Two bands comes to mind when one thinks of Southern rock. First came the Allman Brothers Band, and shortly after emerged Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The latter group will be returning to Maine for the second time in three months, playing at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, at the Bangor Auditorium.

Skynyrd lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant fondly remembers the venue.

“That’s the place where the seats go straight up, right?,” he said, speaking by phone from the back porch of his Florida home during a brief tour break. “I remember the reaction we got on our first time there. It was like, ‘Wow! I can’t believe this!'”

On tour about half the year, the band is seeing not just the adults who grew up on such classics as “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Saturday Night Special” and “What’s Your Name,” but their offspring as well in the crowds.

Van Zant chuckles at the idea of parents using “Gimme Three Steps” as a lullaby, then adds, “That’s the most honor you can get from your fans. They’ve turned their kids on to the music.”

After this leg of its tour wraps up Oct. 8, the group will head into the studio to finish up its next album, due out early next year. Van Zant said Skynyrd might hold a contest on its Web site to name the album.

“We can come up with 150 songs, but finding an album title, that’s tough,” he said.

Throughout its 30 years, Skynyrd has had to overcome tragedy. The band’s plane crashed in a Mississippi swamp in October 1977, killing vocalist Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup vocalist Cassie Gaines. In 1986, guitarist Allen Collins was in a car crash that left him paralyzed. Most recently, bassist Leon Wilkeson died in his sleep last July. His friend Ean Evans took his spot in the lineup.

What has kept the group going?

“There’s the family aspect, and our fans,” Van Zant said. “Also this is what we do. It’s our life. The best way for us to heal is to go out and play music. We were bummed out for weeks [last summer], and that was the thing that made us feel a little bit better.”

The band’s current lineup, most of which has been together since the mid-’90s, includes Van Zant, original members Billy Powell (keyboards) and Gary Rossington (guitar), Michael Cartellone (drums), Ricky Medlocke (guitar), Hughie Thomasson (guitar) and Evans (bass). Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase provide backup vocals.

“We’re all Southern a*******, except for one Damn Yankee,” Van Zant joked, referring to Cartellone’s participation in that short-lived rock supergroup.

Medlocke and Thomasson both left successful groups, Blackfoot and The Outlaws, respectively, to join Skynyrd.

“Rickey had been in the band before [playing drums in the early days], and Hughie was always around,” Van Zant explained. “Ronnie helped the Outlaws get their first album on Arista.”

Through its storied history, the group that came out of Florida has had 20 members. Van Zant opines that this may be one of its strongest lineups yet.

“We’ve had some great players in the past,” he said. “But this lineup is full of energy, and can really put on a show. We also hang out together, going out to dinner or a movie while on the road.”

Having half the year off allows the group’s members to take part in side projects. Van Zant, for example, has recorded two recent albums with his brother Donnie, of .38 Special fame, under the name Van Zant.

Does Van Zant ever tire of audience requests to “play ‘Freebird'” or any other song?

“Each night’s a different adventure,” he said. “It may be some of the same songs, but the crowds react differently, and that’s what makes it interesting for us.”

The band isn’t a radio staple anymore (except on the oldies stations), but touring is where Lynyrd Skynyrd has earned its reputation, and Van Zant doesn’t expect that to change.

“I always say we’re the Grateful Dead of the South, but our songs aren’t as long,” he said, “except for ‘Freebird,’ maybe.”

Tickets for the Lynyrd Skynyrd show are available at the Bangor Auditorium box office and all Ticketmaster locations, or by calling 990-4444 or 775-3331.