Photo by Harrison Ezratty

Widespread Panic kicked off their first of five sold-out nights at the Beacon Theatre on Thursday, serving up a slew of fan favorites as well as covers of legends like Curtis Mayfield and Tom Petty.

A fast “Porch Song” opener was a sign of good things to come, as was the following “Rebirtha”> “Greta”> “Stop Go”> “Jam”> “Little Liy” segment.

Later, a rocking “Bust It Big” arrived in the middle of a “Proving Ground” sandwich. The tune – led by keyboardist Jojo Hermann – gave a nod to the Big Apple as the entire venue sang along with the lyric “Rosemary’s Baby is a New York City kid.”

A full-throttle “Action Man” put a bow on the band’s first set of their extended run, but it wasn’t long before the Athens, Ga. band returned to the historic stage.

Set two highlights included a trio of “Blight”> “Help Me Somebody”> “Fishwater” as well as an emotive “Pilgrims” and a groovy version of Curtis Mayfield’s “Pusherman.”

The second surprise cover of the evening came in the encore. Following a set-closing “Conrad,” WSP honored the late Tom Petty with a take on the Wildflowers cut “You Wreck Me.”

The show ended with arguably the band’s most rowdy tune, the always-amplified “Tall Boy.”

Widespread Panic will continue their Beacon Theatre run each night through Monday, March 2.

Watch a clip of “You Wreck Me” (via YouTuber henry bisco) and check out the full setlist – as it appears in our Box Scores section – below:

Widespread Panic
Feb. 27, 2020
Beacon Theatre New York, NY

Set I: Porch Song, Rebirtha > Greta > Stop Go > Jam > Little Lilly, Proving Ground > Bust It Big > Proving Ground, Action Man

Set II: Steven’s Cat > Solid Rock Jam > Walk On, Blight > Help Me Somebody > Fishwater, Pilgrims, Pusherman, Conrad

Enc: You Wreck Me, Tall Boy

Source: Panicstream.com