Widespread Panic Descend Into Dante’s Inferno in New Orleans With Seven Debut Covers and a First “Sympathy for the Devil” Since 2020
The band wrapped its Halloween run at the UNO Lakefront Arena with a concept show built around the nine circles of Hell.
Widespread Panic have a long history of turning Halloween into an event, and this year in New Orleans they built the whole night around a descent into Hell. The band just concluded its multi night Halloween run at the UNO Lakefront Arena with a show structured around the nine circles of Dante’s Inferno, packed with band first cover debuts and capped by a rare encore of the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil,” the first time they had played it since 2020. With only a New Year’s Eve run in Charlotte, North Carolina, left on the 2026 calendar, it was a dramatic way to close out the year’s big theatrical statement.
A Concept Show in Nine Circles
The Saturday, October 31st finale followed Dante and his guide Virgil down through the circles of Hell, with the band’s song choices marking each level. Costumes carried the story. Dave Schools played the Devil, Duane Trucks was Papa Legba, JoJo Hermann dressed as LSU coach Lane Kiffin, Sunny Ortiz was Julius Caesar, and Nick Johnson played Judas. Freddie King’s “Going Down” served as a recurring marker between circles. The night before, Friday’s encore had hinted at what was coming by pairing Talking Heads’ “Heaven” with Drivin N Cryin’s “Straight to Hell.”
The first set opened with “Down” and Jimmy Cliff’s “Sitting in Limbo” for the first circle, then dropped into the Doors’ “Break On Through (To the Other Side)” for Lust, the first debut of the night. It continued with “Bust It Big,” ZZ Top’s “Tush,” Parliament Funkadelic’s “Red Hot Mama,” and Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns and Money.” The second set began with an audio clip from the film Network and Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” another debut, before moving through Meat Puppets’ “Lake of Fire,” a first since 2018, along with “Papa Legba,” Hendrix’s “Machine Gun,” and Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime.” “Going Down” was teased throughout the set and finally played in full as a debut.
The Debuts
The covers were the headline. Across the run the band debuted the Doors’ “Break On Through (To the Other Side),” Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” the Don Nix song “Going Down,” Willie Dixon’s “Down in the Bottom,” and Curtis Mayfield’s “(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below We’re All Going to Go,” which carried the show to its ninth level. The encore added two more firsts, Dolly Parton’s “Halos and Horns,” a tribute to the recent loss of the country legend, and Black Sabbath’s “Lord of This World.” Before “Sympathy for the Devil,” Hermann’s Lane Kiffin character quit the show on stage, a nod to the coach’s real departure for LSU, and then the band delivered the Stones classic, the first since January 2020.
What’s Next
Widespread Panic have two shows left in 2026, a New Year’s Eve run in Charlotte, North Carolina, on December 30th and 31st. The 2027 schedule is sparse so far, with Panic en la Playa Catorce in Mexico the only date announced.
All Good Things Must Descend
Next stop, Charlotte for New Year’s Eve. Keep up with the jam scene on JamFest Radio.
