Widespread Panic retook their throne onstage for Trondossa Festival’s maiden voyage on Saturday, May 5th, and Sunday, May 6th,  at the Riverfront Park in North Charleston, South Carolina. Widespread Panic headlined both Saturday and Sunday nights of Trondossa along with other performances by Grammy-winner Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price, Big Something, Moon Taxi, and Hiss Golden Messenger. Taking place just over a year following the tragic passing of Colonel Bruce Hampton, Widespread Panic also found time to honor the legendary mentor and philosopher.

Widespread Panic’s Cinco De Mayo Saturday show kicked off with a saucy “Ribs N Whiskey”.  The hungry audience—with feet still muddy from Suwannee—scarfed down the introductory guitar notes. John Bell laid into the lyrics, and JoJo Hermann encompassed the rhythm section with a suave performance on keys. The White Wizard, Jimmy Herring, took a succinctly sweet guitar solo, and Dave Schools bent his bass strings to a whole new level of funkiness. After a short pause, the band delved into “Wondering” from their album Everyday. John Bell’s voice resounded powerfully, and Duane Trucks, Sunny Ortiz, and Dave Schools kept the rhythms methodically and melodically rolling along.

Another short pause followed before the opening guitar licks of The Guess Who’s “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” resonated through the air. JB, JoJo, and Schools whipped up a mean vocal stew through the song pairings’ many tempo changes, and Jimmy annihilated a casual and raw solo. The song winded down for another brief pause before Sunny and Duane disrupted the silence with the percussive introduction to “Proving Ground” from the band’s self-titled second album. The acoustic onslaught whipped the crowd into a frenzy with Herring, Trucks, and Sunny leading the charge but with JoJo finishing the madness with a flourish of keys.

The band segued into a ridiculously energetic performance of “Impossible” with an absolutely shreddin’ guitar piece that broke down into a masterful display of musicianship with a thumpin’ bass line and rhythm section before building back into a chaotic frenzy of momentum.  JoJo switched between his pristine, crystalline piano and sustaining synthesized organ sounds throughout the jam. The musical frenzy of “Impossible”—yet another from Light Fuse, Get Away—regressed back into “Proving Ground” to complete a delicious musical sandwich.

“Bust It Big” was led in by JoJo Hermann on keys, but it didn’t take long for the rest of the guys to join into the heavy, rockin’ jam from Night of Joy. During this lengthy thirteen-minute jam, Sunny walloped his kit, JoJo pulsated synthesized rhythms while belting out the lyrics, Herring manipulated the electrostatic atmosphere with lightning solos, Schools pummeled his bass’s fretboard, and Trucks pounded the crap out of his drums, especially during the lyrics “Beware of the man who builds monuments to himself”. Herring conducted his solos in a business-as-usual fashion, with onlookers star-struck by the casual intensity of his performance.

For the first time this year, Widespread Panic performed a mellow rendition of “Jack” from Ain’t Life Grand.  School’s bassline bounced between JB’s expertly sung lyrics, which carved out a tale of mythological proportions. The Wizard, true to the nature of the song’s lyrics, captivated with one last solo before collecting the audience’s melted faces and brains off the floor with a wink of the eye and a wave of his hand—just in time for the band to dive into the rugged musical amalgamation known to most as simply “All Time Low”.

This jam from Til’ The Medicine Takes characterized the common feelings of incompetence and worthlessness, as JB posited the question: “Who knows who is both your best friend and brother when everyone’s deserted you?” At the bottom, there is only one way left to go: Up—and Herring and JoJo took this jam soaring through the clouds while Schools, Trucks, and Sunny tried in vain to keep it grounded. The band took a half-hour break, allowing the audience time to wrap their heads around what just transpired and prepare for the upcoming set.

A bass-heavy introduction to “Bear’s Gone Fishin’” continued to implement songs from the Til’ the Medicine Takes album.  JB captivated with his vocal control, power, and range. Herring dominated the middle section of the jam on to the end with a nasty whirlwind of a guitar solo before allowing Schools the musical space to incorporate his two-cents. JoJo intervened, and the jam stabilized for long enough until they smoothly segued into the slick and vigorous jam, “Tie Your Shoes”.

Dave Schools led the charge and the song’s jam transcended all musical comprehension and only through multiple re-listenings were even the basic foundations understood by the mere human brain. As most audience members stood mouth-wide, aghast, and transfixed, Schools pumped his bass interwoven with JoJo and Herring’s brilliant playing. Trucks incorporated some neat drum triads to add to the exceptional performance. The music progressed directly into “Rock”, during which John Bell fascinated with his grumbling growl and Schools lent his hearty vocal talents to the swampy blend. The drummers had a field day thrashing their kits up until the end of the song when the band finally took a breather after over 30 minutes of straight, musical carnage to open the second set.

