Addressing the crowd, founding member and bassist of Widespread Panic, Dave Schools, reminded us of a few important things last night. To paraphrase, he told us to take care of one another, to dance and enjoy. In that spirit, Schools and his troubadour bandmates played a scorcher of a show at the sold-out Channel 24 in Sacramento, CA on July 21, 2026.
Continuing their well-received Summer 26’ West Coast tour, frontman JB (John Bell) took to the microphone, opening the show with a message in a song, “Let’s Get this Show on the Road”. After a brief pause to help a fan who may have had too much too fast (he was ultimately all good) at the end of “Wondering,” you could see keyboardist JoJo Hermann teed up and ready to lead on “Bear’s Gone Fishin’”. The first set ramped up coolly, tapping into the energy commonly found in a second set. The band drove through their first few tunes before really locking in on the closing sequence of “Radio Child,” “Machine”> “Barstools and Dreamers”. It seemed that was it, and a solid set it was, but one more screamer in a Schools-led “Flat Foot Floozy” followed to close the set.
Set two had a bit of a different feel. A little more of a loose, light psychedelic vibe framed the offering, led in large part by the ongoing stellar work of guitarist Nick Johnson. Johnson continues to fill the massive void left by Jimmy Herring as he recovers from illness. Johnson has sounded amazing since he first took the stage with the band. He clearly has his own sound and style, blending a bit of the original sound laid down by founding guitarist Michael Houser with a bit of the sound picked up by Jimmy Herring. His guitar work was especially notable on “Diner,” as was the interplay between drummers Duane Trucks and Sunny Ortiz. The entire set flowed, building in tension with a beautifully played classic, slower tune in “Gimme,” and ramped up versions in “Conrad” and “Fishing” before releasing it all in a set-closing, fire take on “Red Hot Mamma.”
The encore echoed the feel of the show with a gentle, gorgeous “Nobody’s Loss” paired with a smile-enthused, rocking “Ophelia” to close. If you’re headed to L.A. this weekend to catch the West Coast closing run, you’re surely in for a heater. Widespread Panic, 40 years into their storied career, continue honoring the lingering lead that has taken them and so many fans this far.