Allman Betts Band debut tops iTunes rock chart

The Allman Betts Band’s first performance was March 26, 2019. The day is significant because it comes 50 years, to the date, after The Allman Brothers Band first jammed in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Allman Betts Band, which takes its name from Devon Allman and Duane Betts, the respective sons of Gregg Allman and Dickie Betts, released their highly anticipated debut album “Down to the River” on BMG this week. The album debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes rock chart.

The Allman Betts Band is:

♦ Devon Allman: guitar, vocals

♦ Duane Betts: guitar, vocals

♦ Berry Duane Oakley: bass, vocals

♦ Johnny Stachela: guitar, vocals

♦ John Ginty: keyboards

♦ R Scott Bryan: percussion, vocals

♦ John Lum: drums

The Allman Betts Band recorded their debut album in November of 2018 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. It was produced by Grammy Award-winning Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine and Elvis Presley). The band, motivated by classic recording techniques and the vintage gear in the historic Alabama studio, cut the album live. No computers. No digital editing.

In support of “Down to the River,” the Allman Betts Band are rigorously touring, making stops at performance spaces all over the world as well as renowned festivals. The forthcoming summer portion of their tour has many highlights, including a handful of dates with John Fogerty in the Northeast with stops in Providence, Rhode Island, Portland, Maine; Boston and Radio City Music Hall in NYC.

“Anytime you get to play with your heroes, it’s a dream come true, but John Fogerty, that’s pretty special. We are beyond honored to share the stage with him on these upcoming dates,” Betts said in a news release.

“As a longtime fan of CCR, I’m so amped up to do some shows with one of the best voices in rock music,” Allman added.

DOWN TO THE RIVER TOUR:

♦ July 5, Westhampton, N.Y. @ Westhampton Beach PAC

♦ July 6, East Hampton, N.Y. @ John Drew Theater at Guild Hall

♦ July 7, Norwalk, Conn. @ Wall Street Theater

♦ July 8, Ocean City, N.J. @ NJ Music Pier

♦ July 16, Munich, Del. @ Backstage Hall

♦ July 17, Luxembourg, @ Rockhal

♦ July 23, Cologne, Germany @ Kantine

♦ July 24, Amsterdam @ Paradiso

♦ July 29, Hamburg, Germany @ Markthalle

♦ July 30, Berlin, Germany @ Lido

♦ July 31, Nürnberg, Germany @ Hirsch

♦ Aug. 9, Providence, R.I. @ Bold Point Park

♦ Aug. 11, Portland, Maine @ Savings Pavilion

♦ Aug. 13, Boston @ Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion

♦ Aug. 15, New York, N.Y. @ Radio City Music Hall

♦ Aug. 29, St. Charles, Ill. @ The Arcada Theater

♦ Aug. 30, Fort Wayne, Ind. @ Sweetwater Performance Pavilion

♦ Sep. 1, Lakeville, Pa. @ Cove Ent Resorts

♦ Sep. 13, Colorado Springs, Colo. @ Pikes Peak Center

♦ Nov. 1, Auburn, Ala. @ Woltosz Theatre

FESTIVALS

♦ July 14, 2019 Suwalki, Poland @ Suwalki Blues Festival

♦ July 20, 2019 Maidstone, United Kingdom @ Ramblin’ Man Fair

♦ July 21, Peer, Belgium @ Peer Blues Festival

♦ July 25-28, 2019 Scranton, Pa. @ Peach Music Festival

♦ July 25-28, 2019 Breitenbach, Germany @ Burg Herzberg festival

♦ Aug. 2, Notodden, Norway @ Notodden Blues Festival

♦ Aug. 10, 2019 Duluth, Minn. @ Bayfront Blues Festival

♦ Aug. 24, 2019 Arrington, Va. @ LOCKN’ Festival

♦ Sep. 5-8, 2019 Las Vegas, N.V. @ Big Blues Bender

♦ Sep. 14, Telluride, Colo. @ Blues & Brews Fest

In December of 2017, Devon Allman was ready. After a year of mourning the losses of his mother and father, Allman was ready to make music again. He deeply appreciated all of the condolences and well-wishes, but, respectfully, it was time to forge ahead.

Allman organized a concert at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco to honor the music and memory of his father, founding Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and singer Gregg Allman, and also to debut his new band, The Devon Allman Project. A proverbial star-studded affair — with guests such as G. Love and Robert Randolph — the marathon performance also marked the beginning of a partnership with Duane Betts, son of founding Allman Brothers Band guitarist and singer Dickey Betts.

It was time, in that historic venue, to pass the spirit to this next generation. It was time to take all the lessons of the past, all their collective experiences, and make something new.

Betts recently had turned solo after a touring stint with folk-rockers Dawes, and he would serve as an opening artist on the Devon Allman Project 2018 world tour, as well as joining Allman each night for a musical tip of the hat to their respective fathers. The yearlong trek was the first to pair Allman and Betts, and saw the two tally nearly 100 dates at theaters and festivals nationally and internationally, including a summer leg in Europe and notable appearances at Colorado’s venerable Red Rocks amphitheater, the Peach Festival, Gov’t Mule’s Island Exodus in Jamaica, and a return to The Fillmore for the second annual, sold-out Allman Family Revival.

Their work in 2018 provided the new band a certifiable proof-of-concept: Performing a repertoire gleaned mostly from their respective solo careers, as well as a handful of Brothers gems, the Devon Allman Project with Duane Betts consistently drew audiences growing in size and enthusiasm with each successive leg.

Thus buoyed, they were determined to embrace a new challenge: to write and record new music that could someday join the classics, to wow new audiences, to form a new band. During off-days on the bus or in hotel rooms, Devon and Duane collaborated on new original material, inviting respected songwriter Stoll Vaughn for writing sessions on the road.

On the still-smoldering heels of the hugely successful Project world tour, Devon and Duane circled back to their roots for this ambitious next step. They called up their old friend Berry Duane Oakley, son of the Allman Brothers Band’s founding late bassist, Berry Oakley, and floated the idea of joining them.

The trio’s musical friendship traces back to The Allman Brothers Band’s 20th anniversary summer tour in 1989 when the three first met and often sat in with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, teenage descendants rightfully joining a rock-and-roll legacy.

As well, they recruited seasoned players from the Project ensemble: slide guitar sorcerer Johnny Stachela, drummer John Lum, and percussionist R. Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow). In November of 2018, they announced the formation of The Allman Betts Band. For a subsequent world tour, they recruited keyboardist John Ginty (Dixie Chicks, Robert Randolph) to The Allman Betts Band.

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