Widespread Panic’s John Bell To Sing National Anthem At Georgia vs. Texas NCAA Football Game

Widespread Panic’s John Bell will return to the band’s hometown of Athens, Georgia on Saturday to sing the national anthem before the University of Georgia Bulldogs home football game against the University of Texas Longhorns. The contest between the Top 10-ranked teams takes place this Saturday, November 15 at UGA’s Sanford Stadium.

Bell, bassist Dave Schools and late guitarist Michael Houser formed Widespread Panic in the mid-1980s while the three were students at UGA. Bell’s singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” coincides with WSP-themed events happening in Athens this weekend.

Exclusive apparel and other items will be available at the UGA × WSP Pop-Up Shop located at the Georgia Theatre on Saturday. A newly remixed and remastered version of the documentary Widespread Panic: Panic in the Streets, chronicling their historic 1998 free concert that drew more than 100,000 attendees to downtown Athens, will be shown at the theater during the day.

Launched with Class Trip, the UGA × WSP Pop-Up Shop will also have vinyl pre-orders available for the 16th installment of Widespread Panic’s live multi-track series, Athens 1998, which will be released on December 19.

ABC will broadcast the Georgia Bulldogs vs. Texas Longhorns game live from Sanford Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.