Red Rocks Night 1 (6/26/26)

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Data mined and explored via Everyday Companion.

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Red Rocks Amphitheater welcomed 9,425 Widespread Panic fans to yet another sold out show. Often referred to as “The Mecca,” this is a bucket list destination for most Panic fans and a yearly tradition for all regional Spreadheads. Because the venue is 95% GA (general admission), each fan has a preferred “power spot” - a new term we learned from an interviewee to reference the spot where one feels most comfortable, where they can maximize enjoyment. This encourages various strategies for waiting in line, which entrance to use, and which one of the crew will do the infamous tarp run. The WATLO street team decided to go in a different entrance each night to complete an in-depth anthropological study and analysis. 

The daytime weather before night one was hot, but an enjoyable light shower blessed fans while waiting in line, with some decent cloud coverage. Folks in the Upper South line had arrived early with pop-up tents, shade structures, coolers, and chairs. The Amphitheater prohibits vending, but the Upper South line was by-far the closest you can get to a Shakedown Street at RR. Our reporters saw tailgating, frisbee playing, barbecuing, vending, and partying. When asking folks, “why this line?” the general consensus was because of the party scene. Everyone seemed to be in a very good mood leading up to night one. The first person got in line at 6 AM. However, those that arrived around 10-11 AM were only a few tents back from the front. By 3:45 PM when everyone condensed onto the ramp, the line seemed a mile high and long. 

The excitement ramped up as we climbed the ramp, culminating with an adrenaline-fueled running of the tarps. It feels good to see a big man run, with a wild smile, on a hot day. The boys took the stage after a short 135 minutes after claiming our spot dead center in row 30, and successfully keeping poachers off our blanket. The crowd cheered as the band tuned, and without a word the first of six sets kicked off with One Arm Steve. For those of you paying attention, you may recall that last year Jojo’s mouth was zipped tight due to a rumored landscaping injury. Several fans commented that they were excited to hear Jojo sing the first number of the weekend. The sound was incredibly dialed in, absolutely amazing from the first note. Each instrument came through strongly and was well balanced. Thank you to the best crew in show business. JB had his natural wood grain washburn and was hatless, with a white plaid button down collar. Jojo shined right out the gate, his keys came through strong as he was front and center. He was sporting a grey Mapleleaf Bar ¾ length sleeved shirt, purchased perhaps a couple months prior when he played there after their Jazz Fest appearance.

Quickly after the first song finished, the band launched into Better Off. The camera zoomed in on Sunny rubbing his finger inside the hollowed drum to make the distinctive sound associated with this song. It seemed particularly squeaky from where we were. JB was feeling it! First played on 2/7/92, before Jojo even joined the band, the writing is credited to both Widespread Panic and T. Lavitz, the band’s first keyboardist. JB blessed us with early ad-libbing with a simple “shake” and “stroll” before Nick took off with an epic solo. The song came to a complete stop. 

After a half minute of additional tuning, Sunny and Duane combined to begin the first cover song of the run, Travelin’ Light. This is one of six songs in the 4-digit club, meaning they’ve played it over 1,000 times. Originally written and released by JJ Cale in 1976 on Troubador, they’ve certainly made it their own over the last 40 years and 1,049 times played. The way Daune and Sunny combined forces and stayed in a perfectly synchronized rhythm, showcased their compatibility and their ability to hear one other. JB’s voice sounded extra juicy, oozing out of the speakers. Nick took the first of many big swings of the evening, clearly feeling more and more comfortable with each show. Witnessing his first Red Rocks appearance was quite special, and it seemed to be a lot of people’s first time seeing him live. Shoutout to Bill, we’re glad you’re on board now! Go Nick!! 

The fourth song of the set was the oftenplayed Little by Little. Jojo stood up during this version, a rarity and something we like to document. Your favorite nerds created a tally sheet (see below) so we can all keep track of how often we’ll hear their top played songs throughout the summer tour. A stat we love, L100, on Everyday Companion, indicates how often a song is played in the last 100 shows. As of this show, LxL is in the lead, so it seemed appropriate that it was our first tally of the run. Due to the frequency of how often they get to rip this one, it is incredibly dialed in. Clocking in as one of Nick’s most played songs, he seemed very comfortable fully exploring it. 

