PELP 13 N1 (1/20/26)

Listen to the entire show on Nugs or Relisten or Archive.org.

Data mined and explored via Everyday Companion.

Photo Gallery

Charles Hatfield Fan Photo Gallery.

Panic en la Playa (affectionately referred to as “Playa” or “PELP”) is one of the most special and amazing runs of the year. In 2026, it will be Widespread Panic’s only 4-night run. There’s an awful lot that makes it mighty special, so for those who have never been: we’ll try to paint a picture. First off, it’s a relatively small group of people attending; about 2,500-3,000 people depending on the year. This year, rumor has it the number was closer to 2,300 so it was quite intimate. That’s about the size of the rowdy crowd at the coveted Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. Secondly, all logistics are handled and as easy as could be. You can (and should) leave your phone in your room for days. Besides taking pictures and keeping time, you literally don’t need it. You’re contained in this fairly small resort with everything you need at your fingertips. No need to coordinate food, drinks, rides, lodging, or even communicating with friends. Everything and everyone is all right there. Thirdly, there are THREE live performances per day: a lagoon set on the beach that starts around 3:30 pm, a full-blown and full-throttle Panic show around 8 pm, and a late-night rager that begins around midnight. That’s a lot of music beyond just Widespread Panic. Cloud 9 does a great job hiring returning acts we know and love (like the Playa Allstars) and bringing in newer folks who you may have never heard of. You can spot musicians everywhere! Where else can you watch Eric Krasno grab ice cream cones with his kids, or enjoy a late-night set with one of your favorite musicians, or find yourself in a hotel room late-night getting to know a musical hero? It is a dream come true. Lastly, every single person is your friend, united by a deep love (dare we say, obsession) with Widespread Panic - your favorite band! Between wide-eyed first timers and the berobed super jaded tourists who have been at every Playa, it’s so easy to make friends with everyone you happen to sit next to, dance near, or walk by. It’s pretty common to walk away with dozens of new phone numbers saved to your phone, likely with the last name “Panic” as many lifelong connections are made at PELP. The Good People are literally everywhere. 

Let’s talk about the Widespread Panic shows themselves… you can roll up as close to show time as you dare and procure an amazing spot with tons of space. Or, you can arrive early and eat some of the best food at the resort - small bites you can order one by one, just in case your stomach can’t remember what food is for. Waiters are rolling through the crowd during the entire show, taking personalized drink orders and handing out cervezas and water bottles. The moment you toss your empty can, cup, or water bottle on the ground (or happen to have it grasped absentmindedly in your spun hand), a wee and hardworking resort staff whisks it away and disposes of it for you. As far as the stage setup, the sound is awesome! We can’t think of a single other outdoor venue with the bass as thumping as it is at Playa. The weather is perfect, you don’t need to bring much (leave your backpacks in the room, special shoutout to our favorite beverage Sherpa, Chris!), some glitter and a simple tank and shorts will do you just fine. The breeze and some rain sprinkles are always welcomed, the stars and moon shine brightly, and birds fly overhead. It’s truly magical.

On night zero, January 19, a few lucky souls got to witness sound check. Beginning at 6 pm (ish) the band took stage in more casual clothing, shoutout to Dave Schools’s calves we typically only see once per year. This was Nick’s first time playing to a ravenous crowd as the lead guitarist, and many of us were hearing him play with the boys for the first time. They chose to play Pickin’ Up the Pieces, Little by Little, and Blackout Blues as their sound check set. The soundcheck gave Bingo players an advantage with three gimme squares. Needless to say, we were incredibly impressed with the young man’s chops and hopes rose high for an incredible four-nights of music. 

January 20 marked night one of Panic en la Playa. With no lagoon set, Widespread Panic was the first show of the evening. Everyone had checked in, got their room, refamiliarized themselves with the lay of the land of the Hard Rock, and vibes were amped up. As is tradition, Steve Lopez (band manager) and Annabel Stelling (Cloud 9) welcomed the crowd with a toast. The full speech is on Nugs. The crowd was instructed to make new friends, spread joy, and to choose joy. Annabel quickly dove into the Grateful Dead and the lessons they taught us as well as Todd Snider. She sublimely reminded us that music heals, brings us back to who we are, and brings us joy despite what’s going on in the rest of the dumpster fire of a world. We first toasted Jimmy (may he heal quickly and wholly), then we toasted our Home Team, and finally were told that the games were about to begin! Annabel for President! We love you girl!

