Panic! At the Fox Theater in Oakland

Widespread Panic | Oakland, California | July 18th, 2026 - photos by Gabriel David Barkin

It’s been 40 years since Widespread caused their first Panic as an upstart band in Athens GA. This weekend, the stalwart jam legends managed mischief admirably for three evenings at the Fox Theater in Oakland, proving they’ve still got what it takes to rile up a crowd.

In jamworld math, most bands are a unique sum of inspirations and innovations that include heavy ratios of either or both the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. The Widespread Panic (WP) equation is weighted heavily on the Allman’s side, with heavy hints of Traffic and Little Feat. Throw in the unique magic that makes a band worthy of attention on its own merits, and you’ve got a result that can sell over 8,000 tickets in the Bay Area on a single weekend.

In the case of WP, that magic is largely tied to the vocal chops of singer and guitarist John Bell and the steady bass roots of fellow founder Dave Schools. On record, Bell’s voice rings midway between Steve Winwood and Dave Mason, with the addition of a gravelly quality à la Joe Cocker or Dr. John. If you want a more American reference, think Molly Hatchet’s Danny Joe Brown, perhaps some Chris Robinson (Black Crowes), and maybe even a little Alice Cooper at times. Bottom line: dude can belt!

Schools has earned a spot on the bass’y end of the pantheon with accolades that (almost) rival Phil Lesh and Mike Gordon. He’s also recorded and toured with his Sonoma County neighbor Mickey Hart and played frequently with Bob Weir at TRI studios — adding some significant Grateful Dead adjacency to his resume.

Speaking of which … it doesn’t hurt (nor is it surprising) that WP is overflowing with ties to the Grateful Dead and the Allmans. Jimmy Herring, who has been playing guitar leads with WP for roughly half of the band’s history, toured with the Allman Brothers and also served time playing in many Phil & Friends lineups and joined forces with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh in The Dead. Duane Trucks, WP’s drummer for the past decade, is the nephew of the Allman’s drummer Butch Trucks and younger brother of Derek Trucks (another latter-day Allman Brothers guitar player).

It’s not unreasonable to assume there is something in the water in Georgia that makes for a great jam band.

Panic is really one of the first bands that fully embraced the jam band formula: Persian rugs. Two drummers/percussionists. Two 70–80-minute sets of music, the second bisected by an improvised drum segment. A six-string bass player.

Their sweet spot in this genre is full of pedal-to-the-metal energy. WP is not a subtle band, and few of their songs have quiet sections. Spreadheads expect and receive a maelstrom of guitar solos, thundering bass, and intense rock and roll.

If you’re a Spreadhead, you already know all this. And if you are a Bay Area Spreadhead, you were probably at the Fox on Saturday night for an epic show, the last of this three-night stand.

You also might know that Nick Johnson is filling in on lead guitar these days while Herring undergoes treatment for a recurrence of throat cancer. (Herring's prognosis is reportedly positive, and there is hope he will return to the band in the near future.) It’s not easy subbing for an ostensible jam band rock god – but let it be known that Johnson fills those WP shoes quite admirably.

After a strong start on Thursday, Friday’s show had set the bar a little higher leading up to the final show. That’s an easily defensible statement given that the first four songs on Friday were “Little Kin,” “Little Lilly,” “Little by Little,” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.” Later, they covered Jerry Joseph’s “North,” a song Joseph originally played with his band Little Women. We may assume that’s not a coincidence.

All this led to some high expectations for the third show of the run.

As if on cue, Saturday opened with a soaring cover of JJ Cale’s “Ride Me High” sung by John "JoJo" Hermann. The first of many Johnson solos reached stratospheric heights within minutes. Later, “Can’t Get High” paid tribute to Bloodkin, another jam band born in the mid-eighties in Athens GA. So okay, just two songs with “high” in the title, but a liberal interpretation suggests the swing from “low” the previous night was intentional.

A cover of Neil Young’s Buffalo Springfield hit “Mr. Soul” ended the first set. (Trivia time: setlist.fm's stats, WP has played “Mr. Soul more than any other artist tracked besides Neil Young himself.)

In the second set, a powerful combo of “Dyin’ Man” and “Aunt Avis” led to the obligatory percussive showcase. On Saturday night, Drummer Trucks and percussionist Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz took turns holding a steady beat to allow the other a lengthy solo turn.

Ortiz moved from one end of his extensive set to the other, starting on congas, then switching to bongos, over to timbales, and finally landing on wood blocks. Trucks followed with a spotlight moment while Ortiz shook maracas. Then the duo traded paradiddles for conga riffs before Schools returned to the stage.

Now it was Schools’ turn, and he delivered a tour de force chord solo on his six-string Modulus Quantum bass. With the rest of the band now returning to the stage, the segue from the improv section of the show to the metal-infused “Impossible” was seamless. Schools jumped around, channeling Metallica’s Robert Trujillo and drawing huge cheers while inspiring numerous heads to bang in the audience.

A lively “Love Tractor” closed the second set, with the fans ardently shouting the bits they own – three "Woo"s followed by a big "Yee-haw!" This is something not in the lyrics nor part of the original song, just a fan-appreciation thing that has emerged over the years. No one seems to know how it began, but it’s become “a thing” at WP shows – and apparently, there are regional variations to the crowd infusions, including “Scooby Doo!” and "Fuck Truck!" Another website, one where fans transcribe song lyrics, has this note from the contributor: “Those stupid yells that I hate so much come in here...”

(Side note: am I the only one who always thinks “Love Tractor” sounds like a Spinal Tap song title?)

Van Morrison’s “And It Stoned Me” was the first of two encore songs. Perhaps a continuation of the “high” theme? Again, we may assume that’s not a coincidence. A cover of blues great Bobby Rush’s “Bowlegged Woman, Knock Kneed Man” brought the three-day run at the Fox to a triumphant close.

My first WP show was in the Little Five Points district of Atlanta in 1988, when WP was barely two years old. I was visiting a friend, and she said we had to go check out her new favorite band at the local club. The place was packed, the band was hot, and I was impressed. I remember they tore it up on a cover of some Traffic song. Maybe it was “Freedom Rider,” but I can’t recall for sure.

Here we are 38 years later. The place was packed, the Panic is even more Widespread than ever, and we are all impressed.

SET LIST:

Set 1
Ride Me High
Driving Song
I'm Not Alone
Junior
Can't Get High
Goodpeople
Dark Bar
You Should Be Glad
Mr. Soul

Set 2
Holden Oversoul
Proving Ground
The Last Straw
Dyin' Man
Aunt Avis
Impossible
Drums
Drums and Bass
Honky Red
Ain't Life Grand
Love Tractor

Encore
And It Stoned Me
Bowlegged Woman, Knock Kneed Man