if I've already rehearsed it before the tour that makes life easier for me.

"It's endurance too. I'm not used to playing three hours every night so weeks before a tour I try to play a couple hours of our songs a night."

Dave Matthews Band Performs in Hershey 10 Gallery: Dave Matthews Band Performs in Hershey

You guys play so many shows, is there one that sticks out in your mind as the best or most memorable?

"Back in the early days, I remember there were some shows where we were at, the Ivory Tusk in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The place was packed, it was hot. I was struggling all night to play - and then the power went out. I was like, this is the most f-ed up night.

"But Carter [Beauford, drummer] kept playing, going into this groove. He just kept playing and the crowd was going insane and it was probably a 500 seat club and they went insane. I just remember that that moment was a magical moment for me, realizing how amazing our drummer was and how blessed we were as a band to have someone like Carter - so that particular show sticks out in my head."

How do you manage to get in the zone for every show?

"Sometimes, you have to dig. I will admit that. You have to dig sometimes and it's hard to come up with that energy to put your head in that mindset of where you want to be to play the song. Sometimes it's work.

"It's different for each person. So Rashawn [Ross] may be having a harder night playing trumpet and I might be kicking ass. Some of the nights everyone is on. Those nights - they're magical and special.

"That's the thing with a band like this, because it's live music and it's not coming from anything preprogramed you do get a raw emotional delivery of a show and in most cases - say 90 percent - you feel like you're walking on air walking into the show. By the time you walk off you're even higher than when you walked on. When you don't have those nights, though, you know."

DETAILS: Dave Matthews Band comes to Hershey 7 p.m. July 13 at Hersheypark Stadium, 100 W. Hersheypark Drive, Hershey. Cost: $40.75, $56.50, $75. www.hersheyentertainment.com; 717-534-3911.