Widespread Panic are as much a part of Milwaukee Octobers as Halloween and German beer festivals. This October will be no different, as the jam band returns for a three-night Riverside Theater run Oct. 20-22.
Thirty-seven years after forming in Athens, Ga., Widespread Panic have built a fervent following that flocks to the corner of Wisconsin and Plankinton annually without fail. This will be the band’s 17th year performing in Milwaukee, a commitment that in 2021 earned them an official proclamation from then-mayor Tom Barrett declaring Oct. 21 of that year “Widespread Panic Day” in the city.
The upcoming run happens to fall on that date and will occur almost exactly a year after the 2022 installment, which included a trip through the band’s vast catalog and covers ranging from Tom Petty to Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades.” Milwaukee is far from the only city with a deep appreciation for Widespread Panic, who just recorded their 67th consecutive sellout of Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado and in 1999 set a single-day attendance record of 63,000 at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
The band has 12 studio albums to their name, most recently 2015’s Street Dogs, but clearly their stock and trade is the stage — evidenced by their 43 live albums. If you want to be at the next in-person experience here in Milwaukee, tickets for all three shows go on sale at 10 a.m. this Friday, July 14, online and at the Pabst/Riverside box office.
As has been the case in recent years, each night’s fun doesn’t stop just because the show is over. Mo’s Irish Pub has a trio of Widespread Panic after-parties on tap: Sicard Hollow on Oct. 20, The Big Wu on Oct. 21 and Eggy on Oct. 22. Tickets for those 11 p.m. shows also go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday online and at the box office.
