Jimmy Herring has announced a brand new band, The 5 of 7, featuring bassist Kevin Scott, drummer Darren Stanley, longtime collaborator Matt Slocum on keyboards (Hammond B3, clavinet), and vocalist and guitarist Rick Lollar.
The Widespread Panic guitarist will debut his new project on the road this fall with brand new music. Beginning in Denver, CO on September 12th, they will play three shows in Colorado before heading to Iowa, St. Louis, Chicago, and Indianapolis. The tour will then head to the east before winding its way down to North Carolina for two shows, with this first leg ending on October 5th in Charlotte.
The band came together rather naturally. “Rick, Matt, and Kevin had a band together called King Baby,” explains Herring in a press release, “and I heard their record…I couldn’t help but think, man, if I could get together, play some of Rick’s songs, some of my songs, some covers, and maybe write a few things together, we may be on to something…”
From his days with Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Allman Brothers Band, The Dead, Project Z, Phil Lesh and Friends, The Invisible Whip, and of course, Widespread Panic, Jimmy Herring is a true master of his craft–and fans welcome new projects to see what else the White Wizard has up his sleeves.
According to a press release, “the newly assembled The 5 of 7 places his uniquely probing, responsive fretwork in the context of a vocalist-fronted, song-driven ensemble,” a contrast to his last tour with The Invisible Whip, which joined John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension for a run of shows celebrating the legacy of the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
About the band, Herring continues: “We all have the Atlanta, Col. Bruce Hampton connection with each other. That’s important to me because it’s such a different thing — if you’ve been through that school, you want to play with people who have been through that too…you understand how to think on your feet and exist in the moment.”
From fatback, roadhouse R&B to more expansive, jazz-inflected explorations, The 5 of 7 demonstrates Herring’s chops not just as a musician, but as a bandleader and catalyst. The novel vocal element is just one more texture at his disposal. “With instrumental music,” he reflects, “people expect to hear your solos, but they’ve just heard you play the melody! You can overexpose your voice. With Rick, I can play behind him, then step out with a solo, and give a fresh feeling to the song — take it to another place.”
About the tour itself, Herring explains to fans: “There’ll be vocals, there’ll be instrumentals. There will be funk and rock and roll, with some songs leaning towards more sophisticated harmony…but, to me, it’s just music.” For more information, click here.
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