Photos by Bracken Mayo, a big wooly knock-kneed mammoth man.
Widespread Panic is still going strong.
The popular Southern jam band with its roots in the early ’80s at the University of Georgia recently made a two-night appearance in downtown Nashville as part of Ascend Amphitheater’s inaugural season.
Duane Trucks
Guitarist Jimmy Herring is now a seasoned Panic veteran, having been with the band since 2006, so he probably lost the label of “new guy” long ago.
There is a new face in the seemingly constantly touring band behind the skins, though; Duane Trucks is on drumming duty, first taking on that role in the fall of 2014. Trucks played the drums on Panic’s forthcoming release, Street Dogs, but the band announced earlier this year that founding drummer Todd Nance plans to rejoin the group in 2016.
Known for changing their set each night, no songs were duplicated in Panic’s Sept. 5 and 6 Middle Tennessee shows.
The two nights included classic WP crowd-pleasers like “Porch Song,” “Big Wooly Mammoth,” “Climb to Safety,” “Ride Me High,” “Driving Song,” “Chilly Water” and “Love Tractor,” among many others, as some nice psychedelic visuals swirled in colorful patterns above the group.
Jimmy Herring in a purple haze
There’s not much time wasted on banter during a Panic show. True to form, the group launched from one jam into the next, keeping the fans gyrating in the aisles while, up on the grass lawn overlooking the stage from the banks of the Cumberland River, the Shelby Street bridge (Korean Veterans Memorial) was strikingly lit against the night sky in the distance.
A little digging into Widespread Panic’s tunes can unearth gems from such off-the-radar names as Bobby Rush, Jerry Joseph, J.J. Cale, Junior Kimbrough and Michael Stanley, the original composers of some of the band’s popular bluesy, soulful jams.
While the band has entertained Southern fraternity brothers and wandering Deadheads for for over 30 years now, the pop radio crowd still may not even have a clue.
For a glimpse into the world of Widespread Panic, plus more information on some of the charitable endeavors the band is involved in such as food drives and Tunes for Tots, visit widespreadpanic.com. Street Dogs, a new studio album, is scheduled for release on Sept. 25.
The band will perform in Asheville, N.C., on Oct. 30 and 31, and is also scheduled for a three-night stand in Atlanta on Dec. 29, 30 and 31.
