So much for taking the easy road.

Recently, the five members of Switchfoot decided to start every night of their new U.S. tour by playing their Nov. 10 release, Hello Hurricane, in its entirety. But backstage before Sunday night's sold-out tour opener at San Diego's East County Performing Arts Center, the decision was becoming an anxiety-producing reality.

Like the best all-star jams, a cover of the Beatles' "A Little Help from My Friends" belted out by members of Switchfoot, Underoath, Thrice, and Bayside on Sunday night at Orlando's House of Blues was clumsy, heartfelt, and ultimately quite special.

Call it Pop-Grass: Fiction Family is a new cross-genre collaboration between religious power-pop rock band Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and bluegrass-tinged acoustic act Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins.