On The Road: Widespread Panic Hits The Silver Screen

Widespread Panic's agent/co-manager Buck Williams has wrangled a Regal Cinemas simulcast of the band's May 9 show at Atlanta's Fox Theatre. Director Blake Morrison will shoot the concert, which fans can view live for $15 at 150 Regal, United Artists and Edwards screens coast to coast.

The Fox show, to be preceded by a May 8 performance to work out technical issues, is a one-off for the band. The cinema deal is geared to set up the Widespread/Sanctuary Records June 13 release of the new Panic album "Earth to America," which is also the title of the simulcast. The album's production wrapped in January at Compass Point in Nassau, with veteran producer Terry Manning twisting the knobs.

As president of Nashville-based Progressive Global Agency, Williams hopes the Regal deal will help the album make a bigger splash. "To me, the most attractive thing about doing this is the promotional value we get," he says. "People who don't know or see Widespread Panic will not only be exposed to them in the lobbies at Regal Cinemas with posters but also in the coming attractions at all these theaters."

A live Widespread/Sanctuary DVD will follow, and the tour begins June 21 in Kansas City. "We're still determining how many dates and where we're going," Williams says. "I've got four different routings we're going to consider. We do know we'll top the Grateful Dead's total sellouts record at Red Rocks [near Denver] this summer."



NEW GARDEN: After considering whether to renovate or rebuild, it appears Madison Square Garden owner Cablevision Systems has decided to move the celebrated New York arena from its current location to a new site across Eighth Avenue as part of the James A. Farley Post Office project.

A source close to the situation tells On The Road that the new Garden is targeted to be completed by 2011, at a cost said to be in the $800 million range. Given the tendency for massive venue plans to go over budget, this could be the world's first $1 billion arena project.

Since 1879, the Garden has had four incarnations, moving to its current site atop Penn Station in 1968. The new arena deal would include the demolition of the current Garden arena. Cablevision had been considering renovation plans that would have cost about $350 million (Billboard, Dec. 17, 2005).

The Garden is the top-grossing arena in the world. It banked a total gross of $75.2 million and hosted nearly 60 concerts in 2005.

Relocating the arena nearby raises some intriguing possibilities for a grand statement to celebrate the current Garden's final date and the new Garden's gala opening. Theoretically, an act could close the old Garden one night and open the new Garden the next. Some legends may not be touring at that point, but you have to figure the Rolling Stones will still be on the road. ••••