Widespread Panic Forced to Cancel Upcoming Shows After Guitarist Jimmy Herring Receives Cancer Diagnosis

Widespread Panic is currently on a tour that will keep them on the road until November. However, they recently had to cancel a series of shows in Asheville, North Carolina after guitarist Jimmy Herring announced that he received a cancer diagnosis.

The band took to Facebook on Monday (July 21) to announce their need to cancel their upcoming shows. “The Widespread Panic Family is sad to report that our brother, Jimmy Herring, has been diagnosed with stage one tonsil cancer,” they wrote in the post. “He will begin treatment immediately and is expected to make a full recovery. That part we’re happy to report,” they added.

“The band will not be playing the upcoming Asheville dates,” the post continued. “We will have a clearer picture of our future concert schedule in the next few days,” they assured fans. The band was set to play the ExploreAsheville.com Arena at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (July 25-27). At the moment, Widespread Panic is set to play their next show on August 22 at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway Park in Boston.

The post further stated, “Refunds will be issued automatically at the point of purchase. Ticketholders need to do anything else.”

Jimmy Herring: Widespread Panic Guitarist and More

Jimmy Herring became the full-time lead guitarist for Widespread Panic in 2006. Before that, Herring lent his talents to several other projects including a short run with The Allman Brothers Band.

Early in his career, Herring was a founding member of the popular Atlanta, Georgia-based jam band Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. Hampton left the band after a few years but Herring and the rest of the group kept going until they disbanded in 1997.

In 1993, Dickey Betts got arrested after a July 4 show in New York. Herring took his place in the Allman Brothers Band until Betts could once again fulfill his guitarist duties.

Herring has also played with The Dead, Phil Lesh and Friends, The Other Ones, The Derek Trucks Band, and more. Additionally, he has released three solo albums since joining Widespread Panic. He released his solo debut Lifeboat in 2008. Four years later, he released Subject to Change Without Notice. Most recently, he and fellow guitarist John McLaughlin teamed up to release Live In San Francisco in 2018.

Featured Image by Adam McCullough