Photo Credit: Tim Bottchen

Last night, April 16, was another night in paradise for Widespread Panic and its followers, who celebrated the third night of Panic en la Playa Doce from the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico. For the penultimate date in this twelfth annual series, the band dished out two breezy sets of certified classics, elaborate by a few slight twists winking to longtime devotees. The group’s performance followed an introductory set by the Playa Allstars–featuring Eric Krasno, Ivan Neville, Gorge Porter Jr., Jennifer Hartswick, Tony Hall, Cochemea Gastelum and Raymond Weber–who set off a funk explosion that bridged the approaches of some of the style’s modern figureheads.

Panic kept this energy alive by opening with the gritty, hard-funking “Contentment Blues,” from its 1988 debut Space Wrangler, then resolved this tone with the brighter, yet emotionally nuanced fan-favorite “Pleas.” Shortly after, the band presented the tenth staging of its recent single “Tackle Box Hero,” then its time-tested cover of David Bromberg’s “Sharon,” which has figured into its performances since at least 1986. Panic advanced with the staple “Bear’s Gone Fishin’,” kicking off a medley of “Tie Your Shoes,” “I’m Not Alone” and finally 1993’s “Wondering,” which closed out the first frame an anthemic and exploratory jam.

To begin act two, Widespread Panic let loose Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” which shot into the classic “Ain’t Life Grand” and the live legend “Worry.” The band then presented another cover, this time of Talking Heads’ 1979 Fear Of Music classic “Heaven,” followed by “Blue Carousel,” the eighth performance of a new composition from the band that has not yet been released. After further staples, Panic raced into the last leg of its performance with a bold framing of “Drums” within two treatments of “Bust It Big,” which set the wild and improvisatory tone for a medley of “Pigeons” and Buffalo Springfield’s “Mr. Soul” that closed out the main portion of the performance. The band then returned to the stage from a brief departure for an eight-minute encore of “Nobody’s Loss,” sending the crowd off into the night or on to a late-night set from The Main Squeeze.

Widespread Panic will perform again tonight as the final entry in the Panic en la Playa Doce series; the band will be joined by Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, Peter Levin and DJ Logic, who will all deliver sets around the resort through the course of the evening to prolong the getaway magic. For more information, visit panicenlaplaya.com.

Read on for the complete setlist from night three, and stay tuned for further updates from Panic en la Playa Doce.

Widespread Panic
Panic en la Playa Doce – Riviera Maya, Mexico
4/16/24

Set I: Contentment Blues > Pleas, Tall Boy, Tackle Box Hero, Sharon*, Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Tie Your Shoes > I’m Not Alone > Wondering
Set II: Lawyers, Guns, and Money+, Ain’t Life Grand, Worry, Heaven~, Blue Carousel, Rebirtha, Space Wrangler, Bust It Big > Drums > Bust It Big, Pigeons > Mr Soul^
Encore: Nobody’s Loss

Notes:
* David Bromberg cover
+ Warren Zevon cover
~ Talking Heads cover
^ Buffalo Springfield cover

Setlist via panicstream.com.