Athens, GA rockers Widespread Panic have released “Sundown Betty”, their first new studio track since 2015’s Street Dogs, as part of a virtual 45 also featuring the band’s sole live performance of “I Swear It Wasn’t Me”.
Frontman John Bell introduced the new release in a video shared to the band’s social media pages. As JB explains from his living room, visibly filled with analog technology like a record player and a typewriter, “As you can tell, I’m a bit nostalgic. I like the old ways, I like the old things, and one of my favorite memories is going to Campus Drug Store in Cleveland, OH—Shaker Heights, OH—and there was a little box next to the cash register that had 45s, singles. A-side, B-Side. Two songs, 75 cents. You’d flip through those and find something that you had heard on the radio and say, ‘Oh yeah, well, I’d like that. I’ll listen to it… a lot, or maybe find something new.’ That was a magical little space, especially when you found something new.”
He continued, “In honor of Halloween, in honor of music, and in honor of nostalgia, we are going to drop a virtual 45 with ‘Sundown Betty’ on the A and ‘I Swear It Wasn’t Me’ on the B.”
Leaning in toward the camera, he expressed his gratitude for the “virtual” single format and its less-stringent length requirements: “Well, our songs tend to run long, so it’s a good thing this is a virtual single, ‘cus it does exceed three minutes and thirty-three seconds. Happy Halloween everybody, enjoy, stay safe out there and, well… here we go!”
JB Introduces Sundown Betty Virtual 45
[Video: Widespread Panic]
The two tracks make good on JB’s promise of longer jams, as the studio “Betty” nears the six-minute mark and the live “I Swear It Wasn’t Me” stretches to almost nine minutes in length. The A-Side of the new release, “Sundown Betty”, was recorded by the band at John Keane Studios in Athens, GA. The song was initially premiered live in January 2018 at Panic en la Playa and has remained in relatively regular rotation at Widespread Panic shows ever since. The B-Side, “I Swear It Wasn’t Me”, was captured during the band’s sole live performance of the song, at the 2015 edition of Panic en la Playa in Punta Cana, DR. The recording was later remixed and mastered by John Keane.
Listen to “Sundown Betty” and “I Swear It Wasn’t Me” on the platform of your choice here, download them here, or stream them via Spotify below:
Widespread Panic – “Sundown Betty”/”I Swear It Wasn’t Me”
The band noted in the release announcement that Sundown Betty’s posters and t-shirts will be available soon. Check out the official poster print by Marq Spusta below.
