The hard-working, down-to-earth jam band Widespread Panic came out of the Athens music scene’s second wave of talent, which began forming in the mid-1980s. With their fusion of southern rock, jazz, and blues, Widespread Panic has earned renown as one of America’s best live bands.
The band got its start in 1982 when University of Georgia students John Bell and Mike Houser began collaborating on music. Vocalist Bell and guitarist Houser soon added bassist Dave Schools to their ranks, forming the band’s name from Houser’s nickname, “Panic.”
In the mid-1980s the band began weekly jam sessions at Athens’s Uptown Lounge and became known for putting in more time on stage than most bands, sometimes up to four hours at once. The band performed as a trio for a time, recording their debut single “Coconut Image” in 1986. Later Drummer Todd Nance, percussionist Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz, and keyboardist John “JoJo” Hermann joined the band. The line-up stayed the same until Houser’s death from cancer in August 2002. In 2016 Nance departed the band and was replaced by Duane Tracks.
Widespread Panic released its debut album Space Wrangler in 1988 and took to the road, beginning the extensive touring for which the band is known. The group’s second album, Widespread Panic, was issued in 1991 by Capricorn Records. They expanded their fan base by appearing at the touring rock music festival H.O.R.D.E. in 1992 and 1993. The band released Everyday in 1993 and Ain’t Life Grand in 1994, which produced the hits “Airplane” and “Can’t Get High.” After the release of the latter album, the group took a three-year reprieve, during which time they worked and toured with fellow Athens musician Vic Chesnutt.
Following their 1997 album, Bombs and Butterflies, they released their first-ever live album, Light Fuse, Get Away (1998), for which they held a free, open-air release party in downtown Athens in April 1998. The massive event once held the world record for the largest album release party at an estimated 100,000 attendees. The band also set a record for attendance at the New Orleans Jazz Festival in 1999, drawing 63,000 fans. Since then the band has released Another Joyous Occasion (2000), Don’t Tell the Band (2001), Live in the Classic City (2002), Ball (2003), Earth to America (2006), Free Somehow (2008), Dirty Side Down (2010), Street Dogs (2015), Miss Kitty’s Lounge (2022), and Snake Oil King (2024).
The band has made Pollstar’s “Concert Pulse” chart of the top fifty bands on the road numerous times and they have been known to perform more than 150 live dates a year. Widespread Panic was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2008. For all its success, the band has emphasized excellent musicianship and accessibility to fans, making them one of the most durable and beloved touring acts nationwide.
