By Anita Stewart, Rock At Night Pittsburgh
Venue: Jergel’s Rhythm Cafe-April 10, 2019
The Allman Betts Band launched their first tour on March 27th, 2019 in Brooklyn, NY with a lot of media buzz and a live-streamed full concert. The band started to form last year and will have their first album release this June (2019). I wrote about Gregg Allman and his passing two years ago and my recollections of the Allman Brothers music as a soundtrack for my life–you can read that story HERE. Along with the huge extended family and the remaining Allman Brothers (Jaimoe and Dickey Betts), the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Warren Haynes and so many more band members, musicians, friends and their die hard fans, this new group will continue to prove that Southern Rock is still valid and is here to stay–so really, truly, “the road goes on forever!” to paraphrase Gregg Allman’s immortal lyrics.
This initial leg of the Allman Betts Band’s world tour brought them to Jergel’s Rhythm Cafe nestled in the rolling hills of the North Pittsburgh bedroom community of Warrendale, Pennsylvania. Jergel’s is a great place to see a show: ample stage, fantastic lighting and sound, a full bar and food menu with reasonable prices and lots of parking. There is standing area on the floor, a long bar on one side, a covered porch, a Cigar Bar and a restaurant area. What is really cool is the second floor balcony with standing room and seating areas that provide some amazing perspectives of the band onstage. Lots of security inside and outside, clean and the staff is friendly and accommodating. But no parking on this particular night as it was a sell out show! As this writer walked through the parking lot (I had to park at a pub about a block away and paid $10), I saw tags from nearby West Virginia and Ohio so people had traveled far to attend this show.
The crowd was old, young, dressed up and dressed down. Lots of the over 50 crowd were wearing old Allman Brothers or Gregg Allman T-shirts. I struck up a short conversation with the house photographer, Gary and a crazy fun guy named Pete who I assumed was a regular customer who were both right up front and positioned next to the stage. The opening band was Pittsburgh’s favorite super group, The Borstal Boys who fluffed up the crowd and got people drinking, swaying and singing along. Doing covers and originals, this band is a mainstay to the local music scene and they delivered some raucous rock and roll. Check out their latest album HERE!
The Allman Betts Band came on stage to hoots and hollering from the crowd and the theme song from “Rocky” and launched right into their set. People were dancing, swaying and singing along with drinks in hand. Positioned above the crowd and further above the stage was a screen with projected moving fractals and psychedelic designs reminiscent of the liquid light shows on overhead projectors that the Allman Brothers had at their Fillmore East performance and at other shows in the early 70’s. The band covered several Allman Brothers songs, “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” “Blue Sky,” and “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” to thunderous applause. The band members also showcased their own songs–some that will be on the upcoming album and others that the band members wrote separately while working with other projects. The real standouts were the instrumental songs and the solos by each member. A song that was a crowd favorite was “Mahalo” by Devon Allman. Part of the encore was “Shakedown Street” by the Grateful Dead.
The current lineup includes three sons of the original Allman Brothers Band; Devon Allman, Gregg’s son, Duane Betts, Dickey’s son and Berry Oakley, Jr., Berry’s son. The other amazing artists that round out the band are John Stachela, the slide guitarist virtuoso, John Ginty on keyboards and the two drummers/percussionists: John Lum and R. Scott Bryan. All have lengthy musical resumes and have worked with notables such as Santana, Sheryl Crow and many others. If this band is coming to your town, go see them–see the tour dates HERE. The new album “Down to the River” will drop in early summer 2019. Check out the title track HERE.
PHOTO GALLERY
The Borstal Boys
The full schedule for the Allman Betts Band’s 2019 world tour:
March 27 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl
March 28 — Torrington, CT @ Warner Theatre
March 29 — Plymouth, NH @ Flying Monkey PAC
March 30 — Plattsburgh, NY @ Strand Theater
March 31 — Hopewell, NJ @ Hopewell Theater
April 2 — Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head On Stage
April 3 — Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head On Stage
April 4 — Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
April 5 — Stowe, VT @ Spruce Peak PAC
April 6 — Staten Island, NY @ St. George Theatre
April 9 — Norfolk, VA @ The Norva
April 10 — Warrendale, PA @ Jergel’s Rhythm Grille
April 11 — Homer, NY @ Center for the Arts
April 12 — Newton, NJ @ Newton Theater
April 13 — Beverly, MA @ Cabot Theater
April 14 — Plymouth, MA @ Plymouth Memorial Hall
April 25 — Meridian, MS @ Riley Performing Arts Center
April 26 — New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
April 27 — Little Rock, AR @ Pulaski Community College PAC
April 29 — Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads
April 30 — Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theater
May 1 — Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theater
May 3 — Memphis, TN @ Graceland Soundstage
May 4 — St. Louis, MO @ Atomic Cowboy Pavilion
May 6 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Tower Theater
May 8 — Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theater
May 9 — Salina, KS @ Stiefel Theatre
May 10 — Dallas, TX @ Kessler Theater
May 11 — Houston, TX @ Heights Theater
May 12 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk
May 14 — Lubbock, TX @ Cactus Theater
May 15 — Albuquerque, NM @ National Hispanic Cultural Center
May 16 — Tucson, AZ @ Fox Theater
May 17 — Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
May 19 — Chandler, AZ @ Chandler Center for the Performing Arts
June 8 — Garberville, CA @ Redwood Run
June 15 — Utica, NY @ Stanley Theatre
June 18 — Kent, OH @ The Kent Stage
June 22 — Kokomo, IN @ Foster Park
June 23 — McMinnville, TN @ Cumberland Caverns
June 25 — Bristol, TN @ Paramount Theater
June 26 — Rocky Mount, VA @ Harvester PAC
June 27 — State College, PA @ State Theatre
July 8 — Ocean City, NJ @ NJ Music Pier
July 23 — Cologne, GER @ Kantine
July 24 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
August 11 — Fargo, ND The Hall @ Fargo Brewing Co.
August 29 — St. Charles, IL @ The Arcada Theater
August 30 — Fort Wayne, IN @ Sweetwater Performance Pavilion
September 1 — Lakeville, PA @ Cove Ent Resorts
September 13 — Colo Springs, CO @ Pikes Peak Center
November 1 — Auburn, AL @ Jay and Susie Gouge Performing Arts Center
Festival Dates:
April 7 — Reading, PA @ Berks Jazz Fest
May 18 — Dana Point, CA @ Doheny Blues Festival
June 13-16 — Bethel, NY @ Mountain Jam
June 29 — New Marchtinsville, WV @ Back Home Festival
July 20 — Maidstone, UK @ Ramblin’ Man Fair
July 25-28 — Scranton, PA @ Peach Music Festival
July 25-28 — Breitenbach, GER @ Burg Herzberg festival
August 10 — Duluth, MN @ Bayfront Blues Festival
August 22-25 — Arrington, VA @ LOCKN’ Festival
September 5-8 — Las Vegas, NV @ Big Blues Bender
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