The band took the stage, and after a smidge of tuning and the familiar greeting from JB, “Evenin’ everybody” the run kicked off with Disco. Right out of the gate, it didn’t seem like Nick was going to have trouble keeping up. His first opportunity to solo was amazing! His guitar style is incredible. He plays a LOT of notes, although not nearly as many as our beloved wizard AKA Gandalf the Loud, and his tone integrates well with the rest of the band. Dave laid it down thick. If you listen back to shows with “new” guitarists, Dave seems to always step it up to a level that has never been witnessed by another bassist. This show, and the entire run was no exception. Bass mountain was thumping extra hard, and absolutely nonstop. 

A very pretty and elegant little segue earned the boys a carrot as the strums of Little Lily began. Nick’s guitar playing may feel a little different in ways that don’t feel wrong, but with every solo he brought more and more confidence to each fan as smiles were exchanged and knowing nods that everything was alllllright. Playa certainly feels like a make believe place, so it’s nice to be reminded that “it’s only real if you believe” and boy did we believe! At about 6.5 minutes in, there was some expansion allowing each member to get creative. Jojo’s keys were particularly noteworthy as he led the charge in a soothing and beautiful little jam. Nick responded, adding a lot of texture with each note, reminiscent of the reverberations from Mikey’s style. 

Quickly, Sunny got out his trusty old talking drum, and we were all ready to Rock. JB’s voice was the perfect combination of growly and buttery, a winning combo we all have come to know, love, and expect from the coolest frontman in live music. His slide guitar was out in front of the sound and incredibly prominent. Turn JB UPPPPPP! They really built up something magnificent and special before we were all brought home piece by piece. JB snuck two growly “child”s in there, which made our knees weak. Dave got growly with his backup vocals, likely inspired by Mr. Soul himself. JB ended the whole song with “ooooh, child” - wowza. In our minds we were a child, and then some!

The song came to a complete stop allowing everyone to grab a sip of beverage and fully grasp what was going down. We are so lucky to have Nick Johnson there to fill in while Jimmy heals - it was so obvious that they made the perfect selection, even though most of us have never even heard of him.

After some deep breaths, One Arm Steve started, likely educating young Nick about Jojo’s first show with the band. It was a quick studio-like version, but still rocking and perfect.

Another full stop, allowing everyone to regroup. Early signs of either Christmas Katie or Dirty Business began. Odds are, it’s going to be Christmas Katie - refer to our 2025 Annual Report to brush up on all the WSP statistics. In 2025, CK was played three times and DB only once. In 2026 thus far, we have one CK and zero DB’s. JB’s wail, “make it last all night” was extra sultry, and Nick completely took off! The jam exploded, Duane was rockin’, and Nick certainly demonstrated his skills with the axe. 

The last minute built up and then quickly dropped into Trashy, our organization’s anthem. This was the first cover of the night, written by Danny Hutchens and Eric Carter of Bloodkin. Let this be a reminder, that even when we’re low down we are levitated too. Keep those vibrations high, even when circumstances may suggest otherwise. This was the newest song played the entire set, with a FTP date of 6/27/21. All other songs were first played in the Mikey-era. We love being reminded that we are so lucky, and this night was no exception. With the announcement of Jimmy’s treatment, Playa easily could have been canceled completely. We felt so lucky to be there together under the stars, enjoying our favorite band, and being incredibly present in the moment. Right before the jam, JB went slightly off script, “We’re the lucky ones. You and me. We’re the lucky ones. Lucky!” You and me, indeed! The jam had depth and was riddled with emotion. It seemed like the whole band was feeling lucky to be there with us, together south of the border. When the jam came down there was an audible cheer from the crowd, the vibration of gratitude surging through every soul. Trashy came to a beautiful conclusion with roars of cheers emanating from the fans.

