Widespread Panic is considered a southern rock band from Athens, Georgia. They fall into the “jam” band genre like The Grateful Dead and Phish, however; they have built such a strong fan base in the south that the primarily tour in those areas. Widespread Panic formed in 1985 by playing weekly jam sessions at the Uptown Lounge in Athens and grew into a six-man force that did not stop touring until 2003, when they took a break for the first time in 18 years to spend time with their friends and family. After the release of their debut album, Space Wrangler, Widespread Panic was picked up by Capricorn Records and has released a new album almost every year since 1991.

The success of Widespread Panic can be attributed to that fact that the band plays as many as 250 shows a year. They built their large fan base without any aid from MTV or the top 40 radio stations and continue to keep those fans satisfied by constantly provided them with new music. For the release of their first live recorded album, Light Fuse, Get Away, they offered a free CD party in the streets of Athens and more than 100,000 people came, making it the largest CD release party in history.

The band was hit with a major blow in 2002, when guitarist Michael Houser lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. His wish was for the band to keep jamming and find a replacement. Long time friend to the band, George McConnell fulfilled that wish and joined Widespread Panic for their next summer tour. At the end of that tour, they came out with another album and decided to take a break in 2003. The break didn’t last long however because in the spring/summer of 2005 the band was back touring again, making sure they didn’t neglect their loyal fans.