Devon Allman, singer/songwriter/guitarist and son of Gregg Allman, debuted his new band, The Devon Allman Project, at The Fillmore in San Francisco, CA on Friday night. The evening was a double celebration as it was also the birthday of the late Gregg Allman.  Following the opening performance from Duane Betts, son of original ABB guitarist/singer/songwriter Dickey Betts, the Devon Allman Project took the stage for the headlining set.

From there, the show continued for the “special guests” portion of the evening, with bassist Berry Oakley Jr., son of original ABB bassist Berry Oakley, Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), and keyboardist Peter Levin (Gregg Allman Band) holding it down with the core band. Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Robert Randolph, Jimmy Hall (Wet Willie, Jeff Beck, Hank Williams Jr.), Brooklyn Allman, G. Love, Ben Sparaco, Alex Orbison, and Johnny Stachela all traded places throughout the evening, playing through several Allman Brothers Band classics.

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Thursday night at Rusty’s Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica Pier, guitarist Duane Betts and his fellow Pistoleers guitarist Johnny Stachela joined the rhythm section of Gov’t Mule- drummer Matt Abts and bassist Jorgen Carlsson- forming the quartet, Bando. Throughout the summer, the historic ocean boardwalk hosts free Thursday night concerts on its planks. With an empty post-holiday date on the calendar, Rusty’s offered its own free show, bringing the four together for this unique one-off. Bando played a near two-hour set mostly of covers, ranging from Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones to a pair of classics from The Allman Brothers Band. Betts and Stachela alternated vocals much of the night, with Stachela taking on Hendrix with “Spanish Castle Magic” and several blues standards, while Betts offered the Stones’ “Silver Train” and two originals, including “Taking Time.” The pair of guitarists extended solos on nearly every entry, including over fifteen-minute versions of the Allman’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and a closing “Whipping Post.”

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On this night at the Roxy Theatre, the guitar was king. The six-string summit began early at the famous Sunset Strip venue; the house still filling in as Duane Betts and his Pistoleers took the stage a few minutes past eight o’clock. Tearing into the Rolling Stones nugget, “Silver Train,” Betts and his fellow axe man Johnny Stachela established the proverbial and literal tone right from the drop; blistering guitars and cranked-up amps. Plenty of jams rumbled through the half-hour set, with Stachela shining on slide and Betts driving sweetly melodic through his original “Taking Time,” then as the two paired up for a beautiful rendition of Betts’ father Dickey’s “Blue Sky.”  Yet, this was but the thunder before the lightning.

The curtain parted on the North Mississippi Allstars with just the sibling duo of Luther and Cody Dickinson, on guitar and drums respectively, onstage. Luther, working both fretboard and keyboard through a crunching opener that left him with a broken string, seemed positively possessed by the spirit.

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