Fans can be competitive. Widespread Panic certainly has a very passionate fanbase. Has that ever affected a festival appearance?

Only in a positive sense. I don’t think that it’s just about us. I think it is about the fans, themselves, and we happen to be a part of it. They’re the ones having fun out there in the audience; making new friends, rekindling old ones, having a fun night together. When that vibe is strong, we feel it. If you open your eyes, you can see it on their faces, if the lights aren’t too bright.

A lot of festivals these days seem intent on bringing together seemingly disparate artists and their fans. Is there a common thread, as you see it, between Widespread Panic and other artists?

You get something like Coachella, or Bonnaroo over the years, and they’re always keeping it diverse. You’ve got EDM, now. I think the common thread is just what floats your boat. If you dig it, you dig it. If it’s genuine, it’s going to resonate.

Have you ever felt like you’re playing to someone else’s fans?

When you first start out, opening for other bands, that’s all you feel. You’re just the warm-up comedian. You’re the fluffer.

How do you handle that?

You don’t have to prove anything. You just put your head down and play. You listen to each other and play your music. If no one’s in the joint yet- a couple of hundred folks when it’s about to be ten thousand—there still might be a few (there) that say, Oh, wow, something’s happening here. There were times when we were the only people in the bar when we were playing, aside from the bartender. We had some of our best gigs like that. It wasn’t about anything except the communication onstage.

Do you have any early memories of music festivals when you were growing up?

I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. There were a handful of bands always on the circuit playing in the bars. When summer hit, there would be a festival of sorts; maybe a thousand, two thousand people would come out. To me, that was a pretty big deal; to be out in a field, sneak your beer in. I was young, like 16 or 17, and it was a big feeling of freedom and yee-ha!

How did the band arrive at the decision mostly to play festivals this spring and summer?
With Widespread Panic, we basically have pared our touring down to 20 to 25 shows a year. We decided there are spots we’re going to do: we’ll still do our run at Red Rocks, our Halloween shows, and New Year’s. Then, festivals come into play. The way festivals run—gosh, you let them know if you’re available, and if they want you, they’ll ask you. If it fits into the schedule, then it works. And summer is the time of festivals.

Is that the plan for this year, or for the foreseeable future, to do just 20-25 shows a year?

For the rest of our existence. We’ve been together for 30 years. After 30 years, and still knocking it out, this is the way we could still play together, be together, and be with our families. We ain’t spring chickens. This is the way to have the best of both worlds: quality time with the families and also get your yah-yahs out on the road.

What about recording?

In discussion, we’ve said we want to record some more, and put an album together. We usually do that when we feel we’ve got the material and the opportunity, time-wise. I think everybody’s still doing what they do; still writing separately or together, to put stuff together. We haven’t become a Widespread Panic cover band, yet. I think there is going to be new music. That is still part of the picture.

Do you think you’ll be itching for more?

I’m still feeling it out, personally. No, I think this is just right. The other guys have other projects. They’re still touring and doing their own bit.

What’s the feeling like these days when you all do reconvene as Widespread Panic?

Everybody’s glad to see each other, to have that familiarity, but, also, whatever we’ve been doing in our off-time brings in some freshness when we get down and start playing music together. It keeps it fresh and somewhat unexpected while we’re onstage, and that’s a positive thing.

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