Story by Ilya Mirman
Devon Allman is a man who carries not just the weight of his famous surname but also the expansive catalog and legacy of the Allman Brothers Band. Connecting with him to discuss the upcoming Allman Betts Family Revival concert tour was like stepping into a world where the past and present of rock music seamlessly converge. Devon exudes a laid-back yet driven energy, an artist firmly in control of his creative narrative while embracing the rich musical history that defines him.
The Allman Betts Family Revival, as Devon explained, started as a one-off birthday celebration for his father, Gregg Allman, on what would have been his 70th birthday. Eight years later, what began as an intimate tribute has evolved into a multi-city tour featuring a diverse lineup of musicians paying homage to one of the most revered songbooks in rock history. Devon describes it as “a celebration of the Allman Brothers Band catalog between Thanksgiving and Christmas.” The revival isn’t just a tribute; it’s a living, breathing entity that grows in scale and ambition every year.
Devon’s passion for the Revival is palpable. “It’s a real deep dive,” he shared, describing the meticulous process of assembling a lineup of guest musicians and crafting a setlist that honors the legacy while making room for innovation and creating a sense of excitement and unpredictability. For Devon, the Revival is “about giving people those memories” and creating an atmosphere where fans can relive the golden age of Southern rock.
The man himself juggles three major projects: the Devon Allman Project, the Allman Betts Band, and the Revival. Each offers a unique outlet for his creativity. While the Devon Allman Project gives him carte blanche to explore genres without constraints, the Allman Betts Band is a collaborative venture with Duane Betts, son of Dickey Betts. The Revival, however, holds a special place—it’s a mission to keep the Allman Brothers’ music alive and thriving for new generations.
Devon’s approach to the Revival’s lineup and setlist reveals his dedication to the craft. “The songbook eliminates ego,” he said, emphasizing that the focus is always on the music. The Revival showcases diverse voices, from legends to rising stars, creating a dynamic atmosphere both onstage and backstage. “It’s not about us,” Devon insisted. “It’s about the songs.”
One of the most striking aspects of the Revival is its ability to transport audiences. As Devon put it, “We want you to go through a portal and be your 18-year-old self again.” This ethos is reflected in the Revival’s carefully curated setlists, which balance iconic hits like “Melissa” and “Midnight Rider” with deep cuts that delight die-hard fans. For Devon, the goal is clear: to create a communal experience where the music takes center stage, stripping away ego and pretense.
When asked about the future, Devon’s vision is ambitious yet grounded. The Revival’s international debut in Australia this year is just the beginning. Plans for future endeavors, including potential European tours and themed events like a music cruise, are already in the works. Meanwhile, the Allman Betts Band continues to carve its path, with fans clamoring for a third album.
My conversation with Devon Allman left me with a deep appreciation for the way he has embraced his role as a steward of the Allman Brothers’ legacy while carving out his own artistic identity. The Allman Betts Family Revival isn’t just a tribute; it’s a testament to the enduring power of music to connect generations, honor the past, and inspire the future. As Devon said, “The best things grow out of innocence,” and the Revival is a shining example of that philosophy in action.
As the tour kicks off, it’s clear that Devon Allman isn’t just keeping the flame alive—he’s igniting a new one. Fans old and new will undoubtedly leave the Revival with a renewed love for the music that defined an era and continues to resonate today.
(And New England Music News will be covering the tour’s December 16th show in Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium!)
2022 Revival
Q&A With Devon Allman
How does carrying on the Allman and Betts family legacy influence your approach to music and live performances?
You know, these days, I really have like three kind of rivers that I float down, so to speak. I’ve got the Devon Allman Project, Allman Betts Band, and the Allman Betts Family Revival.
So for those that don’t necessarily tune into our channels very often, the revival is a once a year celebration of the catalog of the Allman Brothers Band. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, that’s when we play all Allman Brothers, and we assemble a cast of characters to bring that songbook to life in the highest fashion that we can. And we’ve had some incredible guests, so that’s a fun time of year where it’s a deep dive into their catalog, and I mean, we’re listening to everything, man, and we’re talking about the music, and we’re going, oh man, did you notice how, this was done, or that was done? It’s a real deep dive.
Allman Betts Band is a bona fide collaboration between myself and Duane Betts, and it’s really its own band with its own chemistry in writing, chemistry and styles, chemistry and singing together, playing together. You can hear some of The Band in there, you can hear some of a little bit of Pink Floyd, or a little bit of Rolling Stones, just little flourishes of things.
And then the Devon Allman Project is kind of the one thing where there’s no rules, you know, I can go and make a blues record, I can go and make a funk record, I could go and make an Americana record, there’s no framework to adhere to.
Whereas The Revival is a tight framework because it’s just celebrating the Allman Brothers. Allman Betts Band has a pretty tight framework, but the Devon Allman Project is really where I get to let it all hang out.
All three are different for me. I love them all.
If I was to compare it to, for example, acting, maybe there’s an action type actor who gets to also do television and do some comedic roles, or, you know, kind of keep things fresh and different. It’s really neat. Because if I was only doing one of those three, it would probably drive me fucking nuts!