“Pickin’ Up the Pieces” slowed the tempo down. Schools stood out with his fierce bass playing, fitting an absurd number of notes into the mellow spaces between Trucks’ snares punctuations, while John Bell crooned slowly and patiently. After another slight pause, the band kicked into a raunchy rendition of George Clinton and P-Funk’s “Red Hot Mama” within the pleasant verses of a soaring “Surprise Valley”. The boys held nothing back with extended jams on both tunes and doing mud justice to a bawdy and sexy version of “Red Hot Mama”. When the jam descended into the depths of “Red Hot Mama”, the crowd became ravenous and the band fed off the energy.  Schools was in the zone throughout the song and held court over the proceedings on stage. John Bell rapped a “Tall Boy” verse into the tail end of the jams and included some charismatic wails with Schools assisting vocally.

The percussionists then thwomped their kits in a short but spirited percussive duet while the other bandmates remained on stage. Trucks ended the dual drum duel with a few last smacks on his snare before transitioning into Tom Petty’s “Honey Bee” from 1994’s Wildflowers. The boys introduced this song into rotation for Ladies’ Night during their Halloween run last year in Vegas, but the song has reemerged twice more since: during the New Year’s Eve show in Atlanta and, most recently, during the scorcher in Birmingham.

Due to a strict curfew, the band transitioned right into the encore without leaving the stage, offering a rowdy version of “Imitation Leather Shoes” from Don’t Tell the Band. They kept the conflagration scorching with a condensed and heavy rendition of the song based on Kafka’s short story “Metamorphosis”.  Schools, JoJo, and JB all contributed to the vocals led by JB, and fireworks were ignited behind the stage to end an outstanding first night of music.

Setlist: Widespread Panic | Riverfront Park | North Charleston, SC | 5/5/2018

Set 1: Ribs and Whiskey,  Wondering, No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature,  Proving Ground > Impossible > Proving Ground > Bust It Big > Jack, All Time Low

Set 2: Bears Gone Fishing >, Tie Your Shoes >, Rock, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, Surprise Valley > Red Hot Mama* > Surprise Valley > Drums > Honey Bee > Imitation Leather Shoes

* w/ ‘Tall Boy’ rap | -Everyone remained on stage for ‘Drums’ | -Fireworks during the ILS closer | -ILS encore played without break due to hard curfew

Trondossa’s second night was arranged in the same way as the first, with two condensed sets with no encores. To begin the night, Widespread Panic executed “Porch Song” with a slow tempo for the first time since LOCKN’ 2014. With the slower tempo, the vocals led by John Bell and backed up by JoJo Hermann played a more prominent role. To follow, the boys brushed off the Mexican sand, for the second-ever live version of “Sundown Betty”, which was debuted at Panic en la Playa this year. John Bell mystified with his sensual, immaculate, and ghostly vocals, and the band performed an inverted introduction to the song this time around.

The boys got extra swampy with a cover of their fellow Georgian brethren’s song “Henry Parsons Died” by Bloodkin. The introduction had an extra-percussive assault from Sunny to lead the music into the depths of this whiskey-indulgent jam, and Jimmy Herring redefined warp speed with his fingers as he wove a spellbinding quilt out of lightning bolts. Dave Schools bent his strings to announce the incoming instrumental jam, “Machine”. Schools led the way but had Herring on his tail throughout, before Trucks and Sunny led into an impeccable segue for “Barstools and Dreamers”. John Bell continued his vocal dominance with support from the entire unit.

“Barstools and Dreamers”

[Video: peter sanger]

After a small pause, John Bell introduced the next song as a “Talking Heads moment,” and without further ado, the band dove into “City of Dreams,” which hasn’t been performed since last year’s Halloween run at Park Theater in Las Vegas. John Bell vocalized the slow, lyrics with passion, and the crowd reacted uproariously when he sung “Southern U.S.A.”  The band accomplished this cover in a heartwarming manner that was very appropriate for a Sunday show.

“City Of Dreams”

[Video: peter sanger]

In true Panic tradition, the band then invited recent Grammy winner Sturgill Simpson on stage for a boisterous rendition of J.J. Cale’s “Ride Me High.” JoJo nailed the lead vocals, and Sturgill did a damn good job keeping up with Herring and JoJo, and the jam featured an outstanding guitar confrontation between Sturgill and the Wizard. JoJo, as is tradition, remained omnipresent throughout the jam, both vocally and with his keyboard prowess.

To finish the first set, Sturgill remained on stage with Widespread Panic to cover The Beatles’ “Come Together” for the second time in 823 shows, with the most recent time played in Washington D.C. on March 15th this year. Both, John Bell and Sturgill traded vocals, though there was tremendous backup support from JoJo, Schools, and the rowdy audience. To end the first set, John Bell thanked Sturgill for coming out and gave a hasty “Be right back!” before the band disappeared from the stage.

“Come Together” with Sturgill Simpson

Panic covering the #Beatles at #Trondossa. #charleston #widespreadpanic

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Upon returning and following a quick tune-up, the Widespread Panic boys began a passionate version of “Pleas”, the opening track from Everyday. Jimmy Herring obliterated a nasty solo before any words were even sung, and by the time, John Bell belted out the first verse, the other musicians had been jamming for almost three minutes.

