Episode 141 – Mempho Magic, Panic in the Garden, and Our Youngest Correspondent Yet

Welcome back to The Bluest Tape! Harvey and Jeff reconnect in person for a full weekend of sunshine, vinyl, and jams at the 2025 Mempho Music Festival in Memphis. It’s three days of good vibes, great music, and plenty of Widespread Panic talk — naturally.

The guys recap the whole weekend, from playtesting board games and record store digs to festival logistics (plenty of shade, smooth entry, and top-tier po’boys). Then it’s on to the main event: two nights of Widespread Panic at the Radian Amphitheater, where the Friday night opener “Disco > Please > Love Tractor” set the tone and Saturday delivered both highlights and head-scratchers. There’s talk of setlist flow, surprise guests, and the Friday night “JoJo shirt incident”, which earns its own award for “Most Distracting Wardrobe Choice.”

A special moment arrives midway through the episode with The Bluest Tape’s youngest-ever correspondent — Jeff’s six-year-old son, Ellison — sharing his unfiltered review of The Pharcyde’s set (“there was a lot of cursing”) and his favorite moments from the day.

The hosts also cover standout sets from Mavis Staples, Flaming Lips, Lucas Nelson & Promise of the Real, and Tyler Childers, swap favorite t-shirt sightings (Tipitina’s shirts everywhere), and share a great run-in with a longtime Bluest Tape listener during set break. As always, they dive into stats, repeats, and Everyday Companion analysis — all while looking ahead to the next Panic runs.

And stay tuned — Part 2 of our interview with Mike Ayers is coming in the next episode!

Episode Highlights

Full 2025 Mempho Festival recap and logistics review
Friday and Saturday Widespread Panic setlist breakdowns
The “JoJo shirt incident” and other onstage observations
Guest appearance: Jeff’s son Ellison reviews The Pharcyde
Mavis, Flaming Lips, Lucas Nelson, and Tyler Childers highlights
Stats corner: repeats, setlist structure, and Panic trends
Favorite fan t-shirts and merch finds

Show Links

🎶 Mempho Music Festival
🎸 Widespread Panic
📖 Everyday Companion Setlist Archive
🗞 Part 1 of the Mike Ayers Interview (Previous Episode) (Part 2 coming soon!)
📍 Tipitina’s New Orleans

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.