Widespread Panic

People may give Widespread Panic, and jam rock in general, a hard time for often sounding like the Dead, but when a band is able to resurrect the headiness of The Grateful Dead Go To Heaven (check "Boom Boom Boom"), well, it's easy to let go of your prejudices and just drive with the windows rolled down. Widespread Panic's 10th album, Free Somehow, is way more "rock" than "jam," with elements of Led Zeppelin, the aforementioned Dead and all sorts of tasty classic rock moves filling in the blank spaces.

These Athens, Georgia, guys have long been a Jam Nation favorite, consistently selling out
shows without ever scoring Phish-level fame. Their tenth studio album rocks ­steadily, piling
up grimy riffs, soul-power horns and snatches of eerie psychedelia. But Free Somehow
sounds like what happens when ­wizened road warriors hit the studio begrudgingly:
Rockers like “Walk on the Flood” offer a lot of sweaty stomp without a strong t... More >