On Friday, Widespread Panic reclaimed its throne amidst the Rocky Mountains, where the band returns on the last weekend of June each year. With this weekend run, Widespread Panic will break its own record once more, extending the most consecutive sell-outs at Red Rocks Amphitheatre to 75.
And where WSP goes, the community is sure to follow. The insatiable zealots flew, drove, walked, and hitchhiked from all directions, using any means necessary to complete the pilgrimage. By Friday morning, the diehards lined up at sunrise to get prime locations when doors opened at 5 p.m.
When the time finally arrived, the running of the tarps commenced and for the next two hours, longtime friends chased each other down to exchange hugs and “how-ya-beens?” The idle chatter was replaced by an excitable buzz when John Bell led the six-piece onstage to kick off the weekend.
Reminiscent of April’s Nashville run, Panic kicked the doors open with Van Morrison’s “Send Your Mind” before mellowing the pace for “Walkin’ (For Your Love)”. The band rose around JoJo Hermann’s sweeping organ crescendos. Switching to piano, JoJo blazed through “Cotton was King”. The song’s first verse, but especially the following line, “In the summer, smoking palace welcoming all the full hearted,” captured the quixotic ideals of Panic on the Rocks.
Bloodkin’s “Henry Parsons Died” gave Jimmy Herring a chance to fire up his flamethrower guitar until JB’s vocals provided a spiritual salve for a grieving heart during “We Walk Each Other Home”.
Afterwards, JB introduced “the one and only” Chuck Leavell to sit in for the first time since 2022’s MemphoFest. Together, they carried the healing vibes into Jerry Joseph and Glenn Esparza’s “Climb To Safety”. Right off the bat, JoJo’s organ meshed seamlessly with Chuck Leavell’s piano.
A quick-lipped JB shepherded the seven-piece into “Time Is Free”. The David Earle Johnson-penned composition was a staple of Col. Bruce Hampton‘s live act. The cosmic mentor of multiple jam bands performed this song with Widespread Panic ten times over the years and even once with Chuck Leavell during 1996’s NYE run at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta.
WSP honored another Georgian local as Dave Schools commandeered lead vocals for Vic Chesnutt’s “Blight”. As is tradition, the bombastic bassist grappled his own social commentary into the mix with some words of wisdom: “I’ll use my First Amendment any way that I want to… Thank you! I don’t care what you say out there…”
Closing out the set and the string of five covers with Chuck Leavell still sharing space with an uncommonly quiet JoJo, WSP revived and revamped a rowdy rendition of Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breaking Down”. JB, with slide in-hand, added a zesty Hound Dog Taylor-inspired “Gimme Back My Wig” rap before stepping back to let Chuck and JoJo trade solos.
Back from halftime, “Porch Song” ushered in the evening before Bloodkin’s “Can’t Get High” paved the way for a series of originals. The opening and closing tracks of 2024’s Snake Oil King, “Little By Little” and “Small Town”, followed. “Small Town”, debuted at Red Rocks last year, has only been played four times including last night and paints a vivid picture with seasonal imagery and its echoing chorus of “Summer days.” Jimmy Herring swapped out his tiger-striped PRS in favor of the Gandalf the White staff for it.
Without stopping, the music flowed into an instrumental “Disco” inferno. JoJo jumped to and fro to dish out flourishes from every keyboard among his multi-tiered arsenal. Jimmy Herring reequipped his tiger-striped axe as Schools and JoJo unmasked a monstrous, 20-minute “Second Skin”. Bookending the 40 minutes of uninterrupted music, WSP wrestled Tom Waits’ “Goin Out West” into the setlist.
While the crowd and amplifiers cooled off, Chuck Leavell sauntered back on stage for more action. For only the fifth time ever, WSP and Chuck covered Jimmy Cliff’s “Harder They Come”. It marked the first time performed since WSP played it with Jimmy Cliff at LOCKN’ in 2015. The song was a staple for Jerry Garcia Band and brought many of us back to that amazing festival in Virginia.
With two keyboardists onstage, Panic closed out the second set with two originals connected by a massive jam. JB’s vocals cut like a surgeon’s scalpel as the swirling organ reverberated off the venue’s massive rock formations during “Mercy”. The improvised transition jam featured Jimmy Herring’s scorching guitar and shaking percussions from Sunny Ortiz’s corner. Sunny dug deep in his bag of tricks during a set-closing “Fishwater”. JoJo and Chuck also switched places to give the latter a chance to whirl the organ.
When the band returned for an encore, Chuck remained on stage to keep the seven-piece intact. The Rolling Stones keyboardist traded vocals with JB during “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. Returning once more to Col. Bruce Hampton’s repertoire, WSP and Chuck closed Friday night with Skip James’ “I’m So Glad” for a jubilant finale.
Two more nights ahead. Be there or be square. And don’t forget to drink some water.
Stream last night and tonight’s shows via nugs.
Widespread Panic – “Send Your Mind” – 6/27/25
Widespread Panic With Chuck Leavell – “Harder They Come” (Jimmy Cliff) – 6/27/25
[Video: Chad Sclove]
Widespread Panic With Chuck Leavell – “Can’t Always Get What You Want” (The Rolling Stones – 6/27/25
[Video: Chad Sclove]
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Setlist: Widespread Panic | Red Rocks Amphitheatre | Morrison, CO | 6/27/25
Set 1: Send Your Mind > Walkin’ (For Your Love), Cotton Was King, Henry Parsons Died, We Walk Each Other Home, Climb to Safety^, Time is Free^, Blight^, Stop Breaking Down^
Set 2: Porch Song, Can’t Get High, Little by Little, Small Town > Disco > Second Skin > Goin Out West, Harder They Come^, Mercy^ > Jam^ > Fishwater^
Encore: You Can’t Always Get What You Want^^, I’m So Glad^^
^ w/ Chuck Leavell on keys
^^ w/ Chuck on keys and vocals
Notes:
LTP – Harder They Come 9/12/15 Lockn’