Widespread Panic bassist Dave Schools brought an all-star band to the Big Apple, opening with an unannounced show at the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center on Wednesday, November 4th, then settling into a billed two-night run at Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday and Friday.

The lineup, billed as Dave Schools and Friends, featured guitarist Steve Kimock and his son, drummer John Kimock, along with guitarist Tom Hamilton of Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, vocalist and trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick of Trey Anastasio Band, keyboardist Adam MacDougall of Circles Around the Sun, and multi-instrumentalist Alex Koford of Terrapin Family Band on percussion and vocals.

Wednesday’s show also featured surprise guests Warren Haynes and Grace Potter. The show was part of Music Club, which offers members access to intimate club-sized concerts by major touring acts, but the performers are not revealed in advance. Other Music Club shows have featured Goose, Wilco, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Greensky Bluegrass. Schools previously played a Music Club show in Charlotte, NC, where Stephen Stills sat in.

Introducing the band on Friday, Schools told the crowd, “I’m Dave Schools, and I’m the luckiest man in the world. I have with me some wonderful friends.”

Across the weekend, the band mixed classic rock and soul covers with Grateful Dead material and other more obscure selections. Hartswick’s powerhouse vocals were a focal point on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and the Beatles’ “Come Together,” while Koford delivered his own soulful lead vocals on “It Hurts to Want It So Bad” (originally released by Mel & Tim in 1972 on Stax Records).

Another Friday highlight was “Mountain Song,” a deep cut that began as a chorus Jerry Garcia and David Crosby improvised during the PERRO sessions, later gained verses by Robert Hunter, and was finished by Brian Lesh before Furthur debuted it in 2010. Still, it was the group’s instrumental improvisations that took center stage.

Check out fan-shot videos from Thursday and Friday, along with photos courtesy of Kevin Cole. Scroll down to view Friday’s setlist.

Dave Schools & Friends: “Gimme Shelter” (The Rolling Stones) | 11/5/26

Video: themeboudin

Dave Schools & Friends | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 11/6/26 [Full-Show Video]

Video: 88PhilZone

Setlist: Dave Schools & Friends | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 11/6/26

Set: Outta Space, Superhighway, Come Together, Mountain Song, It Hurts to Want It So Bad, Big Railroad Blues, Waiting for a Miracle, Down to the Well, Outta Here, Blight, Leaving, Living on the Highway

Encore: Sweeten the Distance, China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider

Dave Schools & Friends | Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn, NY | 11/6/26 | Photos: Kevin Cole