Throwback Thursday: Widespread Panic & Umphrey’s McGee Sharing The Stage

Tonight Widespread Panic will headline a concert at Tuscaloosa Amphitheater in Alabama with Umphrey’s McGee slated to open the show. With the pair of jam acts set to join forces again Friday night in Alpharetta, Georgia, here’s a Throwback Thursday look at some of the collaborations that have gone down between the members of WSP and UM.

Widespread Panic and Umphrey’s McGee first held a show together in July 2010 at LC Pavilion in Columbus, Ohio during which UM keyboardist Joel Cummins sat-in with the headliners for “Space Wrangler” and a cover of The Guess Who’s “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature.” Later in 2010, WSP frontman John Bell joined UM on a rendition of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” at Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam.

Bell again sang “Ain’t No Sunshine” with Umphrey’s McGee in Charleston, South Carolina on October 5, 2013 while Cummins and guitarist Jake Cinninger sat-in with Widespread Panic on “Maggot Brain.” Cinninger, Cummins and UM percussionist Andy Farag also helped out on a subsequent performance of “Red Hot Mama” while Farag augmented WSP’s “Drums” jam. Watch Bell lead Umphrey’s on “Ain’t No Sunshine” followed by Widespread Panic with Cummins, Cinninger and Farag on “Red Hot Mama”:

The two bands teamed back up again last June for a number of shows, including a night at Stage AE in Pittsburgh. UM’s opening set ended with guitarist Jimmy Herring, keyboardist JoJo Hermann and drummer Duane Trucks of Widespread Panic sitting-in on a cover of The Who’s “Eminence Front.” WSP’s performance included UM guitarist Brendan Bayliss on a cover of “For What It’s Worth.” That night Bayliss and Cummins also contributed to “Me & The Devil Blues.”

Watch members of Panic join Umphrey’s for “Eminence Front” captured by Chanice Kobolowski:

Watch Bayliss sitting-in with Panic on “For What It’s Worth” captured by Chanice Kobolowski: