In the aftermath of Friday night’s Alice in Wonderland Halloween special, Widespread Panic fired up the grill for two sets of almost entirely original, home-cooked favorites during the second night in Savannah, GA. Enmarket Arena was the place to be this weekend, as Widespread Panic slathered tasty jams on delectable dives into its catalog, trading solos and connecting songs so that the music rarely stopped. In the second set, there was only one time when Widespread Panic paused, generating nearly 100 minutes of nonstop action.
Abandoning his costume for a more comfortable fit, John Bell fed the insatiable audience early with a modest welcome (“Good evenin’, everybody!”) and subsequent greasy “Thought Sausage”. WSP then slowed down the tempo in favor of a mellow “Pickin’ Up the Pieces”. Next, Dave Schools and JoJo Hermann collaborated to introduce the bombastic bass barrage of “Bear’s Gone Fishin’” before the rainmaker “Hatfield” flooded the venue with a storm surge from an unforecasted hurricane.
Widespread Panic — “Thought Sausage”, “Pickin’ Up The Pieces” — 11/1/25
Jimmy Herring showered the audience with a torrential downpour of notes until JB took the audience back to simpler times, playing childhood games of “Cops and Robbers, Rat Patrol, Star Trek, Ice Station Zebra, and Cowboys and Indians.” His succinct improvised rap also illustrated a wholesome picture of the rainmaker sitting on a hillside and conjuring “just a little bit of rain / kinda just floats slow / like snow / just thinking about it / I felt a little on my face”.
The percussive wildcard, Sunny Ortiz, and his tag team partner, Duane Trucks, introduced “Rock” to try and make it home piece by piece. Afterward, Panic maintained pace for “Little by Little”, stride for stride, step by step. Jimmy Herring cut solos into each like a samurai casually using a katana sword to cut butter. Winding down the set, JoJo started on organ during “You Got Yours” before shuffling over to Clavinet and later his piano, taking lead vocals on a bawdy “Blackout Blues” to close out the first frame.
The smoking second set was one for the ages as Panic stopped only once through 94 minutes of nearly uninterrupted tunes. The blazing instrumental “Disco” crashed into the hard-hitting first half of “Bust It Big” before JB cut into Vic Chesnutt’s “Aunt Avis” for the first cover of the night. Panic left BIB unfinished for most of the second set.
Widespread Panic — “Disco” > “Bust It Big” — 11/1/25
[Video: BRADFORD WALKER]
A subsequent “Diner” restored the good vibes in the light of Ms. Lee’s sanctuary. JB’s rap described “Going to work early after being up all night, and kicked off his bench a little early before the respectable church folks came around on a snow-covered morning.”
The second instrumental, “Party At Your Mama’s House”, progressively built in speed and intensity with assistance from Herring’s lightning licks. JB donned his slide to get saucy on “Ribs and Whiskey” and a bass-bending “Second Skin”, the meat and potatoes of the second set. The brief pause before “Second Skin” was the only time the band stopped during the second set.
A dizzying “Tie Your Shoes” hit the ground at a full sprint with both feet laced tight into the second half of “Bust It Big”. Still not finished, Panic threw down a conclusive “Chilly Water” to wrap the second set. In the midst of the madness, Panic reprised The Who‘s “Who Are You” from the night prior and teased the infamous diddy “I Trusted You” from 2019’s gag-filled Andy Kaufman Halloween in New Orleans. “Chilly Water” would stand as the last original to be played in Savannah.
Returning for an encore, Widespread Panic went out swinging with three straight covers. A combination of War songs led the charge as “Four Cornered Room” rounded into “Slippin’ Into Darkness”. Steve Lopez, Widespread Panic’s tour manager, joined the band on percussion before WSP finished the weekend in Savannah with a rowdy rendition of Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns and Money” as a six-piece once more.
Widespread Panic, Steve Lopez — “Four Cornered Room” (War) > “Slippin’ Into Darkness” (War) — 11/1/25
[Video: BRADFORD WALKER]
Next up for Widespread Panic is a three-day run at Port Chester, NY’s The Capitol Theatre the weekend before Thanksgiving (11/21–11/23), followed by New Year’s in Atlanta (12/29–12/31), and Panic En La Playa in Mexico (1/20–1/23). Each run is hitting harder than the last, and I will be the first but not last to voice my appreciation of this band’s continued dedication to its craft after all these years. It’s been an honor to be a part of the ride with so many Goodpeople scattered around the globe. Sayonara, folks. See ya at the Cap.
Check out photos from the Widespread Panic finale in Savannah by Robert Francis and videos from BRADFORD WALKER. Find tickets and tour dates here.
Widespread Panic — “Bear’s Gone Fishin'” > “Hatfield” — 11/1/25
Widespread Panic — “Hatfield”, “Rock” — 11/1/25
Widespread Panic — “Diner” > “Party At Your Mama’s House” — 11/1/25
Widespread Panic — “Tie Your Shoes” — 11/1/25
Widespread Panic — “Chilly Water” — 11/1/25
Setlist: Widespread Panic | Enmarket Arena | Savannah, GA | 11/1/25
Set One: Thought Sausage, Pickin’ Up the Pieces, Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Hatfield, Rock, Little By Little, You Got Yours > Blackout Blues (67 mins)
Set Two: Disco > Bust It Big > Aunt Avis (Vic Chesnutt) > Diner > Party At Your Mama’s House > Ribs and Whiskey, Second Skin > Tie Your Shoes > Bust It Big > Chilly Water > Who Are You Reprise (The Who) [1] > Chilly Water [2] (94 mins)
Encore: Four Cornered Room (War) > Slippin’ Into Darkness (War) [3] > Lawyers, Guns and Money (Warren Zevon)
[1] Rerprised from 10/31/25
[2] “I Trusted You” (Andy Kaufman) tease
[3] w/ Steve Lopez on percussion
