Widespread Panic is one of the groups that inherited the legacy of the Grateful Dead, developing a strong grassroots following with their jazz and blues textured Southern Rock. The group was formed in 1982 in Athens, Georgia, started by vocalist John Bell and guitarist Mike Houser who started playing together in college. They were joined a year later by bassist Dave Schools, marking the official start of the band. They were eventually rounded out by Todd Nance as the drummer, Domingo "Sunny" Ortiz as percussionist and John "JoJo" Herman as the keyboardist.

The group kept going strong starting from their debut LP in 1988. They toured relentlessly and pursued every musical venue opened to them. Their albums appeared on the charts starting in 1993, and have been there ever since. The band suffered a heavy blow in 2002, when Mike Hauser had to leave their annual summer tour. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and shortly after leaving the tour he died on August 10, 2002, due to complications related to the disease. He was 40 years old. However, the band carried on, per Houser's desire, and found a replacement with George McConnell who had stepped in to finish the tour with the band.

Over the years the group has released a total of 18 albums, including two live contributions. Their albums have had a constant presence in the charts during that time, starting with Everdyay in 1993, which peaked at number 10 on Heatseekers. Their 1994 album Ain't Life Grand brought with it two AOR hit singles "Airplane" and "Can't get High". The album Don't Tell the Band was released in 2001. It was their first album of the new millennium and their last album recorded with Michael Houser. Their most recent album was Free Somehow which they released on February 12, 2008.