After another pause for them to recombobulate, Duane kicked off Papa Johnny Road, the first one for Young Nick, showcasing his skills on the slide guitar. Despite this being Nick’s first time giving us a reason to believe, it was the fifth longest LTP (last time played) gap in the show, last played on 11/23/25 in Port Chester, NY. Nick’s solo towards the middle of the song sounded unique. We’ve heard him compared to Jimmy and Houser, but more and more he’s sounding like himself, which is badass. If you did a blind listener’s test and played the middle of the song, you can tell it’s Nick on guitar, and the band is fully stepping into its next evolution with NJ at the helm. 

Diner was next, a huge anchor of the first set, clocking in at over 15 minutes. After all the travel, the line waiting, the running, the spot claiming, this song really locked everyone into the weekend, reminding us all why we were there. JB was turnt up and in the mix. He and Nick seem to be riffing off each other very cohesively. They slowed the tempo down prior to methodically building it up into an epic crescendo. For 40 years, Schools has been backing JB up during his profound raps. This bassline is one of our favorites, due to its hypnotic and grounding qualities. Our favorite frontman slid into a rap at 10:21:

“Haning’ in the diner, sitting in the light of Miss Lee. She opened up early, help a poor boy out. Thank you, thank you, so cold last night. Awwww, my usual bench, where you can’t really put a hold on it. She said, ‘I know, I know, I got early this morning too. Boyfriend been out drinking all night. Now, just take a little, this little quarter in the jukebox, see what come up. Maybe Sundays? Church music?’ Ohhhhhh, and the first time, ever I saw your face. You were sleeping, as the night fell upon us, and my soul felt something like a mighty wind. A voice like Muddy Waters. Oooh, surprise attack on my heart! Said it’s a hiiiiiighway to heaven. We all can’t go up there to your heart. It’s a hiiiighway, lord, to heaven. My thoughts going there, to your heartache. Awww, hangin’ in the  light of Miss Lee. Hangin’ in the light. Awwwww baskin’ in her light.”

There was an audible crowd cheer after he said “church music” and Duane had an awesome reaction after “surprise attack” - all around people on stage and in the audience seemed to be listening as loud as the Lord would allow them to.

With a minute or so left of Diner, Jojo teased Bears’ Gone Fishin’ with the cascading watery keyboard sounds, and then the band ripped into a jam, with Dave debuting a funky new intro to the beloved song. We didn’t know it at the time, but Dave would allude to Bear during his acceptance speech the following night. The seventh song of the run, and the first sideways carrot segue into the song. Around the 6-minute mark, Nick led the team into an epic jam. JB faced him, and Dave walked off his rug towards him, with everyone clearly interested and paying attention to what he had to do. He created space for a jazzier improvisational moment. He showcased the Zambi creativity that comes from playing with the Colonel himself for so many years. Dave took over and had a slow drippy bassline that was heavy and somewhat a preamble to Holden. DAS was testing the low end going deeper and deeper, sending bass cannons reverberating between Ship and Creation Rock. 

Nick led the group into Holden Oversoul. Jojo was playing his organ with a haunted tone to it. In classic Panic fashion, they ended the first set with hard and heavy Panic. This was one of the best jams of the set, leaving the audience wanting mo’ mo’ mo’ right before the first set break of the run.  

JB exclaimed, “be right back!” and the band exited the stage for a 35-minute set break. 

At 8:58 PM Mountain Time, the band got back on stage, this time JB was sporting his black washburn, indicating a song he plays the slide on, or a Vic Chesnutt song. Tuning was extra musical, almost like a mini composition that created an airy light sensation before Nick ripped into Protein Drink. Hard, heavy, metal Panic to launch us into the second of six sets for the weekend. JB changed the lyric to “And the corn field is half plowed” instead of post yield. Here’s what we captured during JB’s mushroom adlib: “And those mushrooms that tasted so very much like little baby windows in my mouth.” Windows into other dimensions we presume! Schools let out a hawkish cry releasing pent up energy after they burned up a lucky streak. As they transitioned into Sewing Machine, Jojo subtly teased Where It’s At by Beck at 6:49. What a way to kick off the set! Protein Drink has now been played 152 times and has been in the first song position 17 total times (11.2% of the time). They used this song to kick off the first set twice, the second set 12 times, and the encore three times.

