Just hours after Widespread Panic announced that it was postponing this week’s three-night run at Chicago, IL’s Chicago Theatre, the band helped ease the disappointment with the release of its latest studio single, “We Walk Each Other Home”. The heartfelt, acoustic guitar-driven anthem debuted in July 2023 at Huntsville, AL’s Orion Amphitheater and has been played live five additional times since. Various fans have noted that the song’s titular refrain is a nod to late spiritual guru Ram Dass, who famously referenced the interconnected nature of human existence by observing that “we’re all just walking each other home.”
The track follows 2020’s “Sundown Betty” and early-January single “Little by Little” as just the third new studio track from the Athens, GA swamp-rock heroes since 2015’s Street Dogs. “We Walk Each Other Home” is one of several new songs the band has rolled out during live shows in the past several years. The relative glut of recent new songs—including the three aforementioned tracks in addition to “Blue Carousel”, “Tackle Box Hero”, “Halloween Face”, and “King Baby”—are expected to be included on a forthcoming new Widespread Panic album.
While the band has not provided details on the new LP in any official capacity, bassist Dave Schools said in a summer 2023 interview that Panic had recently wrapped up a 10-day recording session for a new record with longtime producer John Keane in the band’s native Athens, GA. Though Widespread Panic has never been known to rush the creation and release of new music, the band maintains a steady stream of archival releases ranging from past live performances to 2022’s Miss Kitty’s Lounge, a collection of previously uncirculated studio demos recorded back in 1990.
Following the band’s three-night 2023 New Year’s Eve run in Atlanta in December, Widespread Panic—comprised of Schools, John Bell (guitar, vocals), Jimmy Herring (lead guitar), JoJo Hermann (keys, vocals), Sunny Ortiz (percussion), and Duane Trucks (drums)—kicked off its 2024 tour schedule in January with a three-night run at St. Louis, MO’s Stifel Theatre. Next up for the band is the rescheduled three-night stand at the Chicago Theatre on February 28th, February 29th, and March 1st. For a complete list of upcoming tour dates, head here.
Listen to the newly released studio version of “We Walk Each Other Home” by Widespread Panic via the player below.
Widespread Panic – “We Walk Each Other Home”