John Bell of Widespread Panic to sing national anthem at Georgia-Texas
By Andrew Olson
Published:
John Bell is back at his alma mater for a special gig. The lead singer of the legendary Athens band Widespread Panic will perform the national anthem on Saturday night in Sanford Stadium ahead of Georgia’s top-10 showdown with Texas.
It’s sure to be an electric atmosphere in Sanford Stadium. Georgia enters the game No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff selection committee rankings. The Bulldogs are on a 5-game winning streak as they aim to get back to the conference championship game.
At No. 10, Texas is also firmly in the mix for the CFP, and with just 1 conference loss, the SEC Championship Game. The Longhorns lost twice to UGA last year, and this is their first time playing between the hedges.
Bell, 63, is originally from Cleveland. In the 1980s, he attended the University of Georgia, where he met the late Michael Houser. The pair later met Dave Schools before beginning to perform as Widespread Panic in 1986.
WSP remains an active band, extremely popular in the jam band scene. Panic’s upcoming shows include 3 nights at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York (Nov. 21-23) and a New Year’s Eve run at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre (Dec. 29-31). All 6 of those shows are sold out. The band’s 2026 schedule notably includes 2 nights in Austin, Texas at the Moody Center (Feb. 14 and 15).
The band’s website notes that JB is scheduled to sing at 7 p.m. ET, ahead of the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Many fans will enjoy the performance, and the game, sipping on a tall boy.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
