Oh No, There Goes Nashville: Watch Widespread Panic Resurrect ‘Godzilla’ At Ascend Amphitheater

As reported, Widespread Panic kicked off a three-night run at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville on Thursday with help from Daniel Donato and closed the visit on Sunday with an assist from Jarrod Walker. On Friday, WSP dusted off the Blue Öyster Cult classic “Godzilla.”

“Godzilla” emerged from the relatively new tune, “King Baby,” toward the end of the second set. The Nashville 2025 version marked just the fifth time Panic has played the opener off Blue Oyster Cult’s 1977 album Spectres since debuting it on Halloween 1997, as per Everyday Companion. The subsequent three plays all came on or during a Halloween run, making Nashville the first “Godzilla” outside of the holiday as well as the first in nearly seven years.

Led by frontman John Bell, the Nashville rendition of “Godzilla” featured a bottomed-out bass run from Dave Schools and a swamp to shred guitar solo by Jimmy Herring.

Watch Widespread Panic resurrect “Godzilla” in Nashville below:

Panic launched night two in Nashville with the Neil Young-penned Buffalo Springfield cut, “Mr. Soul,” followed by “Makes Sense to Me.” The first set continued with the band weaving in and out of “Good People” and “Proving Ground” with classics like “Pigeons” and “Jack” thrown in for good measure. “Climb to Safety” (Jerry Joseph/Glenn Esparza) capped the first frame.

Set two launched with a pairing of “Disco” and “Greta” before the band jammed their way into “Tie Your Shoes” and finally “Rock.” The band then cooled things down with “We Walk Each Other Home,” appearing on the first of two studio albums released in 2024, Snake Oil King. The sextet then coupled favorites “Rebirtha” and “Ribs And Whiskey” ahead of the three-song set-closing sequence containing “King Baby,” “Godzilla” and sealed with “Chilly Water.”

WSP returned to deliver a three-song encore beginning with the Vic Chesnutt-penned “Expiration Day” followed by “Protein Drink” and “Sewing Machine.”

Official Audio via nugs.net

Next up for Widespread Panic is a two-night stand in Charleston, South Carolina in May followed by shows in Chicago and their annual Red Rocks run. Scroll down for WSP’s full tour routing and ticket info.

Setlist (via Everyday Companion)

Set 1: Mr. Soul, Makes Sense To Me, Little Kin, Goodpeople > Pigeons > Proving Ground > Jack > Proving Ground > Goodpeople, Climb To Safety

Set 2: Disco > Greta > Jam > Tie Your Shoes > Rock, We Walk Each Other Home, Rebirtha > Ribs And Whiskey, King Baby > Godzilla > Chilly Water

Encore: Expiration Day, Protein Drink > Sewing Machine