Widespread Panic For Georgia Hall Of Fame

That backstage area of the Thomas B. Murphy ballroom gonna smell sweet!

By Fred Mills

BLURT faves Widespread Panic, perhaps the biggest thing to crawl outta the South since R.E.M. did a decade earlier, is about to get formally acknowledged for precisely that: on Sept. 20 the jamming genies will be inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame at the 30^th Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards Show. The show will broadcast live on Georgia Public Broadcasting and, yes kids, the ceremony will include a special performance from the band. 

"Sharing this honor... with so many of our greatest musical influences, is something I'm sure none of the bandmembers imagined when we first started making music together. September 20th is going to be a truly special day for the entire Widespread Panic Family," said Panic vocalist John Bell, through their publicity agent. 

Past inductees to the Georgia Hall include Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, R.E.M., and the Allman Brothers Band. The Hall’s stated mission is to “recognize those who have made significant contributions to Georgia’s music industry.”  For this year’s event, the ceremony will be held at the Thomas B. Murphy Ballroom of the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta; it’s hosted each year by the Friends of Georgia Music Festival, Inc. and the Senate Music Industry Committee.