John “JoJo” Hermann might very well have the best seat in the house.

It’s been that way for some years, ever since the singer, songwriter and keyboardist joined Widespread Panic in 1992.

Hermann’s vantage point of the group and audience is unique in that he’s positioned behind Jimmy Herring (guitars), John Bell (guitars and vocals), Dave Schools (bass and vocals), and parallel with drummer Duane Trucks and percussionist Domingo “Sunny” Ortiz.

“I really do have a great seat,” Hermann said. “I love the drums. You know, when I’m just sitting there and I’m right next to Duane and Sunny — just getting the drums — I enjoy that a lot.”

As good as Hermann’s seat is with Widespread Panic, he contends that this weekend at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, fans will have the edge from their perch in the stands.

“I think with it being Red Rocks, the best seat is the audience,” he said during a recent phone interview from his Nashville residence. “They get that big view overlooking the city, with the rock formations, and are able to see all the way to Nebraska. We don’t get that view.”

Mind you, Hermann is not complaining.

He digs the setting just fine.

“Every time I walk onstage,” Hermann said, “I look at the rock patterns and the rocks. They kind of have a circular pattern in each rock, so it almost looks like an eye. If you look at the side of the stage, going up, it looks like a giant shark. It’s a rush every time we go out there.”

The rocks and venue have treated Hermann and Widespread Panic handsomely over the years. The band leads all other groups in consecutive sellouts at the famed venue, and this year will mark Nos. 73-75 over the weekend.

Though Widespread Panic formed in Athens, Ga, in 1986, Colorado might as well be its second home.

Talk with enough residents who moved to Colorado in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, and chances are, Widespread Panic’s prowess for playing the state was a minor, if not major, selling point for many.

Hermann is quick to reference the band’s Sit & Ski Tour during the winter of 1996, where the group hit several mountain towns, along with stops in Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Utah and Wyoming, to help develop the state’s longstanding relationship with Widespread Panic.

But there have been so many notable performances in the state, from beginning spring tours in Vail to closing out the summer in Keystone, to wrapping up the fall with a four-run in Denver at the Fillmore Auditorium.

Then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper even proclaimed June 27, 2008, to be “Widespread Panic Day” in the city and county of Denver just before the group’s 32nd consecutive sold-out show at Red Rocks.

“I just don’t know what it is about Colorado and Panic that just has this bond,” Hermann said, “but I am so grateful for everybody in Colorado.”

The Beatles in Denver 60 years ago: ‘Stampede,’ grenade threat, grilled cheese and air guitars

‘New York City kid’

Hermann’s grand-adventure tale began far away from the Rocky Mountains.

It began in New York City, more specifically in Greenwich Village. He was born there in 1962, around the time Bob Dylan was cutting his teeth in the same neighborhood.

He gravitated toward music early, playing in a band around the eighth and ninth grade. The group would cover The Doors, The Allman Brothers and others.

Hermann advanced to playing the New York circuit as he got older, appearing at CBGB, Peppermint Lounge, Mudd Club and Max’s Kansas City among others as part of a Ska Reggae band, The Terrorists.

He recounts his time in New York fondly. The song he wrote for Widespread Panic, “Bust It Big,” with the line “Rosemary’s baby is a New York City kid,” is an ode to growing up in the city.

“I mean, that’s about me,” Hermann said. “Basically, I was the prodigal son. You know, my parents were not thrilled when I dropped out of school, joined bands and moved down …”

‘I was a fan’

Under the stars: A guide to summer concerts at Colorado’s outdoor music venues

It was while with The Terrorists in New York that Herrmann was introduced to renowned New Orleans pianist Professor Longhair by one of his bandmates.

That introduction would change Hermann’s trajectory tenfold.

“The bass player from our band, Gary (Scheiss), gave me a Professor Longhair record and I listened to it and it really kind of charted my path,” Hermann said. “I think that’s when I decided that I really wanted to do this. I wanted to move down south and go to New Orleans and play that style of music, which I still do.”

Hermann landed in Mississippi, specifically in Oxford. The vibrant, yet still sleepy, college town is home to William Faulkner, Ole Miss and a bustling and underrated music scene, particularly when Hermann called Oxford home for much of the 1980s and 1990s.

“Oxford is just a dream come true,” Hermann said. “I was like, I can’t believe a place like this exists — just a place to play music and the people are so friendly, so hospitable. I was like: ‘I’m not leaving this place.’”

Hermann said he was one of only four or five Yankees in the whole county when he moved, but he assimilated well.

Along the way, Hermann joined a popular local Oxford band, Beanland, which regularly performed in town and other Southern music locales from 1986 to 1993.

Around the same time that Beanland was developing its reputation, about 400 miles away in Athens, Ga., Widespread Panic was emerging … making its definitive mark in the region.

Panic’s sound pulled Hermann in quickly.

“I was a fan,” Hermann said. “I’d go see them in Mississippi when they played and in New Orleans at Tipitina’s. I remember when I heard ‘Space Wrangler’ and ‘Mom’s Kitchen,’ I noticed the keyboard parts and a little organ. I just kind of let it be known that if they ever want to bring that on the road to please think of me.”

Widespread Panic did just that, bringing on Hermann shortly thereafter, in 1992.

Inspiration from Colorado

Top concerts coming to Colorado this summer

Hermann’s migration south, along with joining forces with Widespread Panic, has gone better than even he could ever have expected.

“I love the South,” Hermann said. “I’ve been here longer than I have anywhere. I love everything about it. You know, it’s my home.”

Still, Hermann is quick to note the inspiration he draws from Colorado.

One day, when Hermann was preparing for a Widespread Panic show in Colorado, he stumbled upon an article highlighting the presence of big wooly mammoths in Snowmass Village.

It piqued his interest and he wrote another fan favorite, “Big Wooly Mammoth,” in 2001.

The lyric, its imagery and timeliness set the stage for where Widespread Panic once again finds itself — Red Rocks – for another sold-out three-show run.

“It’s been such a great run,” Hermann says of it all.

“It’s just such a great group of guys, and I think that’s what keeps it together. We’re very fortunate, and we love the audience that allows us to do this. They’re everything.”