John Hermann

Having made a nice sideline for himself outside of his regular duties as keyboardist for Georgia jam-band Widespread Panic, John Hermann has jumped ship from Fat Possum and followed his regular band over to Sanctuary for this, his third solo outing. Again accompanied by the North Mississippi All Stars’ Luther and Cody Dickinson, Hermann proves himself to be a capable songsmith and singer in his own right, something that doesn’t get quite enough attention during his day job. That may be due to the fact that his songwriting style tends to be a little more non-linear than most of his Widespread cohorts, but what he may lack in absolute talent he sure makes up for in enthusiasm. The hooks may be a little more sublime in a solo setting, but Hermann and band’s excursions into roots rock, mellow psychedelia and bar-band boogie is a fun little excursion that he hopefully will continue to return to in the years to come.