A seven-piece Southern rock band will take the stage Dec. 11 at the Gaillard Center. The three men anchoring the band have the last names Allman, Betts and Oakley. If those names sound familiar, they should.
This group, called the Allman Betts Band, features the late Allman Brothers Band singer/keyboardist Gregg Allman’s son Devon, singer/guitarist Dickey Betts’ son Duane and original bassist Berry Oakley’s son Berry Duane (both are named after the late guitarist Duane Allman).
The show at the Gaillard Center show is called the Allman Betts Family Revival, and it will find the band digging deeply into its collective musical roots.
The Revival show features rough-and-ready, exploratory versions of Allman Brothers classics like “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” “Midnight Rider,” “Statesboro Blues” and of course, “Whipping Post.”
The Revival also features a stunning array of guests helping out on Gregg and Dickey’s classic tunes. The lineup typically rotates a bit throughout the tour, but the Gaillard show will showcase singer, songwriter and former member of Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit Amanda Shires, pedal steel guitar phenom Robert Randolph, North Mississippi Allstars drummer Cody Dickinson and his roots-rock icon Dad Luther on guitar, plus former Wet Willie singer Jimmy Hall.
Fiery gospel/R&B singer Sierra Green and drummer Alex Orbison, son of singer Roy Orbison, round out the lineup.
That’s a stacked group by any definition, and in a recent interview with the Charleston City Paper, Duane Betts (who shares guitar duties with Devon Allman) said collaborating with those performers has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“It’s been a very special experience for all of us,” Betts said. “We’ve met so many great people and artists that we admire. I’d never met Amanda Shires before this tour, and she’s fantastic. It’s really special to celebrate this songbook and that there are so many people who want to celebrate it because that songbook is so great.”
Mix of dynamic guests
And that’s just the onstage vibe. Betts said the audiences on the tour have been pleasantly surprised by the mix of guests.
“I think it’s a real treat for them to see people that they’ve never seen do these songs,” he said. “To see everybody brought into this kind of bluesy, jammy world is something they’re not used to.”
The Allman Betts Family Revival started as a one-off show back in 2017 that formed to play a tribute show at The Fillmore in San Francisco for the late Gregg Allman on what would have been his 70th birthday. But it didn’t take long to evolve into an annual tour.
The show itself draws inspiration from The Band’s legendary concert film The Last Waltz, which featured a similarly star-studded lineup of vocalists (including Van Morrison, Neil Young and Bob Dylan) singing its songs.
“It did take shape with that ‘Last Waltz’ construct in mind, but the real inspiration for it was that when Devon’s father passed away, he wanted to celebrate his life and legacy,” Betts said. “So, he asked some of his best friends and musical collaborators to come to the party. And by coincidence, the date that The Fillmore had open was on Gregg’s birthday.”
The guitarist added that on these annual tours, The Allman Betts Band is still finding new inspiration in this old music, just as its predecessor did every night.
“I’m always exploring, at every show,” he said. “This is improvisational music, and it has these jam sections, and as a guitarist, it gets monotonous if you don’t challenge yourself and try to go outside of the lines. That’s the fun of playing a song like ‘In Memory of Elizabeth Reed’ or ‘Blue Sky.’ You tell a new story every night.”
For the rest of the year, The Allman Betts Band concentrates on original music, but Betts said that the annual Family Revival shows are personal favorites.
“It’s turned into a really great event around the holidays, and it’s something the band looks forward to at the end of every year,” Betts said. “Hopefully, everybody leaves really happy and it takes them away from their daily stresses. That’s the point of this music.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 11, Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun St., Charleston. Tickets range from $40-$81: gaillardcenter.org
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.