Lead guitarist in the band Widespread Panic, he has also played with the Allman Brothers Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Jazz Is Dead, Phil Lesh and Friends, the Dead, Justice League and Project Z, among others. He is well-known for his improvisational skills.

Originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, Herring was the original lead guitarist of the seminal jamband group Col. Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit. Formed in Atlanta in 1989, its alumni include Allman Brothers bassist Oteil Burbridge.

Subsequently invited to participate on the H.O.R.D.E. tour with ARU in 1992 and 1993, Herring was offered the lead guitar spot in the Allman Brothers Band after Dickey Betts was arrested after a show in Saratoga Springs, NY, in 1993. Herring filled the open slot for one night but declined to take the position as a full-time gig.

In 1998 and 1999, Herring toured with bassist Alphonso Johnson, jazz drummer Billy Cobham and others as Jazz Is Dead. Jazz Is Dead released three albums of largely fusion jazz-rock material, including instrumental interpretations of classic Grateful Dead songs.

The Allman Brothers (by then including ex-ARU member Burbridge on bass) came calling again in 2000 and Herring played their summer 2000 tour before being offered the guitar spot in a new project put together by Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead - Phil Lesh and Friends.
In 2002, Herring joined the Other Ones, a band that included 4 former members of the Grateful Dead - Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann. Herring continued to play with the group, now renamed the Dead, in 2003 and 2004.