After a quick breath or two, Nick kicked off Holden Oversoul. JB snuck in a “child” after “breathing the heat” - yes, we like to keep track of additions of extra “child”s and “laaaawd”s as they tend to indicate how fired up JB is, aka how flamethrow-y of a heater the entire show is. Sure enough we were treated to a long “laaaaawd” right before the jam, after “one last time to feed.” Git it, JB! The jam was exceptional, as can usually be expected in Holden. This one felt special though. It built up to an epic crescendo, led by Nick, but closely followed by everyone else. They were all synched up and playing as a cohesive unit. Just when the jam usually falls back down allowing us a chance to breathe, it somehow built up even higher! This happened around the 5:55 mark on Nugs. They had an opportunity to bring it back down and finish the song, but decided to run with a second explosion. An epic Holden, one for the ages! It truly amazes us how a song played 818 times can grow new legs still. 

They came to a complete stop, but had one more in them before concluding the first set of Playa. Duane led us into Lawyers, Guns, and Money - a perfect song for Mexico. Originally recorded by Warren Zevon on Excitable Boy in 1978, this song has some interesting Panic history. First played on 3/21/87, it saw some serious show gappage in the 90’s and early 2000’s. 

• 10/31/92 604

• 10/31/93 165

• 10/28/00 799

• 11/01/03 261

Since Duane joined the band in October 2014, it hasn’t seen a show gap larger than 31, so it’s certainly in the rotation now. JB kind of biffed the lyrics, but we’ll forgive him! We all knew them and shouted along helping out our beloved frontman! The shit had certainly hit the fan. 

JB said “be right back” which gave us time to get to our room and put on a fresh pair of panties. 

The first part of set two is missing from Nugs, so authors used audience tapes from Relisten: shout out to Charles Fox and Bennett Shwartz. Support tapers!!!

Dave’s bass started set two with Rebirtha. They came out of the gates swinging, like baseball heroes taking the field. Does anything make your heart flutter more than Sunny’s wooden blocks? He brought a lightness to the jam, that’s so unmistakably the sound of Panic. Excellent work by each member, but Sunny won MVP during this song in our very humble opinions. 

They segued cohesively into Sleeping Man, Jojo and Dave leaned into the riff heavy. The third cover of the evening, this song was originally released by Vic Chesnutt in 1993. Widespread Panic has yet to release a studio version of the song. They absolutely ripped it! Let the big man sing!! We heard DAS add a lyric around 3:13, he seemed to say “take it for a ride”, and boy did Nick and the whole gang follow directions with a searing peak in the midst of this crispy and crunchy Sleeping Man. Full body gyrations and big easy smiles were in full effect. The bass was absolutely thumping and we could feel our internal organs being massaged with the low end. The band came to a full stop, and for a solid minute the band regrouped. 

Spreadheads were flying hiiiiiiigh. Sure, it could have been the smuggled in LSD, but we all knew this was going to be an incredibly noteworthy run. The entire band was gelling and the mood across the crowd was very pleasant.

Duane kicked off Down, such a beloved song to remember our original drummer, the driver of the bus, Todd Nance. After coming off the shelf during the Red Rocks run in 2021 (remember, the rainy red rocks, where the torrential downpour masked our tears as we all wept like babies in remembrance of Todd?), with a solid 294 show gap. Since then, it’s been gratefully back in the rotation, played 4-5 times per year. JB had some epic ad-libbing, shoulder shrugging, and boot stomping. Jojo beautifully paid tribute to his buddy, as he tickled the ivories with an awesome solo. JB was inspired and added many “aaaahhhhhhs” and “my backbone is feeling strong” but the boys weren’t ready to come back to the chorus. Everyone cleared space for Nick to shred. Complete annihilation. Wow.

Sunny’s chimes introduced the next number, while giving everyone ample time to hug their neighbor and cool off with a swig of beverage. We were transported to San Diego, during the biggest drought in recorded history, 1915. The jam was one of pure excellence, each member contributing ferociously. 

