Widespread Panic grew impatient waiting for the list that will never come, so the jam giants took matters into their own hands and filled the first frame with their own list of names. The midway point of WSP’s run at MGM Music Hall at Fenway Park in Boston locked in to turn a textbook double play. The crowd brought ravenous energy to the first Panic shows in Boston (or Massachusetts) since 2015.
The first set featured a setlist of names—a sly jab perhaps at the lack of transparency and consistency from the powers that be in D.C. After opening with a smokin’ cover of Winston Riley’s “Arleen”, Dave Schools strolled into the swaying flow of “Little Lilly”. This was only the 7th and 11th time “Arleen” has opened a show and a set, respectively, and the first time since the band’s set at Bonnaroo in 2011.
Without stopping, Jimmy Herring sank his shovel into his first solo of the night to dig the shallow grave of Bloodkin’s “Henry Parsons Died”. Building anticipation with a half-minute of deliberation, John Bell sliced heartstrings during Vic Chesnutt’s “Aunt Avis” (“How to remember how to be good? / How to continue when I feel I really shouldn’t”) before handing the keys to JoJo Hermann for a rabid, yellow rabbit-infested “Greta”.
Sliding over to the organ, a swirling, emotionally unhinged “Gimme” name-dropped Michael, Larry, and Tuesday until “Jack” transported the venue back into the feudal ages with fables of peanut-crackin’ wizards, one-eyed jesters, and rusty knights.
JB flipped the switch to maximize his gravelly growl for a raunchy, piano-laden rendition of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning”. Racing down the final stretch of the first frame, Willie’s “bestest horse,” “Action Man”, took the grand prize at 100-1 odds after a photo finish at “SA-RA-TO-GA!!!!”
Past the halfway point of the run, Panic tested the structural integrity of the newly constructed venue with an incendiary “Little Kin”, rekindling the fire early in the second set. In subsequent search for shelter amongst the smoldering rubble, Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz’s slow-rolling drums found “Diner” and the sanctuary in the light of Ms. Lee. JB added his own signature flavor to the menu during a concise rap describing a rough morning after getting kicked off a park bench.
A barrage of punches from the veteran heavyweights landed in succession as Tom Waits’ “Goin’ Out West” descended through the dizzying labyrinth of “Tie Your Shoes” and into a cautionary “Bust It Big” (“Beware the man who builds monuments to himself”).
For the first time this weekend, JB, Jimmy, Schools, and JoJo cleared the stage to give Duane and Sunny space for a drummer’s duel. The percussionists layered progressive rhythms brick-by-brick for a whopping 14 minutes before the other band members returned. To some, it was a bathroom break, but for others, it was the highlight of the show. For these rare few, those leaving their spots presents a rare opportunity—more room to dance.
Gliding through the tail end of the second set, the rock opera “Saint Ex” tasted the skies before a perilous dogfight ended in fiery wreckage for the renowned author of The Little Prince. At last, WSP covered Jerry Joseph and Glenn Esparza’s “Climb to Safety”, punctuating the second set with the spirit of camaraderie and appreciation for companionship.
Widespread Panic performed two encores, doubling down on the night prior. Going back to the band’s first live show in 1986, WSP covered Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” before firing up the reliable engine of “Love Tractor”.
After the echoes of one last Jimmy Herring solo faded away, only one show remains for the Boston loyalists, and then, like Paul Revere and his companions exactly 250 years ago, we ride on! Catch me JB side.
Widespread Panic – MGM Music Hall At Fenway Park – Boston, MA – 8/22/25 [Full Audio]
Widespread Panic – “Arlene” > “Little Lilly” – 8/22/25
[Video: Bradford Walker]
Setlist: Widespread Panic | MGM Music Hall At Fenway Park | Boston, MA | 8/22/25
Set 1: Arleen > Little Lilly > Henry Parsons Died, Aunt Avis, Greta, Gimme > Jack, Smokestack Lightning > Action Man (74 mins)
Set 2: Little Kin, Diner > Goin’ Out West > Tie Your Shoes > Bust It Big > Drums > Saint Ex, Climb To Safety (80 mins)
Encore: For What It’s Worth > Love Tractor (12 mins)
