Daniel Donato Brings Cosmic Country Flair To Widespread Panic’s Nashville Opener

Widespread Panic kicked off a three-night stand at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on Thursday. Cosmic Country guitarist Daniel Donato made his third guest appearance with the band in as many years last night, as he added fretboard fireworks galore to the final four songs of the second set.

The sextet took a decidedly old-school approach towards their first set in Nashville. The hour-long frame was devoted solely to songs Widespread Panic debuted before 2001. After offering “Send Your Mind” to open, the band treated fans to the beloved and somewhat rare classic “Coconut.” Fan-favorite “Porch Song” followed along with the instrumental “Party At Your Mama’s House,” which bled into a cover of Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues.”

The subsequent “Surprise Valley” featured Panic’s rendition of The Guess Who’s “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” within. Guitarists John Bell and Jimmy Herring, bassist Dave Schools, drummer Duane Trucks, percussionist Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz and keyboardist JoJo Hermann then punctuated the set with a rousing “Conrad.”

Widespread Panic launched the second set with a “Big Wooly Mammoth” that gave way to an improvisational excursion. The “Jam” featured “Third Stone From The Sun” and “Jingo” teases ahead of a move into oldie “Hatfield.” From there, the band treated fans to more recent fare with a pairing of “Little By Little” and “Small Town.” The latter preceded “Imitation Leather Shoes.”

John Bell welcomed longtime Nashville resident Daniel Donato to the stage for the rest of the closing stanza. Donato made his presence felt in a big way during a run of “Holden Oversoul,” “Trashy,” “Fixin’ To Die” and “Red Hot Mama.” Last night’s “Fixin’ To Die” was Panic’s first take on the Bukka White-penned song since New Year’s Eve 2022 — a span of 67 shows. The collaborative covers of both Bloodkin’s “Trashy” and Funkadelic’s “Red Hot Mama” expanded beyond the 15-minute mark.

Widespread Panic ended the night with a two-song tribute to Warren Zevon. John Bell handled lead vocals on both the “Keep Me In Your Heart” and “Lawyers, Guns, And Money” encores that sent fans home happy.

Watch fan-shot video of Widespread Panic’s first night in Nashville, including footage with Daniel Donato, below:

Setlist (via PanicStream.com)

Set One: Send Your Mind, Coconut, Porch Song, Party At Your Mama’s House > Stop Breakin’ Down Blues, Surprise Valley > No Sugar Tonight / New Mother Nature > Surprise Valley, Conrad (58 mins)

Set Two: Big Wooly Mammoth > Jam > Hatfield, Little By Little, Small Town > Imitation Leather Shoes, Holden Oversoul*, Trashy* > Fixin’ To Die* > Red Hot Mama* (90 mins)

Encore: Keep Me In Your Heart, Lawyers, Guns, and Money (8 mins)

Notes:

• * w/ Daniel Donato on guitar (Cosmic Country)
• – LTP ‘Send Your Mind’ 1/19/24 St Louis (22 shows)
• – ‘Third Stone From The Sun’ and ‘Jingo’ teases before ‘Hatfield’
• – LTP ‘Fixin To Die’ 12/31/22 Nashville (67 shows)