Music Festivals Blend Concerts, Camaraderie

Aug. 15, 2009— -- Widespread Panic is the quintessential music festival band. The six-member group plays about 250 live shows a year, they never play the same set list twice, and, they never play the same song within a four-day span.

The band always books two nights in a row in any city because their fans often travel far distances to see the shows. For band members John Bell, John "JoJo" Hermann, Jimmy Herring, Todd Nance, Domingo "Sonny" Ortiz and Dave Schools, musical festivals are a great way for them to connect with their fans.

ABC News caught up with Widespread Panic when they performed at the Mile High Music Festival in Denver in late July. The concert was the second in a series of festivals the band played this summer.

Lead singer and guitarist Bell is comfortable playing the music festival circuit, and he thinks it's a great way to bring a lot of bands together in one place.

"Folks can't spend their whole summer going to concerts, running around chasing bands," Bell said. "If you can bring a large number of bands into a good environment then fans can have their concert experience and not spend the baby's milk money."

At the Mile High Music Festival, Widespread Panic played three straight hours of music for the fans who came from around the country to see them. Some were seeing the band for the first time, and some for the 40th. Their fans collect their concert experiences like some people collect baseball cards.

The day after the concert, Bell said he and lead guitarist Herring looked at each other in disbelief at the length of the show.

"For the most part when you get into something musical like that time loses its value," he said. "Sometimes the day after a show we will put together the next set list and not remember you played the song the night before. You get lost in that moment."

The hallmark of the music festival is the vast territory the music covers. The list of musicians playing alongside Widespread Panic in Denver included Tool, The Fray, Ben Harper, The Black Keys, Ani DiFranco and Buddy Guy. The Beastie Boys played to the same audience as Merle Haggard and Bruce Springsteen at Bonnaroo this summer. Some festivals support hundreds of different acts.