Anticipation was extremely high for the Allman Betts Band’s Tuesday, July 2, show at the Johnson Controls Sound Stage. With a name like the Allman Betts Band (ABB), the energized crowd were there to reminisce and hear tunes from one of the best southern blues-rock-country groups ever—the Allman Brothers.
But this is, after all, 2019 and there to celebrate the legacy of the Brothers’ music and carry on with their own original work were the sons of the fathers—Devon Allman, Duane Betts and Berry Oakley Jr. After the nearly two-hour-long set, it’s clear that this particular gene pool is brimming over with the same level of musical talent established by their namesakes.
Backed by a stellar four-piece band, ABB came to Summerfest this year with a new album tucked under their cowboy hats released just days ago, Down to the River. The sons bear not only an uncanny physical resemblance to their famous fathers, they are vocally and instrumentally similar as well. Allman and Betts traded off guitar leads and vocals on the two original openers, “All Night” and “Shinin’” which showcased tight verse-chorus arrangements.
But when they took up the familiar Allman Brothers hit “Blue Sky,” it was clearly evident that the younger generation knows how to jam and take the music to interstellar heights. Betts played an extended instrumental guitar solo—the first of many that night—and his calm, focused stance underscored his impressive forays into a spacey jam that made it feel like, well, the Brothers were back. And they certainly were this evening. That extended into the band’s new original tune, “Autumn Breeze,” which showed just how the past and present come together in ABB’s own signature sound.
The band paid tribute with covers of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “You Got Lucky” and a soulful, passionate rendition of “Purple Rain” (yes, the lights were purple, and the rear-projection screen had virtual rain reigning down).
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The haunting title track, “Down to the River,” capped an incredible evening of musicianship, where the sons and their fathers played as one.
