Diving into Panic! At The Disco during the BBC’s Biggest Weekend Festival in Swansea – recorded May 27, 2018.
Panic! at the Disco was formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004 by high school friends Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (drums), who recruited classmates Brendon Urie (vocals and guitar) and Brent Wilson (bass). Following several lineup changes, Panic! at the Disco operated as the solo project of frontman Urie from 2015 until its discontinuation in 2023.
The band recorded their first demos while they were in high school. Shortly after, they recorded and released their debut studio album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out (2005). Popularized by the second single, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”, the album was certified triple platinum in the US. In 2006, Wilson was fired from the band during an extensive world tour and subsequently replaced by Jon Walker. The band’s second album, Pretty. Odd. (2008), was preceded by the single “Nine in the Afternoon”. The album marked a significant departure from the sound of the band’s debut. Ross and Walker, who favored the band’s new direction, departed because Urie and Smith wanted to make further changes to the band’s style. Ross and Walker subsequently formed a new band, the Young Veins, leaving Urie and Smith as the sole remaining members of Panic! at the Disco.
In 2015, Smith officially left the band after not performing live with them since his departure in 2013. Shortly thereafter, Weekes reverted to being a touring musician once again, resulting in Panic! becoming Urie’s solo project. In April 2015, “Hallelujah” was released as the first single from Panic! at the Disco’s fifth studio album, Death of a Bachelor (2016). In December 2017, Weekes officially announced his departure from the band, with Nicole Row replacing him in the touring lineup. In March 2018, Panic! at the Disco released “Say Amen (Saturday Night)”, the lead single from its sixth studio album, Pray for the Wicked (2018), which was released in June. Panic! at the Disco’s seventh studio album, Viva Las Vengeance, was released on August 19, 2022. Following the conclusion of the Viva Las Vengeance Tour in March 2023, Urie disbanded Panic! at the Disco.
On October 29, 2024, it was announced that Panic! at the Disco would reunite as one of the headliners for the When We Were Young festival on October 18, 2025, set to play A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out in full for the album’s 20th anniversary.
There you go (thanks Wikipedia!) – now dial back to 2018 and give a listen to what they sounded like in Swansea.
