With the band: 2000
Instruments: Lead guitar
A Student of the Instrument
Jimmy Herring was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1962. He has always been a serious student of the guitar. He studied formally and took in jazz and fusion as deeply as blues and rock, and he developed a fluid, melodic style all his own.
The Aquarium Rescue Unit
In Atlanta Jimmy helped found Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit with bassist Oteil Burbridge and drummer Jeff Sipe. The band’s fearless improvising made it a favorite of musicians all across the Southern jam scene.
With the Allman Brothers
When Dickey Betts left the band in 2000, Jimmy joined Derek Trucks as the second guitarist for that summer’s tour, which also reunited him with his old bandmate Oteil. He only played with us for that one season, but he carried the band through to Warren Haynes’ return in 2001.
A Career Across the Jam World
Jimmy has played with Phil Lesh and Friends and with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead, and since 2006 he has been the lead guitarist of Widespread Panic. His solo albums include Lifeboat and Subject to Change Without Notice.
Doctors treated Jimmy for tonsil cancer in 2024. In early 2026 he took a temporary break from Widespread Panic for more treatment, and his prognosis is good. He has also started work on a new solo album with Oteil Burbridge and Jeff Sipe.