To provoke the already-ferocious crowd, the boys segued into the classic rocker “Chilly Water”, the opening cut from the band’s debut album Space Wrangler. The song possesses deep themes of private vs. public domain by relaying the story of a thirsty cowboy desperate for a drink of water from a rancher’s well. The intensity of this song, as well as the song’s content, culminated in a water fight with the dehydrated audience members forsaking their thirst—much like the character described in the song—for the noble sacrifice of having a little fun and emptying any and all nearby water containers into the air.

Mellowing it out for the parched audience, them Panics performed a sentimental version of Jorma Kaukonen’s “Genesis”, which they only bust out seldomly, with the last being at Panic en la Playa in Mexico. John Bell sang the words in his country sweet style, and JoJo implanted a pure piano sound amidst the rhythm section’s locomotive drive. However, once John Bell admitted that “He never looked away!”, Jimmy Herring commandeered the song and didn’t relinquish the reins until its end with some stylish flourishes supplemented by JoJo.

Keeping the tone mellow, Dave Schools led the band onward with his bouncing bass for a honeyed rendition of “Walkin’ (For Your Love)” from Widespread Panic’s self-titled second album. JoJo echoed John Bell’s lead and also played several furious piano sections and punctual flourishes that gave the song its saccharine tone. JoJo’s keys continued to introduce the original staple “Tall Boy” from Bombs & Butterflies. John Bell took lead vocals, but once again, JoJo and JB sang together on several of the choral refrains as well as some of the verses. Jimmy Herring made up for sitting the last song out with a couple blistering guitar parts and had the last licks.

“Walkin’ (For Your Love)”

[Video: peter sanger]

With Jimmy Herring’s guitar still reverberating, Schools tested the structural integrity of his bass guitar with the hearty opening notes of the crowd-favorite cover of Winston Riley’s reggae tune “Arleen”. John Bell spun a wickedly dogged tale of losing his electricity and not being able to watch his favorite T.V. shows—“No Star Trek or Barney!” (no Andy)—so, as a result, was forced to look out his window all day at the neighborhood girls. With Schools walloping the bass, Bell admitted that “He can’t stand it!” and the rest of the band chimed in with a resounding “No!” while Trucks punctuating each line with his cymbal. Jimmy Herring crushed a sizzling solo before JB continued his vocal raps.

There was a legendary call-and-response section between JoJo and Herring as the rhythm section continues their pulsing beats. John Bell murmured halfway incoherently before Herring, Schools, and JoJo all had one last word in this epic super jam. Eventually, the musicians left the percussionists on stage to host a battle of wits on their drum kits, and most of the audience scampered for the bathrooms, but the dedicated few remained to dance their best moves to the primitive rhythms in the expanded personal space.

After nearly ten minutes, the band returned onstage to perform their original tune “Airplane” from Ain’t Life Grand.  As per usual with this song, Jimmy Herring blasted off to another dimension, which is most appropriate, as the next song paid tribute to Colonel Bruce Hampton who frequently said that “Space is the place.” The band performed “Trondossa”, the festival’s namesake, which was recorded on Aquarium Rescue Unit’s album Mirrors of Embarrassment. 

John Bell, as he did on New Year’s Eve at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, transformed into Col. Bruce, metaphysically and spiritually embodying the Colonel to deliver the remarkable reverie of his vocal performance. To embody such a uniquely odd personality as Colonel Bruce’s seemed an impossibility, but John Bell aced the one-of-a-kind style with grace and displayed nothing but professionalism and class. Herring whizzed a few dazzling riffs casually between the vocal lines, JoJo tinkered seamless spirals on his piano, and Sunny concluded the jam with his linger percussions.

To end the second night, Widespread Panic concluded the festival with “Conrad”. The boys spent every last drop of gasoline to fuel the fire that has been burning for the last two days, and the fervent energy level was epitomized by every musician on stage. The drummers and Dave Schools mollywhopped their punctual tempos, and John Bell dissected the life of an evolving caterpillar with vocal supremacy. The last minute was over-the-top, as the band gave the crowd their money’s worth with the end of “Conrad” alone featuring drum rolls, electrical wizard tricks, and pounding bass notes. Fireworks bedazzled the sky with tumultuous bangs and beautiful streaking colors to accompany the lingering echoes and vivid memories of another unbelievable musical run from one of the greatest bands in business: Widespread Panic.

The band will perform next at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, on June 22nd through 24th.

Setlist: Widespread Panic | Riverfront Park | North Charleston, SC | 5/6/2018

Set 1: Porch Song, Sundown Betty, Henry Parsons Died, Machine > Barstools & Dreamers, City of Dreams, Ride Me High* > Come Together**

Set 2: Pleas > Chilly Water, Genesis, Walkin’ (For Your Love), Tall Boy, Arleen > Drums > Airplane > Trondossa^ > Conrad

Notes: * w/ Sturgill Simpson on guitar | ** w/ Sturgill Simpson on guitar and vocals | ^ LTP Hampton 70 (Miss You Col Bruce) FTP as full band

Check out the full gallery from Saturday’s Trondossa experience below, courtesy of photographer Carol Spagnuola.