“...Charlie always had the shine…I remember Hatfield's Mama. A beautiful big German lady. Used to go over to her house after school. We played games. We’d think thoughts, we’d wish on clouds, dandelions, and each other child. Oooooh. One day out there playing, getting a little old; Cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians. We’d just sit back……and watch. Sub consciousness float overhead. Hello, Goodbye. Old sir. Ride me a stream, eyes on the window. Hear the sound of Hatfield’s Mama sitting back in her comfy chair playing five and a half bar blues. Ohhhhhhh, A most strange banjo. Her body got some kind of touch. Ahhhhh Hatfield’s Mama. She make love through the the air. Hatfield! Hatfield!” 

**Thanks again for the amazing taper Charles Fox for having this copy available for our study and deciphering of the JB Rap. It was challenging to decode JB from this audience tape, we did the best we could. If you, the reader and listener, have any insight or think we got it wrong, please email us at watlopodcast@gmail.com.

Post-rap the boys emerged with a thunderous rage. Cooking and smiling indeed! We’ve never observed so much smiling from Jojo, Duane, Dave, and JB. It seemed us fans weren’t the only ones grateful for Nick being on stage. 

Towards the end, the tempo cooked up and Duane’s power culminated in a full blown drums with a capital D. A few minutes of drums is missing from Nugs, the rest of the recap was written with Nugs timing. 

There are two camps of people, those who leave and run errands during drums, and those who stay and dance their hearts out the entire time. Sometimes your newest friend can be met during drums, and that was the case for one of the WATLO co-founders during this very drums. Best friends are made at Playa, especially on the dance floor. Shout out to Meg and your epic moves, high vibrations, and shared laughter! Catching sight of each other while dancing wildly to drums was a highlight of Playa that will live forever in the memory bank. 

This version of drums contained it all… at over 17-minutes, how could it not? Sunny and Duane showed off every skill they possessed, their trade-offs, collaborative efforts, and endless rhythms blessed the lucky souls of Playa while the rest of the band took a breather on the sidelines. 

Dave strapped on his axe and dropped some bombs while the rest of the gentlemen got into position. Duane tapped his cymbals a few times, and then seemingly out of left field Dave dropped us right into Arleen. The fourth cover of the night, originally released by General Echo. Rumor has it, JB saw a reggae band perform it in his hometown, Cleveland, OH. JB botched the intro, but in the best way possible. You’ve gotta listen loud because you never know what will emerge out of the six-headed monster of Widespread Panic. Due to this change-up we were gifted with a “Laaaaaawd, laaaaaawd, laaaaawd, laaaawd” before he migrated into not being able to stand it. Unexpected blessings! Nick shredded the hell out of this one, firing up the rest of the squad to bring the absolute heat fire. The way JB integrates different pieces and parts of the song we know and love so well is incredible. He even foreshadowed the good morning little school girl! At 6:27, “Oh, peek out my window, what do I see? A cloud moving by. Ohhhhh good morning little school girl.” Dave took us to the top of Bass Mountain, moving to the forefront of the jam, we heard some funky tease that sounded a lot like P-funk to us at WATLO. Yes, Dave: we want to get funked up for sure, we thought you would never ask. More JB ad-libbing, “What do I see? A monkey looking right back at me! A sleepy monkey. Sleepy monkey.” Unfortunately, no foreshadowing with that one, but I’m sure he spotted some monkeys peeping in his window while down in Mexico. The jam cooled off quickly with a baby Riders on the Storm tease from Jojo, and JB saying “wake up, wake up” and then things got a bit weird, even more psychedelic when JB’s voice echoed hauntingly “play something, play something, play something.” Dave’s bass strummed while the rest of the members practically stopped playing, except Sunny’s triangle and chimes, which gave a solid hint at the next song.

