Interview: Devon Allman

Devon Allman has developed quite a multi-faceted music career over the years, working with Duane Betts in the Allman Betts Band, which was preceded by a fruitful run in the band Royal Southern Brotherhood, doing solo albums and now branching out with a variety of collaborative projects, including “Rollers” (the 2023 album he made with Donavon Frankenreiter) and the recently released “Nightvision,” an ambient art-rock album he made with his son, Orion.

Having recently wrapped up their annual Allman Betts Family Revival tour, in which Allman and Betts bring aboard a variety of guest musicians to perform the music of the Allman Brothers Band (which featured Allman’s father Gregg Allman and Betts’ father Dickey Betts), Allman has embarked on his Devon Allman’s Blues Summit tour. The outing follows the release last July of his “Blues Summit” album, on which he collaborated with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Larry McCray, Jimmy Hall, Sierra Green and Robert Randolph.

In the following interview, Devon Allman talks about extended improvisations, his chemistry with Duane Betts, and the Blues Summit project.

Q: You and Duane have a long friendship. How does that history shape your musical chemistry and creative decisions when you’re writing and touring together?

Allman: Chemistry and creative decisions are two different worlds. The chemistry is something we really lucked out on because you can be the next generation of amazing musicians and not have it. But we found we had quite a bit of chemistry from the get-go when we started the Allman Betts Band. Our whole idea was "If we don't have chemistry writing songs, this won't be a band, and that's okay." But we did, and we’re grateful for that.

As far as creative decisions, our family connection makes it much easier. We’re bound by the music, the history, and the spirits of those before us. When we pay homage to the Allman Brothers Band with (the Allman Family Revival) tour, the music is the boss. There’s no power struggle. It’s all about honoring them and their catalog. It’s sacred for us. I’ll be thinking, "Man, Duane is just killing 'Blue Sky' tonight," but then there’s the other half of me that’s like, "Damn, I just wish it was Dickey doing it." As much of an honor as it is to perform these songs, it's half heartbreak that they're not here to do it themselves -- which is a big impetus for why we do this (tour).

You recently released the solo album “Blues Summit,” and now you are taking this project on the road. How did you arrive at wanting to do the album and tour and collaborate with so many amazing musicians?

It was really born out of a desire to take things to the next place. After doing the Revival Tour for so long, I wanted a similar vibe during the summer -- a smaller-scale ensemble cast, which is always an elevated experience. Instead of just seeing my band, you’re seeing my band backing the incredible Larry McCray or Jimmy Hall.

I didn't really embrace collaborations in my first decade; I was head down, trying to find my own way. But once I started collaborating in Royal Southern Brotherhood in 2012, I realized how much growth and enrichment it brought out in me to have those collaborators.

Early in your career, you spoke about wanting to run away from the "Allman sound." What was the turning point where you fully reconciled or embraced your heritage?

That’s a good question. When you’re starting out and looking for your voice, it's already difficult enough. But when you multiply that difficulty by 10 because your father is a successful musician, and then multiply it by another 10 because your father is someone as iconic as Gregg Allman, the initial response is to run away and do something polar opposite.

I was still based in rock and roll, but I think I just got to a point of maturity where I was like, "I don’t care what anyone else is doing, so I just need to do my own thing." And if my own thing happens to sound like my family, then so be it. It’s my family. It was really more of an awakening that brought a lot of relief. I realized I’m just going to make records and write songs that I like, and hopefully other people will, too. It’s about following the muse, you know, and going where your heart’s wanting to go.

You spent a lot of time playing with your father. Beyond musical technique, what is the single greatest life lesson you learned directly from him that continues to guide your career choices today?

He wasn't a hands-on teacher; he really respected my path and wanted me to find my way. I spent 14 years in local clubs and the next 13 in a van going coast-to-coast and over to Europe, so I was definitively doing my own work.

Any lesson I learned from him that was of magnitude wasn’t taught directly, it was observational. He had this thing that so many people strive their whole career to have, where the music just oozes out of you without effort. He had that magical thing. That’s something I always strive for. If I’m ever in my head too much, I just try to let the music flow. It can be difficult, but he made it look so easy. It’s a very good lesson that if you’re forcing it, you might need to be redirected.

Q: You mentioned the first 14 years playing local clubs, and the next 13 years touring in a van. Which phase was more fun, and be honest?

Devon Allman: The more fun was definitely the 13 years of touring in a van. I put over a million and a half miles on the road during that time. Those nightclubs at home were a pain -- good for wood-shedding and learning how to work a crowd, but a pain. Touring on our own was a blast, and it was adventurous. It felt better to be out there actually on tour, actually supporting a record you made, (rather) than playing cover songs in a local bar night after night.

It’s been a few years since the Allman Betts Band's last record, “Bless Your Heart.” What's the status update on the next record?

We just celebrated the fifth birthday of “Bless Your Heart,” so that’s been the hot question for a couple of years. There are rumblings in the camp about what to do next. We want to align things with the right timing. I just put out a record, Duane is going to put out a record, so it’s just not the right timing yet. It’s not impossible; it’s just not the right timing. We definitely have our eyes on the future for that third record.