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Billy Strings Sits In With Widespread Panic Three Nights In A Row To Ring In The New Year At Atlanta’s Fox Theatre
It doesn’t get much better than a crossover collaboration like this.
A legendary southern rock and jam band from Athens, GA, Widespread Panic just capped off a legendary three-night run leading up to New Year’s Eve at Atlanta’s historic Fox Theatre. A special venue in the band’s lore, the Fox Theatre first hosted Widespread Panic for a New Year’s Eve run in 1996. And while they have headlined the venue dozens of times over the past few decades, this year marks their 8th time ringing in the New Year at the Fox. A holiday run at a classic venue in their home state, fans had no doubt these would shape up to be particularly amazing shows. But what transpired over the past three days was far more special than anyone could have imagined.
Now, for anyone who is not familiar, Billy Strings is a HUGE Widespread Panic fan, and in addition to being outspoken about his appreciation for the band, he has been known to cover their song “All Time Low” at his own shows occasionally. While his acoustic-driven bluegrass differs from their electric southern rock, both Billy Strings and Widespread Panic are heavy hitters in the jam band scene, and there is a considerable amount of overlap in their fan bases.
Sit-ins – a popular tradition for jam bands where a guest artist joins a band for a few songs during a show – are often the source of fan speculation when tours align in certain cities or there is any semblance of external context that may lead one to believe a collaboration could be taking place. Those rumors began swirling over the weekend of a potential sit-in after fans spotted Billy Strings in the Atlanta airport a couple of days before these special Panic shows were scheduled to take place.
The thought definitely is not too far-fetched considering the mutual appreciation for each other’s music between Strings and Panic, and it wouldn’t be the first time the two powerhouses teamed up either. Back in 2019, Strings joined Widespread Panic for a few songs at The Ryman Auditorium, and he did so again in 2021 at the Mempho Music Fest in Memphis. More recently, when their tours overlapped in Chicago back in June, jam band fans were sent into a frenzy when Strings joined Panic for their entire second set and encore at the Chicago Theatre.
Well, on the first night of Widespread Panic’s New Year’s Eve run, the aforementioned rumors proved to be true as Billy Strings joined the band for a handful of songs to end the band’s second set and stuck around for the encore. Diving in with a plugged-in and fully electric setup, Strings melted faces alongside Panic’s iconic guitarist Jimmy Herring as they traded licks for well over an hour in Atlanta. But the special crossover collaboration certainly didn’t stop there.
Given the holiday, the venue, the incredible setlists, and Widespread Panic’s mind-blowing instrumentation and improvisation, these shows would have been special no matter what. But throwing Billy Strings into the mix unexpectedly just added fuel to the fire. I wish I could have been in attendance myself, but luckily plenty of fans grasped the magnitude of the performances and were able to capture some videos.
On night 1, Strings joined the band halfway through the second set as they shredded through the instrumental “Party At Your Mama’s House.” After that, they covered the classic blues song “Stop Breakin’ Down Blues,” which was popularized by The Rolling Stones on 1972’s Exile On Main Street. The highlight of the show followed thereafter, though, as Strings participated in a jam sandwich of Panic’s fan-favorites “Fishwater” and “Surprise Valley” before closing out the set with “Blackout Blues.” Here are a few clips from the second set that fans shared on Instagram:
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That wasn’t it, though. Billy Strings came back out with Widespread Panic for the encore, where they tipped their hat to the bluegrass world with a cover of The Dillards’ “There Is A Time” before closing things with Buffalo Springfield’s “Mr. Soul.” Here’s some of “There Is A Time:”
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On night two, Strings came out closer to the end of the second set and stuck around for the encore again, joining Widespread Panic for a few of their biggest hits. Making his debut for the evening on “Mercy,” Strings and Panic went right into fan-favorite “Bust it Big” before closing the set with an electrifying “Chilly Water” that must have left the Fox soaked in water and beer.
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For the encore, Strings took the lead on vocals for “Pickin’ Up the Pieces,” and then the whole crew brought night two home with an all-time “Climb To Safety.”
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After this start, I was wondering how they could possibly top the first two nights on New Year’s Eve. But trust me, they did. Billy’s involvement on night 3 included a cameo in the first set to provide both guitar and vocals on “Fishing.” After the clock struck midnight, though, Widespread Panic and Billy Strings ushered in 2026 with an all-time third set that included two Black Sabbath covers and an electrifying encore that capped off the night with my personal favorite song of Panic’s in “All Time Low.” Check out the setlist below.
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There haven’t been too many videos hitting social media yet from last night, but here’s the cover of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.”
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Note to self: Don’t miss Widespread Panic New Year’s Eve next year. Let’s start 2026 off on a positive note, folks. Here’s Widespread Panic’s “Ain’t Life Grand.”
The post Billy Strings Sits In With Widespread Panic Three Nights In A Row To Ring In The New Year At Atlanta’s Fox Theatre first appeared on Whiskey Riff.
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