JB exchanged his black guitar for the wood grained guitar. Down came next, an opportunity to recall our beloved drummer, Todd Nance. It’s hard not to remember the first Down after Todd’s death, during the rainy Red Rocks in 2021. Due to the incredibly huge rainstorm, it was hard to tell what was rain and what was tears, but it was the massive release we all needed to grieve the original driver of the band’s van. Roll Todd Roll! 

A little miniature musical tuning led into Fishing, one of the most beloved songs amongst Panic fans. The lyrics are some of the most spiritual in the catalog. The faithful Red Rocks Panic fans will always remember the Bill Bass tribute show during the 2023 run, when this song was brought off the shelf after 291 shows during the fishing-themed set honoring his memory. This was the 11th time played since that version. Always remember to stop and talk about it, and you’re ALWAYS lucky - when you see fishes, go fishing. 

The beginning of Christmas Katie and Dirty Business are nearly indistinguishable. Due to this similarity, it’s quite the coin toss during the first 30 seconds of either song as to which one it will be. No offense to Katie, but according to our informal polling, it’s safe to say most fans would much prefer Dirty Business. The moment when JB says “Cadillac roars” or “Marshal came to town” is the proverbial fork in the road. Listen loud for fan reactions during any version of either of these songs to hear audible groans or gleeful jubilation. The last time this song was played was in Milwaukee last year, 26 shows ago. Therefore, this was Nick’s first time taking us down on Coal Creek this evening, a very familiar place for Coloradans. New Riders of the Purple Sage wrote the song and released it in 1971. Dave came in strong with the backup vocals and JB stretched out each word with a nice little cowboy-esqe slur. About halfway through the song, it seemed like they were deciding whether to take the song across the finish line or jam it out and take it for a walk, almost slowing down to a stop. We’re grateful they opted for the later, as they extended it upwards of 15 minutes. Nick really unleashed, fully taking his gloves off. This seemed to inspire the rhythm section to take it up a notch, Duane really got into it, and they all reached a stunning crescendo. The jam truly escalated from almost nothing to epic proportions. 

Last 5 Dirty Business:	Track length (via Nugs):
6/26/26	15:49
10/26/25	12:16
12/31/23	16:14
8/26/22	19:00
10/01/21	17:04

Schools led a soulful jam once JB was done storytelling. The lights turned red, green, and yellow, and fans from row 1 to row 70 were incredibly hopeful we were finally going to get a Stop-Go. The crowd erupted as over 9,000 fans realized we were strutting and crowing for the first time since Saint Auggie (3/21/25), 54 shows ago. That was the second largest show gap of the night, and Nick’s first time stopping and going along the way. WATLO put together a “Dust Off” list and asked fans on social media which songs they were chasing the most. This one undoubtedly led the pack, as Spreadheads almost seemed desperate to groove to this cherished overdue song. It wasn’t always such a hard chase, they used to play it a lot more, three times in 2021, six times in 2022, and four times in 2023. But now, it seems to be a once-a-year occurrence (2024, 2025, and now once in 2026). This was a chance for Dave Schools to show his might. He completely took over in the middle of the song and navigated the band into a solid peak. 

They entered into a mysterious haunted Colonel-y jam. Jojo’s keys were dark and scary. Slowly, without the spoken word intro, Schools led the group into Maggot Brain, a Funkadelic cover. Last played in Playa earlier this year during Nick’s first run with the band as lead guitarist. This was Nick’s time to shine. So many fans were overheard leaving the venue exclaiming how this Maggot Brain was an impressive showcase of his talents. As said earlier, this seemed to be a Nick Johnson introduction for a lot of fans this weekend, so this was a huge highlight. 

