As Widespread Panic fans return to the humdrum of the “real world” after three nights at The Capitol Theatre, the band is looking back on its tradition of Sunday shows. In a new video, Widespread Panic asks, “Why never miss a Sunday show?”
The phrase “Never miss a Sunday show” has become ubiquitous throughout the jam scene, a catchphrase akin to “Primus sucks” or “Todd Snider rules” (RIP). Widespread Panic even immortalized the long-held fixation on Sunday spectacles with its 2020 live album, Sunday Show, recorded during the band’s last trip to The Capitol Theatre in 2019.
But why? Ask five fans or musicians, and you’ll get five different answers. Of course, there’s the financial reason that—as far as weekend runs go—Sunday tickets are the hardest to sell with the work week looming just over the horizon. Some say it’s because if you survive Friday and Saturday and are ready to go one more round on a school night, you’re in a rarified class of dedicated fans. Widespread Panic sound man Chris Berry says the tradition comes from the band’s annual Red Rocks Amphitheatre run, where the early start in the sunshine and the breathtaking setting gave the shows a party-in-the-park vibe.
Bassist Dave Schools says the tradition dates back to the band’s early days touring colleges and weeknights in its hometown of Athens, GA. “Sunday shows in the old days when we were on the road were, you know, the sparsely attended shows,” he recalled backstage during this year’s Cap run. “You’re out on tour doing college shows and then you wind up in some strange town in a basketball arena, and we know no one’s going to really be there, and we’re far away from home. And we’re like, ‘What are the bands that we really like,’ you know? So we’d we’d play the stuff that made us want to play music. That’s when a Meters song would come out or like a obscure Neil Young song or something that we used to play back in the Monday nights of Athens days. It was just our way of sort of paying tribute to the people that made us want to play music to begin with.”
This most recent Sunday show followed that tradition, as Panic dusted off Talking Heads‘ “Heaven” for the first time since April 2024, a gap of 45 shows. But the biggest tribute came toward the end of the second set, as WSP debuted a cover of “Play A Train Song” by longtime friend Todd Snider, who suddenly passed away earlier this month at the age of 59. The band had celebrated the cult hero singer-songwriter throughout the run, taking a moment of silence on Friday and caking the stage in purple lights.
Reflecting on the more jovial nature of many Sunday shows, percussionist Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz said, “It’s always fun to throw out some nice surprises on that on that Sunday. That’s my take. What’s yours?”
Related: Grateful Dead Curate Official ‘Never Miss A Sunday Show’ Playlist [Stream]
Dive into the Sunday show-lore below, and revisit Widespread Panic’s recent Capitol Theatre run with For Live Music‘s full boots-on-the-ground weekend coverage from Otis Sinclar: Friday | Saturday (ft. Warren Haynes) | Sunday. Up next for Panic is the band’s traditional three-night New Year’s run at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, before jetting down to Riviera Maya, Mexico for Panic en la Playa Trece January 20th–23rd. Find tickets and tour dates here.
Fans can revisit every note of Widespread Panic’s Cap Theatre run and a vast selection of shows dating back to 1989 with a nugs All Access subscription. Now through January 5th, nugs is offering new subscribers 50% off an annual subscription, cutting the price to just $99.99 from the usual $199.99. Get started streaming here.
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Widespread Panic — Why Never Miss A Sunday Show?