John Bell to Sing National Anthem During Georgia Versus Texas Game to Mark Widespread Panic Collaboration with Class Trips

On Saturday, Nov. 15, Widespread Panic’s founding member John Bell will return to his Athens, Ga. alma mater to perform “The Star-Spangled Banner,” when the Georgia Bulldogs face the Texas Longhorns at Dooley Field in Sanford Stadium. The appearance comes as part of the band’s newly unveiled Class Trips campaign, which marries the band’s and collegiate iconography into cohesive tributes celebrating two Peach State luminaries. 

On game day, a pop-up experience will be held at the Georgia Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 15, providing fans with an opportunity to visit a venue with band lore and check out items from the officially licensed collaboration. Pieces in the collection range from headwear, t-shirts, hoodies, and knitwear to a retro bomber jacket that draws inspiration from the group’s formative years, playing campus house parties and local music halls like the Mad Hatter Ballroom and Uptown Lounge. 

To complement the pop-up’s feel, an all-day screening of Panic in the Streets will coincide with the event. The film honors the band’s April 18, 1998, Light Fuse, Get Away CD release party, which drew a record-breaking crowd of an estimated 100,000 fans to Washington Street in downtown Athens. The pop-up will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

The event coincides with a pair of archival releases for the long-standing jamband, Athens 1998, the 16th installment of Widespread Panic’s live multi-track series, which pulls from the aforementioned open-air concert, and the subsequent remastered Panic in the Streets video. A vinyl edition of Athens 1998 is available for pre-sale now, with vinyl pressing expected to arrive on December 19. 

Browse the collection here.