Right as Nick was giving his last ounce of Maggot Brain mastery, his buddy Duane pulled the rip cord and segued right into Love Tractor. A recent inductee into the 4-digit hall of fame, this was the 1,002nd version of the song. The moon was rising each night at the beginning of the second set, culminating with a full moon Monday evening. We literally were scratching our play on the growth of the moon all weekend! You could hear the crowd’s “yee-haws” all the way in Morrison. Everyone danced their asses off as this appeared to be the final song of the set. Nick had his foot on the gas, the young buck had plenty of fuel and remembered where all the levers were. 

The crowd went wild as the band exited the stage after a surprisingly short second set. After strapping their guitars back on, JB said “Thanks for coming, everybody!” Jojo tickled the ivories of his keyboard with the idyllic beginnings of Nobody’s Loss, last played in Port Chester 22 shows ago, another first for Nick! We were gearing up for our drive into the west, so felt like this may have been a nod to the upcoming West Coast tour! LFG! Nick’s playing was very twangy, sounding almost like a steel guitar country song. He certainly did it justice, given it was his first opportunity on the big stage. Red Rocks is certainly a magical place, for the audience and musicians alike. It’s fairly normal to have to remind yourself it’s real and not make believe. Jojo and JB harmonized so well together, this felt like another celebration of Jojo’s ability to sing so beautifully after not being able to contribute vocally last year.

Quickly after the song ended, JB started his vocal introduction to Tickle the Truth. This song took the cake for largest show gap at 76 shows, last time played on 12/30/23 at the Fabulous Fox Theater. JB has a few words and phrases in many, many songs that he kind of interchanges depending on what he’s feeling in the moment. During Tickle the Truth, there’s a specific line, “I said, ‘I don’t know all moneys are fit for deposit. I’m naked right now, I’ve got ____ in the closet.’” In our nerdy research, we’ve heard “soup,” “suits,” and “fruits” fill in the blank; however, during this MAGICAL evening, we heard JB clear as crystal say “poop.” Nick absolutely killed it, this was a huge highlight of the show for the true Panic lovers, especially with its placement in the encore. Of the now 92 times the song has been played live, it’s only been in the encore seven times (7.6%). However, this was the first and only time it was in the second slot of the encore, the other six times TtT has been in the encore it was the first song played, (9/28/07, 10/16/07, 4/01/08, 12/30/08, 9/27/11, 3/24/15, 6/26/26). This has got to be the most words per second JB sung all weekend and he destroyed it, not a single lyric or word out of place. Absolute homerun! A JB vocal masterpiece. 

Jojo swiftly took a hard left turn straight into Blackout Blues. Being the third song of the encore, no matter how tired your legs may have been from the miles of walking, tarp running, and strenuous activity to simply go to the bathroom, this was the time to full send! Wild dance moves and unhinged flailing abound. Everyone seemed so happy, everything was right in Panic Nation. Nothing beats JB and Jojo harmonizing so perfectly. All struggles and worries were forgotten as we were all present with smiles from ear-to-ear. They all sounded tight and on top of their game, but Nick took the cake on this one showcasing his ability to blend blues and rock guitar perfectly. Even though they are the BEST coverband in the world, it’s really great to see three original songs in the encore. Go Panic!! 

JB used up almost all his words during Tickle the Truth, he only had two left, “goodnight, everybody!” We smiled, we hugged, we gathered our belongings, took family photos, and started the long walk to our cars. Red Rocks is by far the best place for heady ground scores. We always take our time exiting as we collect ground scores galore! If you lost a Rolex, please email the office at watlopodcast@gmail.com. 

As mentioned above, we exited the way we came in, the Upper South lot. The funneling system to get out was poorly planned and took forever. One guy exclaimed, “THIS IS RED ROCKS. THIS IS THE EDGE.” He was alluding to Bono’s famous introduction he gave there on June 5, 1983. SO many legends have played in this venue: The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, U2, Bruce Springsteen, The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Rush, and of course Widespread Panic! 

Hungry fans were bombarded with officially licensed Chik-fil-a sandwich booths upon exiting the venue. You can imagine our absolute disappointment that Bojangles was not available. We know JB would love to see some biscuit chicken sandwiches, based on his frequent adorning of a Bojangles ballcap. Maybe next year. I love my chicken.

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