How do you balance honoring the legacy of the Allman Brothers Band while carving out your own unique sound?
With the Revival, we really try to bring those songs to life as they were remembered. We don’t mind one of our guest artists maybe doing a different take, like we’ve had a female sing, “Lord, I was Born a Rambling Man,” and that’s really cool. It’s a different vibe, but when it comes to us, we really do try to stick as true blue as we can.
What inspired the creation of the Allman Betts Family Revival, and how has the concept evolved since its inception?
Oh, my God, it’s evolved an insane amount! My father passed away at 69. And on what would have been his 70th birthday, it was like, let’s celebrate him and his music. And let’s call a bunch of people that loved him or maybe played in his band or, you know, was an opening act for him or, you know, whatever. And it was a birthday party. It was his 70th birthday party eight years ago.
And that was it. It was a one and done event. That was all it was going to be!
And then the Fillmore called the week after we did the gig and said, Hey, can we do that again next year? And can we do two nights? And we were like, well, yeah, I mean, it was fun! Why wouldn’t we?
And they wanted to do two nights because it had, it had sold out. So the second year, we did two nights.
And then the third year, we got an offer to do the same show in Denver, and in New York City. And it was like, well, wait a second. This is like, you know, it’s becoming a thing, you know?!
And we did one show at the Ryman, and it was live streamed. And then the next year, my agent was like, well, we’re getting all kinds of offers. And I said, “Well, maybe we just put it on a tour bus and take it on tour!” And I was like, do you think you could get enough offers, you know, like three weeks, like 20 shows, and he got like 50 offers!
It was like, whoa, holy cow! So now it’s a true, true blue thing. We took it international for the first time – we did it in Australia this year.
It’s grown every single year. It’s crazy – in Nashville, we have Slash this year! Who would have thunk? The junior in high school version of me is flipping out on that! I can’t wait to hear what he does to some Allman Brothers classics for sure. So yeah, it’s evolved year after year. This year, we’re doing some new markets.
We’ve never done Kansas City, Minneapolis, Seattle. Next year, we’re already, we’re already almost all booked up for next year. And I’m blown away — because It was just a birthday party…that grew!
And I think sometimes the best things just grow out of, like, this innocence. It wasn’t like a bunch of agents sat around and said, well, what can we do, it was nothing like that. It was literally me calling my friends and saying, “Hey, I think we’re going to throw a birthday party for dad.” And I remember my manager saying, call 10 friends and four of them will say yes. Well, all 10 of them did. So it became a big party by proxy of just my friends being really sweet.
The Revival brings together an impressive lineup of guest musicians. How do you decide who to invite each year?
Oh, that’s tough, right? I mean, a lot of them are just our friends, and then we’ll hit some other folks that maybe we’re just really big fans of, we kind of keep an eyeball on people, you know, on social media.
And I remember seeing Sierra Hull a couple of years ago on my Instagram feed and thinking, oh my God, she would be so cool for this. And we just asked her and she said yes. And so we’ve kind of happened upon some artists that way.
How do you decide? I mean, I think this year we have 20 different guests, it’s a lot of moving parts, but I think that it’s just kind of become its own community.
How do you approach curating the setlist for the Revival?
Well, it’s, you know, that’s tough because there’s so much, it’s a battle. It’s really a battle. I usually end up doing about six to seven different mock-ups of the set list.
And it’s hard because you get it and you’re like, this looks pretty good. And then you’re like, oh man, so-and-so doesn’t really have enough stage time or, I’ve written my own self out of the show. It’s a bit, it’s a pain. It’s a bitch. It’s hard because you want everyone to shine.
And, and there’s only three hours and there’s like 20 people. So it’s tough, but it is a labor of love. It’s a lot of fun.
And, you know, once you get out there and you get in a groove with the sequence, then the show kind of gets that life of its own thing. And it takes, it takes it to a magical place. On paper, it’s frantic; on stage it’s finesse.
Do you find that performing with such a diverse group of artists pushes you to explore new musical directions?
I think having our guests around us rubs off on us for sure. You know, whether it’s songwriting, or the way you might approach an Allman Brothers song. It’s pretty cool to see Anders Osborne spin way out on something like Dreams or, you know, someone like Donovan Frankenreiter, who has a very charismatic kind of whispery vocal.
Are there any lesser-known songs from the Allman Brothers or your own catalog that you’re particularly excited to showcase at this year’s Revival?
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, a good magician doesn’t give away his tricks! So I’m not gonna name names, but I will say that we’re really excited to debut a half dozen new things for the set list that are deep cuts, and treats for the fans. I think they’re going to be very, very pleased.
Do you see the Revival as a way to pass on the torch to younger generations of musicians?
I think so. I’ve always kind of had the same vibe with, you know, when, when we put the first one together, that I want it to be diverse. I want there to be male artists and female artists and black artists and white artists and young and old artists.
And yeah, we’ve had, we’ve had our share of youngsters come through the ranks and play. And I mean, it would be really sweet if 20 years from now, if it was still going with younger folks, for sure.
