The Widespread Panic "Wood" tour begins

The Widespread Panic “Wood” tour begins.

Let’s start with the good news. 2011 brought along with it the 25th anniversary of jamband pioneers Widespread Panic. Indeed, the jamband genre as we know it today is in no small part the result of Widespread Panic paving the way. It goes without saying that The Grateful Dead are perhaps the undisputed kings of this decades old laboratory experiment, but the first modern day jamband soldiers such as Widespread Panic, Phish, Aquarium Rescue Unit, and Blues Traveler (just to name a few) didn’t exactly start after the Grateful Dead lost Jerry Garcia and called it a day. These bands were already thriving as the Grateful Dead touring juggernaut was still in full swing and sharing the same audience in many cases. Now, one of the modern day pioneers has 25 years under their belt with no signs of slowing down even in the wake of the painful loss of founding member and guitar artisan Michael Houser. With Aquarium Rescue Unit veteran and jamband guitar god Jimmy Herring carrying the torch for Michael, Widespread Panic continues their unstoppable live creativity. Of course, the bad news is that 2012 is going to be the year of the hiatus for Widespread Panic. If you’re one that lives for the next Panic gathering, wherever it may be, this is certainly not what one would call happy news, that being said, they’re not quite done for the year just yet.

Before the 2012 hiatus begins, Widespread Panic will embark on the 11 date, 4 city “Wood” tour. If you don’t already have tickets, good luck. This is a tough ticket to acquire. After 25 years of activity, Widespread Panic will hit the road for their first acoustic performances. One can only imagine the now familiar electric material re-imagined in a stripped down intimate acoustic format. Many will be travelling from across the continent to the opening show at the new Fillmore Auditorium in Silver Spring, MD for the start of this mini tour. If you don’t have tickets for any of the sold out Wood tour shows and have a nice travel budget, you can always head to Mexico for the only scheduled electric shows in 2012. Sandwiched between the Atlanta and Denver shows is the 4 night Panic En La Playa on the Mayan Riviera in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. Similar to the Wood tour as their acoustic debut, Panic En La Playa will be the Mexico debut for Widespread Panic. Whether you’re attending the Wood tour or the Panic En La Playa, 2012 is an exciting time to be a Widespread Panic fan even in the face of a long hiatus. The Wood tour begins on January 24th, 2012.

1/24-25/12 – The Fillmore – Silver Spring, MD
1/27-29/12 – The Tabernacle – Atlanta, GA
1/31/12-2/3/12 – Panic En La Playa – Puerto Morelos, Mexico
2/10-12/12 – The Fillmore – Denver, CO
2/17-19/12 – Belly Up – Aspen, CO

By Greg Maniha