Widespread Panic hunkered down at Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana for the first of two shows. Last night marked the first time WSP has performed in Indy since 2016. Opening night started early (7 p.m. ET) as WSP leaned into a setlist comprised mostly of originals with a handful of Bloodkin, Vic Chesnutt, and Parliament Funkadelic covers thrown into the mix.
Slightly abashed, backwards hat John Bell admitted, “Alright, Indianapolis, it’s been a while,” before the slow-rolling drums of “Wondering” kicked off the run. JoJo Hermann‘s piano carried over into “Up All Night”. Bassist Dave Schools supported vocally until Jimmy Herring dialed the frequency into “Radio Child”.
JoJo slid over to organ for the first cover of the night as Bloodkin’s “Make Sense To Me” cannonballed into the setlist. Afterwards, “Christmas Katie” started slow, but soon blazed with help from the hot-handed gunslinger, Jimmy Herring.
Without stopping, Schools led the vanguard, bearing down on an instrumental “Machine” until plopping into “Barstools and Dreamers” to complete the classic pairing. WSP has only diverged from this traditional combination four times in the last decade.
WSP double-dipped into Bloodkin’s reservoir for a fan favorite, “Trashy”, before closing out the first frame with a spirited “Halloween Face”. As always, the conclusive meltdown jam sent the audience soaring into set break.
An expansive “Surprise Valley” sandwich spread its wings to start the second set but soon a spitfire segue split the song, sliding into a serene “C. Brown”. Picking up the pace during another transition, Panic stumbled into the kitchen of “Impossible” to raid the fridge. After piling on Vic Chesnutt’s “Protein Drink / Sewing Machine” and a succinct “Drums”, WSP completed the sandwich by summetting “Surprise Valley”.
Still without stopping, a high-flying “Airplane”, laden with Curtis Mayfield‘s “Pusherman” teases, explored the cosmos beyond the clouds. Ace pilot Jimmy Herring maneuvered the musical vehicle to land smoothly amidst a penultimate “Pilgrims”. Running wild and free alongside the White River where the Colts run nearby, WSP closed out the second set with an incindiery perforamance of Parliament-Funkadelic’s “Red Hot Mama”.
Closing out the first night, JoJo manned the helm through the two-song encore. First the pianist led the excavation team through a prehistoric romp of “Big Wooly Mammoth”, and they punctuated the night with a bawdy “Blackout Blues”.
Widespread Panic – Everwise Amphitheater At White River State Park – Indianapolis, IN – 8/8/25
Widespread Panic – “Wondering” – 8/8/25
[Video: Dave Gordon]
Setlist: Widespread Panic | Everwise Amphitheater At White River State Park | Indianapolis, IN | 8/8/25
Set 1: Wondering, Up All Night > Radio Child, Makes Sense To Me, Christmas Katie > Machine > Barstools and Dreamers, Trashy > Halloween Face (69 mins)
Set 2: Surprise Valley > C Brown > Impossible > Protein Drink / Sewing Machine > Surprise Valley > Airplane, Pilgrims, Red Hot Mama (72 mins)
Encore: Big Wooly Mammoth > Blackout Blues (14 mins)
Notes: LTP ‘Impossible’ 4/15/24 Playa (30 shows)