What’s the atmosphere like backstage at a Revival show with so many talented musicians in one place?
It’s electric. Everybody’s excited. The great, the great thing about revival is the songbook eliminates ego. It’s no one’s show. It’s the songbook show. And that is a really great equalizer.
It doesn’t matter if you’re 22 or 52, or if you got a gold record on your wall or not, the songbook is cooler than you. The songbook is more sacred than you, and that’s why everybody signs on. Cause they just adore that songbook.
You know, people want to play Rambling Man and Melissa and Midnight Rider and Whipping Post and Dreams. And, all of those songs are the boss.
it’s kind of neat how the songbook kind equalizes everyone, you know? And even though we’re going to have some legends joining us, it’s like the songbook is still the star.
I really love that. And it’s important that even though the Allman Betts band is the house band, it’s not about us, it’s about the songs. It’s about giving people those memories. You know, if we can make a grown ass man weep tears of joy while he’s listening to Duane do Blue Sky like his dad, then that’s exactly what we’re going for. That’s what we want for you!
Normally when you go and you play a concert, you want people to escape for a couple hours and escape how crazy the world is. But with the revival, we not only want you to escape, but we want you to go through a portal and be your 18 year old self again, you know?
How do you maintain the energy and cohesiveness of the show with such a large and rotating group of performers?
I learned a long time ago, set dynamics is a true thing, and I’ve always felt that it’s like a boxer: It’s like punch, punch, punch, and then kind of rest. And that’s how I do set lists.
Bang, bang, bang; then slow it down. Bang, bang, slow, slow, slow, bang, bang, bang.
You know, there’s a rhythm, there’s a cadence to the approach. Like a roller coaster, right? It can’t be all drops. There’s got to be climbs. So I think there’s a kind of an almost Shakespearean way to kind of approach that. I think the set list is super important to have that kind of cadence and that kind of rhythm to the whole evening.
And also the room is really important. You know, you might get five songs into it and I’ll go over to the mic that no one can hear, but the drummers, and I’ll go, we’re skipping that.
We call audibles maybe five to ten percent of the time. It’s pretty rare, but we’ll do it. And it’d be like, Hey, we’re going to ditch this, or, Hey, we’re going to cut this really short, or, you know, Hey, we’re going to add something here.
Like if we’ve really just clobbered them and kicked their ass for three straight songs, and we have a fourth clobbering on the menu, it might be time to just say, Hey, we’re going to throw Melissa right here, you know?
My blueprint was The Last Waltz by The Band: band comes out, plays a couple songs, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage, Jimmy Hall, boom, you know, and then it’s someone else. And it’s like, every time you turn around, there’s something, and I think the excitement of that, the bigness of that is really fuel for the whole thing. I think when people come, they feel like, wow, like they didn’t just get a band that played for two hours for them. They got this whole experience.
Are there any plans to release a live album or documentary capturing the essence of the Revival?
Not album, but albums. We are teaming up with Munck Music to distribute live recordings of the shows – they did the Allman Brothers, and The Grateful Dead. You’ll be able to get the album of the show that you attended!
How do you prepare for a tour of this scale, both mentally and musically?
We get together as the core band and we just get things sounding solid. Luckily, in our eighth year, we don’t have to go over certain songs. We don’t need to play Midnight Rider. We’ve played it a thousand times. We don’t need to play Blue Sky. We’ve played it a thousand times. There’s no shaking the dust off. We can go six months and get thrown on a stage and go play that stuff.
The newer folks and the newer songs, those are what we really focus and key in on. So last week, Allman Betts came here to St. Louis to rehearse. We did two days straight of all the new stuff, the stuff we hadn’t ever taken to the stage and just got really comfortable with that. And then we always have a really long rehearsal the first day, like a literal five hour rehearsal. We take a break for dinner, and then we play the show.
And then it’s like the first show is under our belt, and then the second show is a little better. And then by the fourth show, we’re feeling pretty great with it. And usually the guests are right in line with it, too.
What’s one memorable moment from a past Revival performance that has stayed with you?
Oh, so many, so many! Back when we used to do the guests songs as well, I sang Surrender with Robin Zander from Cheap Trick, which was like a childhood dream.
Marcus King sang the shit out of Whipping Post one year. Good Lord. Last year we had Jason Isbell stop by and he ended up playing on like five songs at the Ryman, which was such a treat. He’s just fantastic. Sierra Ferrell came by last year, sang on Midnight Rider. Yeah, there’s so many! It’s 100 shows now. It’s crazy…
How has the fan response to the Revival shaped its direction over the years?
The good thing is that the songbook has got some depth to it. You know, it’s not like it’s just a couple records. So there’s really, we can do this for years and keep it fresh.
I think ultimately, we’re fans, too. We were kids growing up backstage and hearing, for example, Dreams, or Sailin’ ‘Cross the Devil’s Sea – some of my favorite songs.
So I think when you try to kind of please yourselves, you’re going to end up pleasing other fans, too, because we’re just fans, too. Even though they’re our dads, we’re fans!
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To catch an Allman Betts Family Revival show near you, check out: https://www.allmanbettsfamilyrevival.com/