Image via Widespread Panic Facebook

Widespread Panic recently embarked on a rare Western tour. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the group was in Missoula, MT for two gigs at the KettleHouse Amphitheater. Opening night featured a number of memorable moments. The evening opened with a spirited version of “Pleas.” The first set also featured a fine run from “Walk On” into “Up All Night,” “Hatfield” and “Blue Carousel.” The second set began with a another strong sequence that moved from “Proving Ground” into “Conrad” then back into “Proving Ground” and “Free Somehow.” A bit later the group offered a 10-minute take on “Low Rider,” which Panic has performed just twice since 2009 after revisiting it in April. The band closed out the night with a version of the Talking Heads’ “Heaven” for the first time since last November.

Last night’s return to the venue began with a pairing of “I’m So Glad” and “Little By Little” that animated the audience. The set-closing trio of “Tackle Box Hero,” “Bear’s Gone Fishin’” and “Sharon” also generated enthusiasm. For many folks the two evenings peaked during the second frame as the band delivered a stretch that extended 46 minutes from “Impossible” into “Drums” through “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” “B of D” and “Chilly Water.” Widespread had last performed “Nobody’s Fault But Mine,” the Blind Willie Johnson blues classic interpreted by the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin and many others on March 5, 2023, a gap of 111 shows.

The band has also just released a video from Sunday night at Jackson, WY’s Snow King Amphitheatre. Panic welcomes Duane Betts to the stage that night for an extended version of “Mountain Jam,” the Allman Brothers Band classic often elevated by Betts’ father Dickey.

Next up for Panic is two nights in Bend, OR starting on Friday.

Setlists below via Everyday Companion:

07/07/26 KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula, MT
1: Pleas, Henry Parsons Died, Walk On > Up All Night > Hatfield > Blue Carousel, We Walk Each Other Home, Sometimes, Action Man
2: Proving Ground > Conrad > Proving Ground > Free Somehow, None of Us Are Free, Gimme, Bust It Big > Pigeons > Bust It Big > Low Rider > Tie Your Shoes > Junior
E: Me And The Devil Blues > Heaven
Entire show with Nick Johnson on guitar

07/08/26 KettleHouse Amphitheater, Missoula, MT
1: I’m So Glad > Little By Little, Blackout Blues, Old Joe, Worry, Pickin’ Up The Pieces, Tackle Box Hero, Bear’s Gone Fishin’, Sharon
2: Porch Song, Holden Oversoul, Honky Red, Rock, Impossible > Drums > Nobody’s Fault But Mine, B of D, Chilly Water
E: Barstools and Dreamers, Thought Sausage > Travelin’ Light
Entire show with Nick Johnson on guitar