After about 45-60 seconds of classic Panic rumbling, JB led us into Driving Song. The quintessential Panic song - they nailed it. Often used as bread to make a delicious sandwich, they segued with Tall Boy! Two classics back-to-back. At the 4-minute mark a deviation from the studio version began as Nick and Dave led a little jam. We heard Arleen teased in Dave’s bass jam. Nick went H.A.M. which brought smiles from ear-to-ear amongst friends in the crowd and bandmates on stage. It took about a minute of more rumbles and noodling to bring them back into Driving Song. Our first sandwich of the run, a Tall Boy sandwich with Driving Song bread, mmmm delicious! Not a big fatty we often crave, but a nice homey familiar and super heady grilled cheese really can hit the spot! No, garlic salt does not count as its own ingredient so we can still call this a single layer sandwich.

After a brief pause, Duane kicked off North, a Jerry Joseph cover released in 1993, first played by our favorite band on 9/25/99. A song written about being in Mexico but ready to head back North, to the states. A very appropriate story for the location of the moment. We weren’t quite ready to go north, as we still had ten full shows at Playa to go, but we appreciated the sentiment. Dave added some ad-libbing with his back-up vocals (2:39), DAS: “find my way. Find out who is that tall.”  JB: “Find my way somewhere, I'm gon’ disappear, find out what I am, just how big I am I’ll go call it a day, I'll disappear.” “HAUL YOU BACK TO MEXICO” was heard from outer space and from Jerry J’s sofa! Way to go, Home Team. Oooooh, if your second pair of panties weren’t soaked already, JB’s ad-libbing, shoulder shrugs, and manly boot stomps got you there by the end of the set, that’s for damn sure. They left the stage after releasing so much energy that they didn’t even need to say anything. 

A few moments later, the boys were back and we were highly anticipating what the encore could be. JB coyly said, “This is the last time I’m going to introduce him, Mr. Nick Johnson everybody!” And the crowd absolutely erupted. What a complete gift Nick was to the Playa experience and is for the Panic community. We are so grateful for him and for filling in with such short notice. He absolutely slayed beyond our wildest dreams. Here was a chance to really get a sense of Nick playing the blues. They busted into Smokestack Lightening, perhaps the first of many nods to Bobby’s transition? The least common song of the evening, it’s only been played 6 times out of the last 100 shows. Written by Howlin’ Wolf, it’s an incredibly classic blues tune recorded by various artists over decades, including the Grateful Dead. Last performed at the Cap Theater only 6 shows ago, we felt like it was Panic’s nod to the Dead having also famously played in the same venue.  

JB’s “ahhh-oooohs” and general crooning was top-notch, made our knees weak, and induced some mild fainting (mostly amongst women but even some men). They all brought their A-game to this one, and yet again, Nick blew us away. The ease at which he collaborated and integrated with Duane, Jojo, Dave, and Sunny was completely unexpected. It felt and sounded as if they’ve all been playing together for years. The jam really built up to a monumental level by about the 7:30 mark, inducing Cheshire cat-like smiles. Dayum, JB… save some poon-tang for the rest of us. The song came to a soft and gentle ending right as the drums kicked into high gear for Porch Song!

This was the 1,177th time Porch Song has been played in Panic history - double digits times TWO! Such a perfect way to end a superb show. We were indeed living the moon time, as the moon was just beginning to grow, turning into a smile, most noticed on the walk back to the stage from set break. Playa is truly such a strange place, can feel like the moon sometimes, and definitely elicits a lighter breeze. Good cats were bountiful as we all looked each other in the eye, smiling, nodding, knowing that this is exactly where we were meant to be. We’ve talked about how Porch Song can be extended into a jam sesh, sometimes extending upwards of 7-9 minutes. This one, however, was short and sweet, clocking in at only 3.5 minutes. It was full of energy, Dave seemed so happy adding in lots of back-up vocals. He emitted a “WOOOOOO!” which felt so good to hear! No one else said anything, and with that we were off to make our way to the late night stage for the Playa Allstars. 

What made this show so special? Beyond it being Nick’s first show with the band… this theme will be brought up multiple times during the run: almost every single song was first performed in the Mikey-era (pre 2002). In fact, the only “new” song played the entire show was Trashy in set 1. After Trashy, Down was the next most-recently played song, first played on 4/16/00. TWO THOUSAND. Let’s effing go.