Watch Widespread Panic Debut Warren Zevon & The Who Covers On New Year’s Eve In Atlanta

Widespread Panic wrapped their 2023 New Year’s Eve run at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on Sunday. The Athens, Georgia-born band unveiled covers from Warren Zevon and The Who during their NYE concert and also dusted off a Ramones classic.

The sextet — guitarist John Bell, guitarist Jimmy Herring, bassist Dave Schools, keyboardist JoJo Hermann, drummer Duane Trucks and percussionist Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz — got the three-set show underway with a first frame that saw JB seated and on acoustic guitar. Panic launched the set with the classic “Driving Song” within which they fit “Fishing.” The semi-stripped down first set continued with the vintage “Ribs and Whiskey” ahead of new song “We Walk Each Other Home.”

The band then performed a pair of Warren Zevon numbers: “Keep Me in Your Heart” and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” the latter a debut. WSP unveiled “Keep Me in Your Heart” earlier this year during their Red Rocks run. The song appears on Zevon’s final studio album, 2003’s The Wind, released just two weeks ahead of his death on September 7, 2023. The new Zevon nod, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” appears on the highly influential singer-songwriter’s 1976 self-titled album. Following the Zevon premiere, Panic concluded the first set with Jerry Joseph’s “Climb To Safety.”

Set two kicked off with a pair of staples, “Space Wrangler” and “Walkin’ (For Your Love),” before Schools led the group through “Blight” from WSP side project brute. Following a pairing of “All Time Low” and blues legend Robert Johnson’s “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues,” the band busted out “Dirty Business” for the first time since August 2022 in Napa, California for a gap of 58 shows, as per PanicStream.

“Hope In A Hopeless World” then kicked off a three-song sequence that also included “Cease Fire” and “I’m Not Alone.” The pairing of Vic Chesnutt’s “Protein Drink” and “Sewing Machine” sealed the second set. Following the countdown to 2024, WSP began the third frame with another three-song sequence: “Disco,” “Arleen” and “Pigeons.”

The band then coupled The Who’s “My Generation” with the Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated.” While The Who classic was a debut, the WSP performance of “I Wanna Be Sedated,” marked just the 7th play by the band since unveiling the song on Halloween 2003 and first performance since March 2, 2020, according to Everyday Companion.

“Blue Indian” and “Saint Ex” came next before a pairing of “Big Wooly Mammoth” and “Love Tractor” concluded the third frame. WSP returned a final time to encore with “May Your Glass Be Filled” and a cover of the Skip James-penned, Cream popularized “I’m So Glad” to bring their NYE run to a close.

Watch Widespread Panic premiere “My Generation” and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” below:

Also find official audio of the NYE concert via nugs.net below:

Photos by Ian Rawn

Setlist (via PanicStream)

Set One: Driving Song > Fishing > Driving Song, Ribs And Whiskey, We Walk Each Other Home, Keep Me in Your Heart, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, Climb To Safety

Set Two: Space Wrangler, Walkin’ (For Your Love), Blight, All Time Low > Stop Breakin’ Down Blues, Dirty Business, Hope In A Hopeless World > Cease Fire > I’m Not Alone, Protein Drink > Sewing Machine

Set Three: Disco > Arleen > Pigeons, My Generation > I Wanna Be Sedated, Blue Indian, Saint Ex, Big Wooly Mammoth > Love Tractor

Encore: May Your Glass Be Filled, I’m So Glad

Notes:

• – FTP ‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’ (Warren Zevon)
• – LTP ‘Dirty Business’ 8/26/22 Napa (58 shows)
• – FTP ‘My Generation’ (The Who)
• – LTP ‘I Wanna Be Sedated’ 3/02/20 New York (116 shows)
• – JB seated & acoustic first set