NEPA Scene Staff

Following Peach Fest, Allman Betts Band comes to Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Nov. 9

Following Peach Fest, Allman Betts Band comes to Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Nov. 9
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From a press release:

Following their performance at the 2019 Peach Music Festival in Scranton, it was announced today that The Allman Betts Band will bring their first world tour to the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. with special guests Joanne Shaw Taylor and Jackson Stokes.

The Allman Betts Band is the next generation of The Allman Brothers Band, led by Devon Allman, son of founding Allman Brothers Band keyboardist and singer Gregg Allman, and Duane Betts, son of founding ABB guitarist and singer Dickey Betts.

Tickets, which are $29.50, $38, and $48, go on sale this Friday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. and will be available at the Sherman Theater box office (524 Main St., Stroudsburg), shermantheater.com, and Ticketfly.

The Allman Betts Band signed a new global recording agreement with BMG to release their debut album, “Down to the River,” on June 28. It was recorded at the famed Muscle Shoals Sound Studios with producer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine, and Elvis Presley).

The band kicked off their inaugural world tour on March 26 with 80+ dates, including a summer leg in Europe, several festivals like the Allman Brothers’ own Peach Music Festival, and support dates with John Fogerty.

Devon Allman said, “We’re really psyched to have a machine like BMG get behind The Allman Betts Band! We look forward to expanding our brand and music into the international arena with such a professional team.”

“We are very happy to start a great relationship with a powerhouse like BMG,” Duane Betts added.

The beginning of the partnership between Allman and Betts goes back to the Gregg Allman tribute show at the Fillmore in San Francisco at the end of 2017. It was time, in that historic venue, to pass the spirit to the next generation. It was time to take all the lessons of the past, all their collective experiences, and make something new.

Following that concert, Betts would go on to serve as an opening artist on the Devon Allman Project 2018 world tour, joining Allman each night for a musical tip of the hat to their respective fathers. The year-long trek was the first to pair Allman and Betts, tallying nearly 100 dates across the United States and internationally – including the 2018 Peach Fest in Scranton and the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre – and increasingly drawing larger audiences with each successive leg.

After a successful year of touring, Allman and Betts officially joined forces to form a new group together. Their first call was to 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 inductee. In November of 2018, they announced the formation of The Allman Betts Band.

Welcoming producer Matt Ross-Spang, the band recorded their sessions at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Alabama. They brought in Gregg’s former bandmate, Peter Levin, and former Allman Brother and current Rolling Stone keyboardist Chuck Leavell as guests, adding organ and piano, and recruited seasoned players from the Project ensemble: slide guitarist Johnny Stachela, drummer John Lum, and percussionist R. Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow). Motivated by classic recording techniques and vintage gear in the historic Alabama studio, they cut the album live. No computers. No digital editing. Setting-up as one in the studio, they tracked nine songs on two-inch analog tape, resulting in their debut effort.

Currently adding dates to the Down to the River World Tour, The Allman Betts Band is Devon Allman (guitar, vocals), Duane Betts (guitar, vocals), Berry Oakley Jr., Johnny Stachela (guitar, vocals), John Ginty (keyboards), and percussionists R. Scott Bryan (percussion, vocals) and John Lum (drums).

See NEPA Scene’s photos of the Devon Allman Project and Duane Betts performing at the 2018 Peach Fest here.