Building off momentum after their opening night scorcher with Daniel Donato, Widespread Panic kept the fire burning at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, TN last night. Despite the forecast calling for rain all weekend, the showers stopped in the early afternoon and held off for a breezy, comfortable time on the Cumberland riverbank.
Consecutive covers ignited the show early as John Bell grabbed the reins of Neil Young’s “Mr. Soul”. JB may have held the reins, but Jimmy Herring had the whip, and he quickly conjured up a high-voltage storm of a solo. The second cover, Bloodkin’s “Makes Sense To Me”, featured a sizzling organ solo from JoJo Hermann’s corner before the ravenous frontman carried the gritty tone into a hellfire “Little Kin”.
The remainder of the bombastic first set was contained in a double-decker jam sandwich with four uninterrupted originals stacked high. Construction starts with a solid foundation. Last night, the foundation consisted of the first half of “Good People” which took flight into a festive “Pigeons” before splitting “Proving Ground” (“Find out just how tall I am / By jumping in the middle of the river!”).
The meat of the sandwich was the mystical, medieval ripper “Jack”. JB laid into an improvised rap which replaced the third verse, uncharacteristic in this particular song, that began with, “The wizard is still in the corner / pickin’ his teeth / dogs chasing cats / were all chasing the breeze / and there’s everybody / over yonder / going downtown / downtown…”
WSP kicked it into high gear for one last screeching peak before the wave crashed down into the swinging rhythm of “Proving Ground”. Panic cruised through the back halves of both “Proving Ground” and “Good People” before segueing into Jerry Joseph and Glenn Esparza’s “Climb to Safety” to close out almost 48 minutes of uninterrupted music and the first set.
The second set divulged more into WSP’s expansive catalog of originals as the inferno, instrumental “Disco” blazed into a howling “Greta”. Afterwards, a lengthy improvised transition that resembled a cross-pollination between “Entering a Black Hole Backwards” and “Havin’ a Ball” followed.
Dave Schools’ bass grounded the spacey segue and plunged into the chaotic energy of “Tie Your Shoes”, teasing Little Feat’s “Spanish Moon”. A percussive “Rock” descended further into the depths of insanity until “We Walk Each Other Home” reached out a guiding hand to restore balance to the universe.
Breaking the silence, Schools led the charge into “Rebirtha” before firing up the grill for “Ribs and Whiskey”. JB flexed his slide skills for the third time of the night (on “Rock” & “Proving” as well). WSP paused to collect their composure before winding down the second set without stopping.
“King Baby”, once a fledgling jam off 2024’s Snake Oil King, now strode forth brazen with confidence and determination. The lyrics about radioactive dinosaurs that swallow half of Tokyo foreshadowed the subsequent arrival of Blue Öyster Cult’s “Godzilla”.
The King of Monsters reared its fearsome head for only the fifth time ever, most recently appearing during WSP’s 2018 Halloween: Laugh-In Las Vegas. Last night’s performance marked its first time played outside of a Halloween weekend. After one final mention of the titular beast, “Chilly Water” closed the set with rapturous waterworks.
Since its return to stage, Widespread Panic has been dishing out double doses to honor friends and influences, leading some theorists to speculate about this year being a welcome back-to-back tour of sorts. Last night added support to these spreadhead conspiracy theorists’ claims when WSP encored with consecutive Vic Chesnutt covers.
JB’s vocals carried the charge through a cutting performance of “Expiration Day” before ending the second show with a classic combination of “Protein Drink / Sewing Machine”.
Bloodkin hosted an afterparty at the nearby ACME Feed & Seed on Broadway, but the options were beyond count as the rowdy crowd shuffled out the gates to dissolve into the unsuspecting society once more.
Tonight, we do it all again. See you in a few hours, Good People.
Check out photos and fan-shot videos from night two in Nashville below. Find tickets to Sunday’s finale and Widespread Panic’s other upcoming tour dates here.
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Widespread Panic – “Godzilla” – 4/25/25
[Video: Jessi Ware]
Widespread Panic – “Mr. Soul”, “Makes Sense” – 4/25/25
[Video: Pete Millett2]
Widespread Panic – “Little Kin” – 4/25/25
[Video: Jessi Ware]
Widespread Panic – “Jack” > “Proving Ground” – 4/25/25
[Video: Pete Millett2]
Widespread Panic – “Climb To Safety” – 4/25/25
[Video: Jessi Ware]
Widespread Panic – “Disco” – 4/25/25
[Video: Jessi Ware]
Widespread Panic – “Disco” – 4/25/25
[Video: Chad Sclove]
Widespread Panic – Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN – 4/25/25 – Set 2 Part 1
[Video: Pete Millett2]
Widespread Panic – Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN – 4/25/25 – Set 2 Part 2
[Video: Pete Millett2]
Widespread Panic – “We Walk Each Other Home” – 4/25/25
[Video: Pete Millett2]
Widespread Panic – “Chilly Water” – 4/25/25
[Video: Jessi Ware]
Widespread Panic – “Expiration Day” – 4/25/25
[Video: Jessi Ware]
Setlist: Widespread Panic | Ascend Amphitheater | Nashville, TN | 4/25/25
Set 1: Mr Soul, Makes Sense To Me, Little Kin, Good People > Pigeons > Proving Ground > Jack > Proving Ground > Good People > Climb To Safety (54 mins)
Set 2: Disco > Greta > Jam > Tie Your Shoes > Rock, We Walk Each Other Home, Rebirtha > Ribs and Whiskey, King Baby > Godzilla > Chilly Water (96 mins)
Encore: Expiration Day, Protein Drink / Sewing Machine (17 mins)
Notes
– LTP ‘Godzilla’ 10/28/18 Las Vegas (197 shows)
– LTP ‘Protein Drink / Sewing Machine’ 4/14/24 PELP (19 shows)